Michael Robison wrote:
> The doom of most noir protagonists is brought
about
> through immoral behavior. I guess we could deny
free
> will and swim in those murky metaphysical waters,
but
> for the most part that is not what noir is about.
I
> believe that the protagonists of The Postman
Always
> Rings Twice, Thieves Like Us, and Nightmare Alley
made
> choices. I am not denying that some characters
have
> little choice, driven by internal (Lou Ford in
The
> Killer Inside Me) and external forces (Stephen
Crane's
> Maggie) greater than they can control, but even
these
> novels involve a covert theme of free will on the
part
> of the reader.
>
Maybe that's one of the distinguishing characteristics of
psycho noir-- there's almost a gleefulness in the bad
decisions they make.
--Dave Z.
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