The Philosophy of Film Noir
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- $15.99
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
An essay collection examining the philosophical elements of select films in noir cinema, as well as the genre’s legacy in film and culture.
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.
Praise for The Philosophy of Film Noir
“The essays work both as solid primers into philosophy, stretching from Aristotle to Schopenhauer, and as lucid excursions into the genre’s dark, mean streets. . . . A fascinating, readable, and provocative book. . . . Highly recommended.” —Choice
“Dense and intriguing, the book suggests noir is best perceived as a slightly warped mirror held up to contemporary society.” —Publishers Weekly
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
When Nietzsche declared "God is dead," little did he know he was helping to launch a new cinematic genre characterized by shady characters and seamy plotlines involving fallen women, murder and betrayal. But noir is inevitably more than just stylish filmmaking or the marriage between American hard-boiled fiction and German expressionism, according to the philosophers, film historians and English professors who contributed to this book: film noir "challenged widespread assumptions about material and moral progress" and represents a "systematic deconstruction of the American Dream." Examining classic noir films and books by writers such as Albert Camus, Dashiell Hammett and James Cain, contributors discuss essence of film noir as reflecting a sense of disenchantment, "inversion of traditional values" and the "spiritual defeat of modernity." In her essay on The Maltese Falcon, Deborah Knight draws the distinction between the emotionally conflicted detective Sam Spade and his more detached predecessor, Sherlock Holmes. Philosophy professor Steven Sanders sifts through existentialist texts and classic noir films to find the meaning of life, while several contributors weigh in on themes of morality and Pulp Fiction gets a deep scholarly massage from Conard. Dense and intriguing, the book suggests noir is best perceived as a slightly warped mirror held up to contemporary society.
