Blog 6

Through reading this article “Space, time, and Subjectivity in Neo-Noir Cinema” by Jerold J. Abrams, it was nice to see how Noir was, is, and what it will be. Even though I have not seen any of the films mentioned in the article, it was enlightening to see the different forms of a protagonist or the detective, and different ways they are molded into their characters. In the article it says, “Neo-Noir, is likely to take place in vast open spaces as in the pestilential city of tradition” (8). It also says that at the end of the neo noir period, the scene started to move out from the big city like Los Angeles and into Mexico or open spaces to make the scene more dark and mysterious. Also in the old Noir time period the cityscape were very tightly fit and well organized, but as the new noir started to move in the surrounding city started to become more separated.  The description of the neo noir detective as it states in the article, “The self is the detective, the self is the villain, and all clues exist solely within his own mind”(9). This is stating that the detective figure is both the protagonist and antagonist, also throughout the whole film or novel he is fighting himself between the good and bad.

For neo noir time the detective almost always suffered from some case of amnesia, hallucinations, multiple personality, high-tech revealing of the future, or other alterations.  This is a defining characteristic of the detective figure and what they may go though in the film or novel. In the article, “Past neo noir is usually low-tech, contrasting it with a very high-tech future noir, and almost always theological” (10). An example of a film that amplifies this is Raiders of the lost ark. Some comparisons of this film that relates back to the old era of noir is the fact that Indiana Jones has a gun and wears a noir fedora, he also uses snappy language and has quick comebacks. Indiana is also on a quest looking for something in order to determine his faith. At the end of this film the scene of turning science into religion is apparent, “No longer is the dangerous box of light nuclear; now it’s an even more dangerous box of spiritual light, “’fire of god’” as Indiana puts it” (12). This concept goes for the same film Pulp Fiction directed by Quentin Tarantino, two men are sent to recover a briefcase that when opened gleams a golden light. Abrams believes that the figure of neo noir will be “Replaced by science and high technology” (13).  Like in the film blade running they use a certain testing on robots that consist of asking them questions which related back to the interviews that were used in classic noir. “so you get the basic idea: past noir is theological, and future noir is sci-fi”. He also says, “God and the devil are replaced by science and technology” (14).  Also mentioned in the article is the Tv series called the X-files, where aliens walk around like regular people wearing trench coats and fedoras. The aliens would also put humans on a space ship that looked like Los Angeles cityscape, which relates back to the old noir. In the present neo noir scene, the article says, “These films take place neither in the distant past nor the distant future” (16).  Films that resemble this type noir includes memento, the Bourne Identity, and Fightclub, and Faith on chaos. In both memento and Fightclub, “the detective must rely on clues from his own body to reveal truths about his mind” (17). Which means that the protagonist is being controlled by the inside of himself and mind is being guided by the mind. Also in fight club, the main character kills his alter ego in order to get the bad out of him as well as max in pie: Faith in Chaos. Overall Noir hasn’t changed much they are just using different objects to bring out the original traits of classic noir.