Exploring Noir

This week, a task of mine was to learn about “Noir”. I learned about noir through several different sources. To start my journey of learning about noir, I read Notes on Film Noir by Paul Schrader. I learned A LOT. I knew nothing about noir before I started this class. “Film noir is French expression for black film.” That doesn’t mean that noir has to be a film like a movie though. After reading Paul Schrader’s article, I read, “This is Where I came in” which taught me a bit more about the background of film noir. Film noir is not a genre, but a specific period of film history. Noir is mainly from the forties and fifties.

After reading a few more articles, I decided to watch a couple of old films! I watched Bugs Bunny and  Courageous Cat and the Case of the Cat Cave Treasure.

I loved watching Bugs Bunny! I used to watch some episodes with my dad growing up! This brought back good memories and brought a smile to my face.

I never watched Courageous Cat growing up, but I enjoyed it! I also really enjoyed the music.

In order to understand noir even better in different ways, I read more articles and listened to a podcast! I read “Nightmare Town” by Dashiell Hammett. I also listened to the Moon Graffiti podcast, The Debate (a welcome to nightvale podcast), and the Ghost Hunt suspense episode.

One of our tasks was to find our own example of noir, so I explored the internet and found this photograph.

To me, this photo by Rob Owen represents Noir because it is showing a woman who is looking through the blinds from the inside of a building. I am sure that she has many thoughts running through her mind. Thoughts of darkness and despair, she may have thoughts of hope. The look on her face shows that she is distressed, but still maybe in a way optimistic.