ENG
302
Literature
And Film
Noir
Revival: ÒNeo-NoirÓ
50Õs Decline
of film noir
á Break-up of studio system and the advent of
television
á ÒGenreÓ film-making moved to the small screen and
to small, low-budget studios
á Beginning of the Cold War/anti-communist repression.
á Major movies tended more towards being ÒeventsÓ
60Õs Few
ÒnoirÓ films
á Exceptions, e.g., Bonnie and Clyde, Point Blank
á Growing Intellectual Interest, Led By French
Critics, in Film, and Especially Film Noir, As Serious Art
á Rise of the ÒartÓ film and market for foreign
films in the US
70Õs:
Renewed
interest in noir
á Combines ÒartÓ film techniques and critical social
attitudes with popular genres, e.g., detective thriller, crime melodramas.
á Crisis in movie industry allowed for more
risk-taking and experimentation
á Feminism/WomenÕs Movement
á Post Watergate/Vietnam cynicism and skepticism
80-Present Neo-noir revival
á Reaganomics: resurgence of materialism and
cut-throat capitalism
á Contemporary postmodern media saturation:
representation becomes reality (e.g., Gulf War as Òvideo game warÓ)
á Postmodern focus on ÒhybridÓ texts that recycle
older styles and conventions
á Proliferation of outlets for film: cable, video,
Internet.
á New high speed color film stocks and video
technology
á ÒNoirÓ on TV (e.g., Miami Vice, X-Files, Homicide, 24)