[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]

Re: RARA-AVIS: Working towards a definition of sorts 

Well, in that all things French are affected, sure, "roman noir" is an
affectation. But though "hardboiled" was an established American "school"
long before the Fr. ever used "noir" in ref. to film, that doesn't make
"hardboiled" any more descriptive an adjective (as recent attempts at
definitions on this list have shown). I have So Many examples of the word
"hard-boiled" used on pb covers to describe . . . well, just about
anything.  This doesn't mean the term is meaningless, just that it isn't
finally all that descriptive. It does, however, recall a certain group of
pulp writers (Cain, Hammett, Cain, Whitfield, Daly, etc.), in a way that
"noir" does not. So I'll give you that.
 
I couldn't tell if you were denigrating the Fr. for elevating the American
"B" movie to an art form or not. While normally I enjoy kicking the French
as much as the next guy/gal, the fact that they fostered Himes's career
when he couldn't buy one over here redeems the whole country somewhat in
my book. Michael
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Michael D. Sharp                 "My time-wasting abilities are legendary!
msharp@umich.edu                 If only I could harness them as a force
Department of English            for good!" -- Shaun M. Strohmer
University of Michigan                               

                        

On Mon, 27 Jan 1997, Virginia Conn wrote:

> On Mon, 27 Jan 1997, michael david sharp wrote:
> 
> > but since the films' thematic origins are In The Writing, *noir* seems a
> > perfectly appropriate (if general) way of describing much crime fiction.
> 
> I'm afraid I have to disagree with this.  Hammet, Cain et al were
> published & recognized LONG before the french discovered the "B"
> movie.  "Roman noir" doesn't have the cache or the weight of hard
> boiled, because Hard boiled is the name of the American school. It
> was in film that something 'new' was seen (by the french) which was
> akin to the much earlier & established 'hard boiled'.
> 
> Roman noir has always struck me as an affection...
> 
> Virginia
> 
> -
> # RARA-AVIS:  To unsubscribe, say "unsubscribe rara-avis"
> # to majordomo@icomm.ca
> 

-
# RARA-AVIS:  To unsubscribe, say "unsubscribe rara-avis"
# to majordomo@icomm.ca
References:

[Archives] | [RARA-AVIS]