Rural Noir.pdf

Rural Noir Background on Film Noir The term film noir is first used in the 1940s when a group of French film critics began writing about a recent trend in Hollywood film: New Hollywood films hadn’t been available in France during Nazi occupation, When Hollywood films became available again, French f...

Rural Noir Background on Film Noir The term film noir is first used in the 1940s when a group of French film critics began writing about a recent trend in Hollywood film: New Hollywood films hadn’t been available in France during Nazi occupation, When Hollywood films became available again, French film critics noticed there was a new darkness to them. Frank Nino called them “film noir, which translates as ‘black film’ and refers to the darkness of the themes as well as the visuals of the films” (Luhr 20). William Luhr suggests the distinctive style of film noir was noticeable to French critics because there had been a decade of Hollywood films they couldn’t see until liberation during WWII, so the change was starker and more visible for them than for their American counterparts who saw these films as they were released. Background of Film Noir, continued Traits of Film Noir Decaying cities Crime film that involves a hard-boiled detective Destabilization of traditional gender securities The men are characterized by a sense of brokenness, while the women are empowered According to Luhr, “Film noir reflects the erosion of the traditional power balance between the sexes and often constructs women as more powerful and men as weak and threatened. An important character type is the femme fatale or ‘black widow,’ a woman who seduces, exploits, and then destroys her sexual partners” (30). Rural Noir Traits of Rural Noir According to Jesse Schlotterbeck, rural noir features “both rural and urban settings” The lead character travels between rural and urban settings via car or bus. Schlotterbeck states, “the curative quality of the country is usually tied to a love interest in this location: the “nurturing woman.” In other words, the rural is where the protagonist finds redemption, and it’s usually tied to a love interest in that area. The rural is not free of crime