Film Noir VS Neo-Noir, Post 6

     The most common element between film noir and neo-noir is the criminal element. Crime is very evident in, Emory Holmes II’s, Dangerous Days and Denise Hamilton’s Midnight in Silicon Alley short stories. Homles opens his story by describing an urban setting filled with characters that have a great chance to be exposed to violence on a daily basis. Hamilton on the other hand immediately places you on the scene of violence. The protagonists in both the neo-noir stories are not the most honorable men, similar to that of the anti-hero protagonist found in film noir. Holmes and Hamilton also give the impression that the setting to their stories are taking place at night in an urban setting with the criminal activity taking place, which again can be found in film noir. Another element is murder and a detective role, Homles’ detective role is given to his protagonist, trying to solve his friend’s murder, where as Hamilton’s protagonist is murdered before he can even figure out who set him up. There is however some notable differences between this type of new noir from the classic noir stories, for instance the narrator and time period.

     The biggest notable difference between the two noir styles would have to be the lack of a relationship between the protagonist and the reader. When reading Double Indemnity the reader could feel as if they are part of the story through the narrator unlike the neo-noir where the reader definitely feels they are just being told a story. Another difference is the time period of neo-noir which is evident and is more current versus film noir which seem to take place in the past. Neo-noir is a little more relevant than film noir. An intriguing element that is also noticeable was in Holmes’ story, which was a little more vulgar than Hamilton’s story a big difference from film noir, which has to do to censoring.

     The femme fatale is of course present in both the noirs the role in neo-noir is not as strong as a character those from film noir, kind of sad to not be able to see how manipulative she can be in neo-noir.

     Both types of noirs give the thrill and suspension which keeps the reader hooked however I seem to favor the old classic film noir. Letting the reader’s imagination run wild, which for some of us can be more thrilling. Neo-noir has a more relevant feeling due to the time period of story settings, but lays it all out there and does not let the reader come to conclusions. As far as the femme fatale role I would have loved to have also felt the growth of hatred towards her in neo-noir, her role was cut too short unlike film noir. Most of all I really enjoyed building a relationship with the protagonist reminding me that I’m human and capable of having the same feelings and motives he or she was able to act upon, making the story a more horrifying yet suspenseful experience of film noir.