[23/7/2013] Contextual Studies: Understanding the Word "Noir".

Mr. Charles gave us a task to describe the word noir.

Frankly speaking, I'm still quite confused with the word noir. Nevertheless, I'll try my best to describe the word.

Definition:

According to thefreedictionary.com

Noir;

• a genre of crime literature featuring tough, cynical characters and bleak settings.
• or just film noir.

In French, it literally means black.

It is mostly used in cinematic term to describe stylish crime dramas, emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Basically it is short for black in relation to those gore but not really gore situation. They said film noir's aesthetics were very deeply influence by German Expressionism during the 1940's-1950's era. Since noir means black, their film are all associated with a low-key black-and-white visual style. It was emerged in the United States during the Great Depression. In 1940's-1950's era, film noir are described as "melodrama".

Some examples of film noir;

• Stranger on the Third Floor (1940)
• Notorious (1946)
• The Wrong Man (1956)
• Bewitched (1945)
• On Dangerous Ground (1952)

Some pictures on noir;

References:

1. Neale, Steve., 2000. Genre and Hollywood. London and New York: Routledge. 
2. Vernet, Marc., 1993. "Film Noir on the Edge of Doom", in Copjec, Shades of Noir, pp. 1–31. 
3. Naremore, James., 2008. More Than Night: Film Noir in Its Contexts. 2nd ed. 
4. Bould, Mark., 2005. Film Noir: From Berlin to Sin City. London and New York: Wallflower.
5. The Free Dictionary by Farlex. (2013). Noir. [online] Available at: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/noir [Accessed: 29 July 2013].
6. Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia. Film Noir. [online] (Updated 21 July 2013) Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_noir [Acessed: 29 July 2013]
7. Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia. List of Film Noir Titles. [online] (Updated 28 July 2013) Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_film_noir_titles [Acessed: 29 July 2013]
8. Adam Chitwood, 2012. Hotel Noir. [electronic print] Available at: http://collider.com/hotel-noir-image/ [Accessed 29 July 2013]
9. Altmix Photography, 2009. Jennifer & Morgan are Engaged!. [electronic print] Available at: http://www.altmixphotography.com/tag/film-noir-photography/ [Accessed 29 July 2013]

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