We've discussed before the idea of noir precedents in the
rural landscape- the Westerns in the US and the "surviving in
the wilderness" stories in Canada, not to mention those
gothic Brit roman noirs. Even here the idea varied somewhat
between evil resident in the landscape or evil in the rush to
civilization.
I believe what we're talking about in noir is mostly about
the tensions that arise with civilization, how the individual
must adapt and compromise to fit into the group, or
community: the rules that are adopted to facilitate this, the
systems developed to implement and enforce those rules, and
how those rules and systems create power and are inevitably
corrupted. This is a literature of its time- the mass
migrations to cities (plus mass education, mass literacy) of
the now-passing industrial age, (passing in North America and
Europe, at least) providing mass markets for our sort of
stuff.
Of course, civilization is a relative term. How big does a
place have to be to have the problems of civilization? For
Jim Thompson, a population of 1,280 was sufficient. In
"Postman", James Cain's loner only had to find two other
people on the edge of town to crumble.
Best, Kerry
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Literary events Calendar (South Ont.) http://www.lit-electric.com
The evil men do lives after them http://www.murderoutthere.com
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