Towards a Definition of Film Noir

In Towards a Definition of Film Noir, an excerpt from the book Panorama du Film Noir Américain, authors Raymond Borde and Ètienne Chaumeton analyze the various concepts of Film Noir. They use examples from multiple films to attempt to define the Noir style.

"The noir film is black for us, that is, specifically for the Western and American moviegoers of the 1950s. It exists in response to a certain mood at large in this particular time and place" (Borde and Chaumeton 19). In large, film noir became a genre as a response to the troubles in society during the wake of the Great Depression. Audiences were more interested in darker, realistic stories as opposed to the typical melodramas with happy endings.

Authors Borde and Chaumeton believe that there is a common theme in noir films: "It is the presence of crime which gives film noir its most constant characteristic" (Borde and Chaumeton 19). Crime is always the focal point. A grueling journey where characters can live and die at the drop of a hat. "Blackmail, accusation, theft or drug trafficking set the stage for a narrative where life and death are at stake."

Morality in noir films commonly follows a more pessimistic worldview. "The narrative is manipulated so that at times the moviegoer sympathizes, identifies with the criminals" (Borde and Chaumeton 21). Police featured in this genre are most likely corrupt and criminals are viewed with empathy. The protagonist of the film tends to follow a distorted sense of morals. Generally a private detective, a antihero, who achieves his goals by any means necessary. He often creates his own problems and is willing to make sacrifices mostly for the wrong reasons.

The a victim in a noir film, may not truly be helpless as they seem. "There is ambiguity, too, with regard to the victims, who usually are under some suspicion as well" (Borde and Chaumeton 22). Victims only by circumstance, they are more