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The Philosophy of Film Noir - Paperback | Diverse Reads

The Philosophy of Film Noir

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A drifter with no name and no past, driven purely by desire, is convinced by a beautiful woman to murder her husband. A hard-drinking detective down on his luck becomes involved with a gang of criminals in pursuit of a priceless artifact. The stories are at once romantic, pessimistic, filled with anxiety and a sense of alienation, and they define the essence of film noir. Noir emerged as a prominent American film genre in the early 1940s, distinguishable by its use of unusual lighting, sinister plots, mysterious characters, and dark themes. From The Maltese Falcon (1941) to Touch of Evil (1958), films from this classic period reflect an atmosphere of corruption and social decay that attracted such accomplished directors as John Huston, Alfred Hitchcock, Billy Wilder, and Orson Welles. The Philosophy of Film Noir is the first volume to focus exclusively on the philosophical underpinnings of these iconic films. Drawing on the work of diverse thinkers, from the French existentialist Albert Camus to the Frankurt school theorists Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno, the volume connects film noir to the philosophical questions of a modern, often nihilistic, world. Opening with an examination of what constitutes noir cinema, the book interprets the philosophical elements consistently present in the films—themes such as moral ambiguity, reason versus passion, and pessimism. The contributors to the volume also argue that the essence and elements of noir have fundamentally influenced movies outside of the traditional noir period. Neo-noir films such as Pulp Fiction (1994), Fight Club (1999), and Memento (2000) have reintroduced the genre to a contemporary audience. As they assess the concepts present in individual films, the contributors also illuminate and explore the philosophical themes that surface in popular culture. A close examination of one of the most significant artistic movements of the twentieth century, The Philosophy of Film Noir reinvigorates an intellectual discussion at the intersection of popular culture and philosophy.

ISBN-13: 9780813191812

Media Type: Paperback

Publisher: University Press of Kentucky

Publication Date: 01-27-2005

Pages: 264

Product Dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

Age Range: 18 Years

Series: Philosophy of Popular Culture

Mark T. Conard is assistant professor of philosophy at Marymount College. He is the series editor of The Philosophy of Popular Culture series and the editor of numerous books, including The Philosophy of Film Noir, The Philosophy of Neo-Noir, and The Philosophy of Martin Scorsese. He lives in New York, New York.

Table of Contents

Foreword ix
Acknowledgments xv
Introduction 1
Part 1 The Essence and Elements of Noir
Nietzsche and the Meaning and Definition of Noir 7
A Darker Shade: Realism in Neo-Noir 23
Moral Clarity and Practical Reason in Film Noir 41
Cherchez la Femme Fatale: The Mother of Film Noir 49
From Sherlock Holmes to the Hard-Boiled Detective in Film Noir 69
Part 2 Existentialism and Nihilism in Film Noir
Film Noir and the Meaning of Life 91
The Horizon of Disenchantment: Film Noir, Camus, and the Vicissitudes of Descent 107
Symbolism, Meaning, and Nihilism in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction 125
Part 3 Six Classic Films Noirs
Film Noir and the Frankfurt School: America as Wasteland in Edgar Ulmer's Detour 139
Knowledge, Morality, and Tragedy in The Killers and Out of the Past 163
Moral Man in the Dark City: Film Noir, the Postwar Religious Revival, and The Accused 187
On Reason and Passion in The Maltese Falcon 207
Ride the Pink Horse: Money, Mischance, Murder, and the Monads of Film Noir 223
Contributors 239
Index 243