Blog Entry #6

Based on the article titled The Dark Past Keeps Returning: Gender Themes in Neo-Noir by Heather Fireman, I was able distinguish the differences with classic film noir and neo-noir.  To begin with, let us start with what we, by now, have learned about film noir.  The concept of classic film noir can be traced back to a period that lasted around 1940 to the 1960s, a time when America was recovering from World War II.  Films during this time period almost had the same plots or themes with unique visual effects.  Its mood and themes, which were based on the results of the war and the society’s state of hysteria, were typically psychological thrillers and crime dramas that addressed the human condition through a state of complete disorder. These black-and-white types of films were filmed and shot in an urban-type environments and the visual elements incorporated the use of more light and shadow and low lighting.  The characters in film noir had a protagonist, who was often depicted as anti-heroes who had to face difficult situations, and the femme fatale, who were attractive and seductive women who brought disaster upon themselves and to the men who became involved with her.  The story is often told in a flashback approach, which implied a sense of fatalism through the protagonist’s point of view.  This approach made the audience develop both a relationship and a feeling of sympathy towards the story’s protagonist. 

            In contrast, both film noir and neo-noir have many differences. Unlike film noir, neo-noir films made use of modern technology as these new types of films are now viewed in color.  They are also more explicit, and the films are different in artistic vision.  As the author, Heather Fireman stated in her article, The Dark Past Keeps Returning: Gender Themes in Neo-Noir,  “While some neo-noirs simply imitate classic noir, the most compelling use of noir in modern times is to express the anxieties of a modern condition.  Everything noir about neo-noir is rooted in a set of cultural factors of a particular moment - not of the 1940s but of something else.”  The themes of neo-noir films are now based on modern circumstances, or as Fireman describes it as postmodernism.  Unlike film noir, neo-noir has no linearity, in which everything does not happen in sequence, but goes on its own timeline.  Also, unlike the femme fatale character in classic film noir, in which both her character was viewed through the eyes of the protagonist and her fate was ill destined at the end, the neo-noir femme fatale is now viewed through her own point of view and isn’t always punished.  She gets off scot-free as if she were receiving a “get of jail” free card; there is no justice for what she has done.

Similarities between classic film noir and neo-noir are also clear, such as the principle of their story and the types of characters.  Both film noir and neo-noir tend to be fatalistically dark in nature and the presence of an anti-hero and femme fatale are symbolic.  As Fireman quoted Robson in her article, “Neo noir takes the formula of classic noir and integrates new ideas and influence from contemporary film styles to provide a new spin…”  Neo-noir is almost like film noir, but with a twist.