American Politics & Pop Culture

1.)I believe that Film noir is not a genre, which is often characterized as a category of films that have similar attributes that have lasting appeal to the mass audience, genres that have had been historically successful are the western, the romantic comedy and the musical. I believe that film noir is a style that has a short life of interest and has distinct style. This style has many features that make it distinctive to other styles. These films also serve as a dialogue as discussed in class describes but the importance of this dialogue seems over emphasized during the in class discussion. The dialogue is another part of the style that has a specific significance at the time, in the case of film noir the film industry was at a downtime for the first time in its history and the economic , The relevance of the style could be used later in the history of film as a throwback to the emotion of the time. Film noirs dialogue was used in conjuncture of the science fiction style in the eighties in the film Bladerunner, the darkness and fear of the unknown is used to intensify the theme of the story. Because it is a style it can be disassembled and used in pieces while a genre is so self contained that it can not be broken down.
2.) Film noir found its roots in German expressionist films and the majority of films where created by Billy Wilder who was an Austrian born man. In film noir there is a darkness which seems to indicate a sense of fear and danger lurking at the corners of the universe for the characters in these films even in airy rooms of the film there is a darkness that is unsettling, the living room scene where the main characters first meet is a perfect example of this, the room is big but still have a darkness that is accentuated by light streaming in through the venetian blinds giving the room a patchy darkness that washes out a good deal of the rooms features making them more foreboding. The style also uses light to intensify the impact of this darkness the world is a bitter and dangerous place and main characters all seem to have lily white skin which is often a signifier for innocence in films of this period but in film noir it is a deceptive shade that against the darkness surrounding it seems to almost show only an outline of the individuals making them seem less human in a way.
3.) The subservient nature of African American individuals are once again deeply rooted in their portrayal in this film. The representation of the African American seems to be completely content with whatever white person says. The social environment of the time facilitated a lot of accepted racism, however resistance to this was beginning to arise, wide released images like the subservient car polisher instilled that black individuals liked their place in the world thus attempting to pacify and persuade the mass audience.
4.) The character of Phyllis is a quintessential embodiment of the femme fatal because of her willingness to use her sexuality and the promise of love to manipulate a man to act out of character for personal gain. The depiction of woman as femme fatal characters is extremely hurtful for woman especially at this time, woman had a lot of independence from being in the workforce during the war and this seems to tie a link between female independence and irrational thought. This woman wanted out of her marriage which would increase her independence, this desire caused her to use her “special powers� over men to get what she wanted showing a lack in reasonable thought, even if not a lake in ability to concoct a plan to kill a man. This “special power� is rooted in women’s ability to play on the weaknesses of men in direct relation to what she has to offer which is the mindset of every good leader whether it be a political of economic leader, which shows a position of power, through the appropriate assessment of a situation and its possibilities.