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RARA-AVIS: Noir/hardboiled
To add my two cents worth, (and that's about all the value it is compared
to comments already posted), I see "noir" and "hardboiled" as two
basically different forms, although they may at times overlap. "Noir" is
psychological, dependent on the character and personality of the
protagonists, rather than their actions, and is dark, brooding, tragic.
Even if the hero and heroine come out of the situation alive, they are
not unscarred, if only emotionally. My favourite "film noir" is _Gilda_,
which typifies the genre; another "film noir" classic, in my opinion, is
_Nightmare Alley_. My own feeling is that "noir" as a quality is best
applied to cinema, but does not readily fit the novel form. "Hardboiled"
in contrast represents the attitudes of the protagonists: men and women
who have lived and found that life is, indeed, "nasty, brutish, and
short". They are truly tough -- tough in spirit, ready to self-defend,
but not necessarily violent. They are people without illusions, either
about themselves or others. They see the world in black and white terms
and have decided that where Law cannot serve, Justice must be attained
through vigilantism. "Hardboiled" is a literary form that does not
really translate well to the screen where only too often it is
misinterpreted as mere action and fisticuffs. Spade in _The Maltese
Falcon_ is hardboiled, as is The Continental Op. Marlowe is hardboiled.
Mike Hammer is a travesty.
Here endeth the lecture for today.
David Skene-Melvin, quondam Senior Lecturer, (i.e., Assistant Professor),
in Popular Culture, who only too often forgets that he is not still in
the classroom.
P.S. Rara-Avis is the most intellectually challenging and stimulating
discussion group I have yet found. I am greatly impressed by the
contributions and commend Bill Denton for his creation.
DSM
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