Entry #5

Feb 16

Today we learned about Film Noir.

-French for 'black film'

-peaked between 1944-55

-originated from detective / femme fatale novels by Dashiell Hammett, Raymond CHandler, James Cain

-Themes: lost of moral certainty, cynical characters, reaction to current events

-Protagonist: unconventional hero; average, barely adequate, akin to a detective, loner, introverted, troubled, hard-boiled, pessimistic,

-Antagonist: femme fatale, seduces hero, deceiving 

-The Good Woman: contrasts femme-fatale; associated with home, nurturing

-Characteristics: hero is on quest, things are not what they seem, people change identities, frequent plot twists, first person voice over

-Noir World

-External: Dark, mean streets of the big city, interior settings: night clubs, cafes, police stations, underworld

-Internal: psychology of character's mind

Cinematography: hard look, like a tabloid newspaper, claustrophobic interior restricted by camera frame, night scenes, low key lighting, Chiaroscuro effect, experimental dutch angle and deep focus shots, bleak tones, grotesque, caricatured objects

-Iconography: telephones, voice recorders, newspapers, dark sidewalks, rain-drenched streetse, neon lights, carnivals, city as villain, casino/border of town, water/alcohol motif

-Plot

-Set Up: protagonist moral views, disagrees with status quo, manages to maintain integrity

-Conflict: drawn to situation by ambiguous motives, acts according to experience but without knowing everything, his flaws emerges through moral self-discovery in situations

-Resolution: Recognize defeat, defeat occurs due to character flaw

-Neo-noir: DIrty Harry, Blade Runner, Fatal Attraction, LA Confidential

With this in mind we split up into groups of 4 and briefly planned our Film Noir Assessment.

In this project each person will be assigned a role: Writer, Cameraperson, Sound Director, Editor. 

Cameraperson: Bernice

Sound Director: Medora

Editor: Andy

Writer: Myself

The first step was the writing portion, so I will have to write up a draft by next class. 

IB learner Profile:

Inquirer: Wondered what Film NOir is all about.

Knowledgeable: Explore concepts, ideas, and issues that have local and global significance; understanding across a broad and balanced range of disciplines.

Risk-Taker: Volunteered to be writer.

Caring: Considered what others wanted to do.