Shadows, Sex, and Suspence

Noir was a style of film that became popular in the 1940s and 50s. Most directors stopped producing this genre in the late 1950s, but you can still find examples of it in modern TV shows and cinema.

What is noir, you may ask? Well, the best way I can think to describe this style is the three “S’s,” Shadows, Sex, and Suspense. Lighting is a big part of the noir genre. The use of shadows and ominous lighting, really allow the viewer to become engrossed in the suspenseful scene at hand. There is also a great deal of either underlying tones of sexual tension or abrupt and upfront appearances of sexualized characters in noir films. These scenes are usually accompanied by noir style music, which is typically some version of smooth jazz.

I’m honestly really excited that our class is going to be based around this theme. It is racy, mysterious, and overall highly entertaining.

I have posted a youtube video that complies the top ten “greatest noir films” of all time below, in case you are still confused as to what this genre is really composed of:

 

Reflecting on week one of class:

For the most part, I already had half the assignments done. I already had a twitter and UMW blog. I already knew how to set up an avatar and how to work flickr. It was just a matter of making them appropriate to use for this class. I really enjoyed making a youtube video (see post below) as an introduction to the class. I had made a film in imovie previously for another class, so I knew how much time it was going to take, but I felt it was worth the extra effort because what better way to reflect upon what type of person I am than showing you. I’m looking forward to projects this semester and seeing what other students in the class come up with. The only thing I am slightly worried about is keeping up on Twitter and commenting on the UMW blogs. I’ve never really gotten use to Twitter and am still slow at keeping up with the way the site is set up, so that is definitely something I am going to have to work hard on this semester. As for commenting and keeping up with assignments, a previous ds106 student gave me some advice and told me to set an alarm on my phone to remind myself to check the blogs and videos for the upcoming weeks.

As of now I am still optimistic about the upcoming semester’s workload and can’t wait to get started.