Module description
Film noir has long exerted a fascination on audiences, as well as on scholars. It has been described as a genre, a cycle, and a distinctive visual style in cinema. This module is particularly devoted to exploring: the archaeology and evolution of the concept of film noir and the complex historical and stylistic negotiations that have taken place within the 'genre' and the importance of trans-national exchange, particularly between Europe and America.
We will look at the antecedents of classic American noir in pre-war German Expressionism, French Poetic Realism, and the American gangster film. We will examine the coining of the term film noir in post-war France (in the process challenging some received ideas), the films' relationship to American society and culture, their distinctive use of black and white cinematography and narrative form, and preoccupation with crime. Across the module we will also be concerned with the films' depiction of 'masculinity in crisis', and the figure of the femme fatale.
Assessment details
Participation and in-class presentation (15%),
1 x 2000-word essay (25%),
1 x 3000-word essay (60%)
Educational aims & objectives
In this course we will examine in the detail the cycle of films frequently labelledfibn nair, focusing principally on the initial cycle of the 1940s and 1950s, and situating the production and reception of these films within broader, social, politica~ and cultural contexts and within the practices of the American film industry. Each week there will be a screening and readings in social, political, and cultural history, enabling us to examine the films in seminars in particular in relation to questions about narrative form, visual style, and themes about masculinity, the femme fatale figure, contiguous discourses about subjectivity, and disturbed or criminally excessive sexuality. Important here also will be the interaction between European visual and narrative traditions and Hollywood and the examination of recent so - called neo - noir. By the end of the course students should have further understanding of the complex relationships between films, genres, and historical contexts and should have developed their ability to critically analyse the form and content of particular films.
Teaching pattern
The module will be taught via ten 2.5 hour screenings, ten one-hour lectures and ten one-hour seminars.
Suggested reading list
Core course readings will be provided.