You raise some interesting points. But note, the great
hardboiled and noir writers seldom mention religion. Their
morality is more obvious than high-falutin mysticism. Also,
referencing specific belief systems was death to publishers
until very recently, especially in genre literature. In fact
it may still be. Chesterton and Green are the only two I can
think of who broke that rule yet were more or less
"successful." The sexual dynamic in Hammett, Chandler,
Spillane, and Cain is very interesting. You drew several
points from Falcon. Note that with the exception of Spade,
all the other major male figures in the novel are various
stereotype homosexuals. That's how they avoid Bridget's
clutches! Chandler's world is full of alcoholics, drug
addicts, pornographers, sexual sadists, phoney psychics, and
women with serious psychological damage. All of Cain's novels
are about sex mania. Serenade, probably his most interesting
on many levels, was way over the top when he wrote it. It
deals with the sexual dynamic in art and commerce. The
protagonist is bi-sexual and totally confused on that fact.
That he regains his sexual and artistic ability in an
abandoned church during a desert flash flood adds to the
symbolism. Serenade would make a great movie and today one
could film it without pulling punches. Personally, being
neither mystical nor superstitious, I don't see religion per
se being that significant to these works. I'm sure one can
and probably has written Zen or Buddhist "noir" novels. Yokio
Mishima, for instance and Kawabatta. It's about common sense:
If lust leads to theft and murder, you're probably going to
have problems in any society whatever religion prevails in
it. No culture puts up with this kind of behavior. One of the
most tragic "noir" characters is Pat in Recoil. This guy is
genuinly trying to do well but he can't extricate himself
from his lousey fate. While he's not a stupid character, and,
in fact, he's very street smart, he's not clever enough to
see through the people who simply can't help him and will
ultimately destroy him.
Patrick King
--- Frederick Zackel <
fzackel@wcnet.org> wrote:
> I have been lurking during this discussion
of
> transcendence, and I kept
> wanting to bring up religion. I don't know how
you
> can mumble about Western
> Civ and any element of it without bringing
up
> religion's 3000-year
> overwhelming stranglehold.
>
> So, methinks, a noir protagonist thinks with
his
> willie, and that dooms him.
> Noir is about morality. The inevitability is,
well,
> judgment day. I look
> at noir writers and I see religion oozing from
them
> like January maple
> syrup. Hammett was a former Catholic, Cain was
a
> gloating Catholic,
> Spillane created the Hammer of God, and so
forth.
>
> Hammett created Spade, a blonde devil. Spade is
also
> Sisyphus before Camus
> tinkered with the myth. The Falcon begins with
Spade
> in his office and ends
> with Spade in his office. Spade's only moment
of
> freedom is sending Brigit
> over. Archer was doomed; he thought with
his
> willie. Spade can transcend
> his willie. Brigit counted upon Spade being
just
> another guy thinking with
> his willie.
>
> Hammett, a fallen-away Catholic, dead-stops
the
> Falcon so that Spade tells
> the story of Flitcraft. Flitcraft is a human
who
> encounters Random Chance
> in a universe he thought was orderly. (That's
what
> Hammett's daughter says
> about Flitcraft in her biography of her dad, by
the
> way.) There is no
> Intelligent Design. There is no Prime Mover.
The
> Universe is Random Chance.
> Spade, the gambler, casting his lot with the drop
of
> the cards. (Einstein
> said God doesn't play dice with the universe;
Spade
> says, yeah, it's the
> fall of the dice.) Spade could be telling Brigit
HE
> is her Falling Beams,
> or he could be telling her SHE is his Falling
Beams.
> Works both ways, eh?
>
> Imagine Sisyphus with a gun.
>
> Could there be a Hindu noir novel? A Buddhist
noir
> novel? Or only from the
> Son of Abraham? What is the impact of religion?
As
> for the politics, oh, I
> think the role of politics in noir is a
red-herring.
>
> God, I'm glad I got all this out of me.
>
> Fred Zackel
> author of Cocaine & Blue Eyes
> c/o Point Blank Press
>
> "They are too fast, too quick, they rip our
flesh
> off, rip our arms off.
> Sometimes it starts with just one. Sometimes
they
> come in a pack. They
> smell blood and meat, and they rush in and join
in.
> There are so many of
> them everywhere, patroling, cruising,
taking,
> killing." ~ Voltaire
>
>
>
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