Noir Films

Noir films were know for being dark, thematic, and having a disturbing visual style. The dim lighting and suspenseful scenes make for a dramatic movie that pulled the audience in, and became a classical in Hollywood cinema. It was first inspired visual style rooted from German expressionist cinematography. Noir films were well known for their drama, organized crime, sexual motivations, and cynical attitudes. Noir films, also known as melodramas, had complex characters and tested the relationship between women and the family. Much of the inspiration for noir films spurred from the crime and hardboiled times that arose during the great depression. 

Noir film brought about a new image for women. At the time, women were still known as the homemaker. Noir films painted a different picture of women, stereotyping them into two different stereotypes. There was the femme fatale, a woman or grows tired of being constricted in her marriage and will succumb to violence, if needed, to escape from her mundane lifestyle. Femme fatale was an exaggerated view of the idea men had of the new working women. Men felt threatened by the idea of women taking their place in the workforce. Femme fatale women were ambitious, independent, sexual, and sometimes malicious. Opposite of the femme fate character was the nurturing women, who made the femme fatale character look all the more evil. The nurturing woman is there to support the hero and challenge him into a domestic lifestyle. She deeply cares for the man, and always stands by him. Viewed as the homemaker, her character was overshadowed by the man. The characteristics of the nurturing woman were brought about by the sexist view men had of women in the 1940's. They were the ideal figure men thought women should fit. These characters were always passive, obedient, and gentle. We see these characteristics in films such as Out of the Past. Out of the Past portrays what society thought women should be and what they were becoming. These lifestyles were not the same of the values and beliefs upheld by Americans. Noir films contrasted with the nuclear family, where first came marriage, then children, and everyone lived happily ever after. In many of the noir films, only the corrupt were strong enough to survive. Other, less corrupt characters, such as the nurturing woman, were no match for the corrupted characters. As part of a character change, some women started out as the role of the nurturing woman and throughout the film they become involved in the crime. This is where we see a shift of characteristics from nurturing woman to feeme fatale. Noir films the stage for more dramatic and crime related films in America.