Mark,
Re your question below:
> So let me get this straight, once a genre
is
> defined, it no longer
> exists?
"Noir" isn't a genre. It's a style. It sets mood and
atmosphere. In film, it's a way of telling a story
visually.
"Private eye" is a genre (or at least a sub-genre).
"Noir" is the visual stylistic devices used to tell private
eye stories on film such as THE MALTESE FALCON, MURDER MY
SWEET, or I THE JURY. It's not used for CHINATOWN, MARLOWE,
or HARPER. That doesn't make any of them any less private eye
stories. It just makes them not noir.
"Police procedural" is a genre (or at least a sub-genre).
"Noir" is the visual stylistic devices used to tell private
eye stories on film such as T-MEN, THE NAKED CITY, and SCENE
OF THE CRIME. It's not used, however, for BULLITT, MADIGAN,
or PENDULUM. It doesn't make those films any less police
procedurals. It just makes them not noir.
A style that is self-conscious and deliberate becomes
inorganic and the story supports the style rather than the
reverse. And once noir was recognized and definedas a
particular style, one that, to that point, had been largely
unconscious, it became well-nigh impossible (there's that
weaselly wiggle-word again) to use organically, because it
always drew attention to itself rather than supporting the
story.
JIM DOHERTY
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