--- jacquesdebierue <
jacquesdebierue@yahoo.com> wrote:
> What do you mean by "screwed"? That there
is
> something wrong in the
> head with the character or that he ends up
screwed?
In the context of the conversation, it's dead, in prison or
insane.
> If it's the head
> thing, I can think of plenty of noir novels
where
> the character simply
> takes the wrong turn and is trapped. Jason
Starr's
> protagonist who
> always smells like fish (I forget his name) is
one
> of those.
His name is Mickey Prada and I'm working on an essay about
Starr as we speak. Again, we're extrapolating from a simple
statement from Jack and not a manifesto published in
Semiotics. Frankly, I think defining Hendricks, Abbott and
Starr as noir minimizes what they're actually up to. Ken
Bruen plays at being noir as a fashion, which is different
from Miami Purity's playing with the themes. One of the
aspects of Starr's work (I'm into my third Starr book at the
moment) that I really appreciate is that there's nothing
retro about it. The whole concept of neo-noir is nothing but
diddling with styles but I digress . . .
>
> So I have to register a protest against
this
> minimalist "screwed"
> definition of noir. It doesn't always
fit.
>
Of course it doesn't fit. How could it especially when you
throw Kafka and Body Heat into the equation? And for my
money, "Pretty Poison" is classic noir where
"Body Heat" is a false homage. But that's just me.
William
Essays and Ramblings
<http://www.williamahearn.com>
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