The Quest to Define Film Noir

Is film noir a distinctively American cinematic drama? Initially I was inclined to answer yes to this question, however as I took a deeper look at film noir over course of our “genre” unit, I now know a great deal more about the origins/history of this period in cinema. Thus, I think this definition needs to be adjusted in order to be more accurate. Instead, I would propose that film noir is an American style of cinematic drama as opposed to a genre. I think it would even be fair to argue that film noir is a subgenre but style still seems like a more accurate description. This is made evident by the wide range of films that fall under the label of film noir One example of this is Blade Runner, which is really more of a Sci-Fi that is stylistically film noir. Another example is Brick, which while it is a modern film noir, would also fall into the crime genre.

I do think that it is fair to define film noir as a distinctively American style of cinema since it started as a response to the disillusionment experienced by Americans after World War II (Schrader). They were tired of “feel good” films that presented an idealist image of life in America. Still, I think it is important to remember that, while film noir is an American style of cinema, it did not just emerge without any outside influences. Film noir was influenced by German Expressionist cinema, a style which moved away from realism by using images or montage in order to convey the internal (i.e. emotion and the human condition) rather that realistic portrayal. (Corrigan and White) This gave German Expressionist cinema a mythic quality; its emphasis was on telling a story in a symbolic manner in order to capture the emotions caused a real event or period in history. Thus, while the emotions conveyed are realistic, the images themselves usually are not.

Film noir also has this mythic quality; the narratives tend to be very dramatic and, at times, farfetched, but the purpose of film noir, the dark style, was more about capturing the cynicism and disenchantment that American’s were attempting to cope with.

Because of its origins, film noir may seem very culturally contextual. Thus, one might wonder why the style keeps coming back in modern films. One would guess that the subsequent generations have experienced similar feelings of disillusionment and cynicism. As a result, they also want films that more accurately represent their experiences.




Corrigan, Timothy, and Patricia White. Film Experience: An Introduction. Boston: Bedford/Saint Martin's, 2004

Schrader, Paul. "Notes on Film Noir." Film Genre Reader III. Ed. Barry Keith Grant. New York: University of Texas P, 2003.