I think Terrill nailed it.
Granted, I may not read as much "noir" fiction as some of you
but I don't actually see much change in it, beyond a growing
popularity that apparently has as much to do with nostalgia
as anything.
HARD CASE CRIME's success is a case in point -- there are
certainly many great books being publishing by them, but
they're essentially throwbacks to those written fifty or
sixty years ago (not that there's anything wrong with that).
Fedoras are out, cell phones are in, but what has really
changed?
Period pieces abound, and even new books set in contemporary
times are being packaged like Fawcett Gold Medals. And it's
not just HCC doing it.
Sure, they are new fresh voices, and some damn fine books,
and even a few nifty new tricks being played out we've never
seen before, but have there been any significant, sweeping
changes in the genre lately?
About the only recent significant development in noir I can
think of is that the usage of the word itself as a
description of a certain type of book or film has become so
devalued as to be meaningless.
Now any crime film with a fleeting shadow is called
noir.
And the word is being used to sell everything from lingerie
and sunglasses to coffee and dopey VANITY FAIR fashion
spreads..
Kevin
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