Film Noir

If Film Noir was a person, I’d see them as someone who has their act together, they know what they’re about however they are low key. People don’t pay attention to them enough because they aren’t following the norm of happiness, as well they are being more realistic then dramatic. After reading Schraders Notes on Film Noir, I learned that film noir is not a genre but is defined by tone. I think it is interesting that this “tone” is called Film Noir for me for two reasons. The first is that Noir, like black, is a color and according to Schrader, a large majority of the recurring techniques of film noir has to do with lighting. The light it usually emphasized by darks and black. The mass of the scenes are lit for night, if the scene takes place inside, the lights are off. The actor’s faces are often in the shadow and their faces blacked out.  The setting usually gives off a dark, dismal feeling. The second reason is because the films have low spirits. They tend to associate violence, hard-boiled, evil, fear and bleakness. When someone says in French that they are in the noir, it means they are in a dark place in life.  Overall because of the time period of Noir Films as well as they way they are captured, the title Noir Films suits it perfectly.