Film Noir?

What is film noir?

Unfortunately and much to my demise, there is a not a clear cut answer to this. This is a difficult question because there are debates on how to categorize it. Technically, Corrigan (2009) understands genre as coming “from its root, meaning ‘kind.’ It is a category of classification of a group of movies in which the individual films share similar subject matter and similar ways of organizing the subject through narrative and stylistic patterns” (Corrigan 2009 p.332). So, if film noir has to have similar subject matter, and organization of narrative and style to be a genre, it has to have some sort of guidelines to follow. To further complicate this complex query, film noir usually means that they do not follow the previously establish film rules, like lighting or clear moral characters. Instead, an aspect of film noir is to be slightly avant garde with the production. From my perspective, there is usually an unique aspect that sets it apart from previous made films. So, how can film noir be a genre if there has to be a ‘broken-rule’ in it along with a similar organization of subject matter and stylistic patterns?


Stumped? Me too! On one hand, how can these movies be in a similar category when they include an innovative feature and develop a new format? If it is always changing, it cannot be placed in the same genre. However, how can film noir movies not be in a similar category? To better comprehend what I am talking about, I am making a phrase, ‘old Hollywood era film noir’ which specifically targets movies from the 1940s-1960’s, usually black and white, based around a violent act and some sort of investigation of the criminal. It was easy for me to make somewhat of a list of film noir movies that other genres do not cover. Yet, I am stumped with anything past the 1960’s. From there, I have a difficult time differentiating between film noir and just a bizarre avant garde film.


After much thought and weighing of the two sides of the argument, I do not have an answer. I wish it was a simple answer, but it is not because it is not a simple question! I would like to say that film noir is a genre with the old Hollywood era, yet it morphs into a new face which does not seem to be film noir. My conclusion is disappointing because I do not have much of a conclusion, just that film noir could be subjective and puzzling.