The AV Club has an interview with author William Gibson
(NEUROMANCER, PATTERN RECOGNITION) that touches on his use of
classic noir images and themes in a science fiction context.
The money quote, as they say:
AVC: You've continued to set your books in kind of a noirish
world. When you walk through real life, do you see the world
that way? In terms of dark shadows, shadowy figures and
things like that?
WG: I think there's quite a bit of that around. I don't much
live my life as if I was living in a Raymond Chandler novel,
which is probably a good thing. [Laughs.] But there are
moments when-depending on what neighborhood I'm in, or what
city I'm in, or what channel on television I'm watching-my
eyes get really wide and I go, "Chandler wasn't even close.
This shit is truly dire." We live in pretty extreme times.
Some pretty dark stuff.
I don't know what constitutes "noir" in 2007. I mean, would
The Wire be noir? I don't think so. Actually, noir-I was
taught in college-is a kind of baroque pop version of
literary naturalism. Anyway, that's the way some critics have
looked at it. I think that a show like The Wire is the
closest we come these days to naturalism. It's a genuine,
authentic attempt at naturalism. I've never really attempted
naturalism before, but I value it a lot, so all of its more
baroque forms have been very valuable to me. One of them, I
think, is noir.
I haven't thought about stuff like that since I was an
undergraduate. [Laughs.] I'm amazed I can still do it.
The interview can be found here:
http://www.avclub.com/content/interview/william_gibson/
Vince Keenan
http://www.VinceKeenan.com
Pop culture, past and present, high and low. One day at a
time.
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