Film noir indépendant Study

1. FILM NOIR
HannahWicks

2. Aesthetic conventions
Film noir has a very distinct style, it represents the oppression people felt between 1935 and 1945 after the
second world war.The shots used gloomy grays with blacks and white, these colors signified the mood of
America and the comeback it was facing after the second world war took its toll.The dark color's showed the
morally corrupt themes and characters , it was symbolism for the inhumane nature the character of film noir
possessed.
Visually film noir films was branded by the expressionistic lighting, juxtaposing elements, shadows, deep focus,
skewed camera angles and gloomy appearances. These all signified for the audience the isolation of the time
period and the struggles people were facing. Society was broken from the war and film noir was a symbolic
feature in the great battle America was going to face in order to heal the wounds of war.
One of the most recognizable features of Film Noir is the low key lighting causing a disorientation of the action
happening on screen, for example the use of shadows and darkness emphasizes the coldness of the characters in
film noir. An example of shadows use would beThe Stranger on the third floor, with the shadows recreating how
the characters may be not what they seem on the inside. The shadows show how they are distorted and take
monster like characteristics.
In film noir the most basic lighting uses strong key lighting and back light, fill light is not a prominent feature in
film noir lighting as the production team wants to exaggerate and show the true contrast. In order to achieve the
true film noir style hard lights are generally used.The hardness or softness of the very important shadows is
created by the harshness of the light, harsh, bold lighting leaves harsh edges on the shadow's which is created by
a single source of light, an example of this would be a bare halogen bulb. Severe shadows are often used in pairs
with morally corrupt characters where as soft shadows will be used with characters that often play the victim.
Softer lighting creates fuzzy shadows and are created using a larger point of light where the light is being
scattered and is not specific to one concise area.

3. Here we can see the
antagonist, this can be told by
the use of fuzzy shadows
which highlight that he is the
victim.This lighting is non
diegetic and would have been
from a light source with the
light rays spread out create
and almost fuzzy like effect.
The audience does not focus
on this shadows as it has an
effect of blurring almost into
the background.
The protagonist is shown
here through the use of
harsh shadows
highlighting his morally
corrupt character.The
harsh edges of the shadow
show the cruel and
meanness of his character.
The harsh edges of this
shadow stem from a single
light source which enables
it create clean cut lines.
The Stranger on the third floor, 1940
The positioning of the
characters is very
important as we can see
the antagonist looking
down upon the
protagonist while
illustrates to the
audience that he is of
higher moral grounding
The protagonist is looking past the
antagonist which suggest he is
looking past his morality, also he is
not looking upwards which
heightens this point.

4. MEN ANDWOMEN

5. Gender roles:Women
■ In film noir we are introduced to two different types of females, the femme
fatale and the innocent victim.These key characters portray very different
personas, the dark, sexual and dangerous characteristics of the femme fatale
and the maternal natural instincts of the innocent victim who's beauty is seen
as sweet rather than sexual. The two different types of female characters in
film noir showed how traditional family values were being challenged during
this time.This functions as a turning point in the traditional ideology in
society.
■ Contextually in this time society saw the only relationship to have acceptable
sexual life was marriage as the traditional however the out dated idea that sex
was only for reproduction and marriage went hand in hand with this. Married
couples were rarely represented in a sexual manner or erotized in any other
way.With reproduction follows the bringing up of children which mostly fell
on the women, the innocent victim in film noir shows natural maternal
instincts were as the femme fatale does not have this inner instinct and is not
seen in a caring manner. From a feminist point of view this ideology further
legitimizes the traditional view that the women is the lesser of a man as the
man is typically seen as the head of the family.This further highlights the
hierarchical and authority that men possessed over women in society.

6. Gender roles: Men
■ The male protagonist: In film noir the male protagonist is often a
detective, policemen or another socially alienated individual. As they
are seen as the heroes in film noir there jobs often reflect this, for
example a detective or policemen reflects the goodness in their
characters which directly contrasts towards the villains in film noir. It is
not rare fro the male protagonist to be featured as a amnesiac, this
creates a feeling of estrangement and disillusionment.
■ The environments they work in are often dark and lonely places, with
examples such as red-light districts or large office buildings that
resemble no human nature and the hard, grey exterior reflects the
aesthetics of film noir.The large buildings can often highlight how
small the protagonist can feel.
■ Alike the women, the men are also shown in true stereotype form,
they are not allowed to live their lives in different ways other than
what society deems appropriate for a man.The chain in society shows
a set of unwritten rules that men are expected to uphold, for example
keeping women in their place, to not show emotion to ensure they
appear tough and strong.To be emotional is to be seen feminine. A life
outside these unwritten rules alienates the man from the world as his
life decisions are not accepted by others.

7. I wake up screaming
■ In this early film noir movie, 1941, Carol Landis plays an aspiring
model. She was strangled to her death before she leaves for
Hollywood, her recently fired agent is accused of the crime. Although
innocent he is still mercilessly interrogated by corrupt cops.
■ It is said that ‘I wake up screaming’ is an example of one of the
greatest femme fatale films.This film is an insight to the the
difference between men and women in this age. It shows how a
women in the 1940s could aspire to nothing more than being a model,
a job that is solely based around their looks rather than intelligence. It
also shows the corrupt cops being vindictive and cruel yet showing no
emotion which is an unwritten role for society at this time as to show
emotions show femininity and weakness.
■ Between 13-15 minutes into the film the audience can see the
dynamics between men and women in film noir. How the camera is
tilted down when focusing on a female character yet when the camera
focuses on a male character it is tilted up, this shows the patriarchal
society and how a woman always answered to a man.This also shows
the male dominance and power in this time. How the female
character, Carol Landis, looks down when her husband is talking to her
is striking to the audience as it is almost as though an adult is telling
off a child, highlighting the male dominance in this era. By looking
down this makes the female character look small and shameful as
though she has done something so wrong she cannot look at him

8. Conclusion
■ What could we use in our own thriller film?
■ Low, shadowed camera angles that are iconic in film noir.
■ Light shining upon on the protagonist to highlight their good nature
■ Antagonist hiding in the shadows showing their dark nature and low morals
■ Bleak costumes
■ Women and men in typical stereotype roles