I finally read the Rafferty article. I must say that I agree
with him
about the moribund state of the hardboiled private eye novel.
Sure,
there are a number of series I keep up with, but it is
generally a
ritual offering diminished returns. It is much like the state
of blues
music, or rock 'n' roll for that matter. There are still
plenty of
people toiling away within the genres, but it is largely an
archival
pursuit. Each of these genres has very well-defined rules
and
expectations which must be met by any practitioners. Even
when a new
rising star comes along, they are judged by how well they
measure up to
the masters. The highest compliment is always a positive
comparison
with one of those forebears, such as, "They reminded me of
the first
time I read Chandler." You used to see this on the book
jacket of
every new private eye writer--"In the tradition of Hammett,
Chandler and
MacDonald." Perhaps it's a comment on just how much the genre
has
fallen that I cannot remember the last time I saw that on a
jacket.
Instead they are damned with faint praise as they are
compared to
Parker's Spencer.
Years ago, John Cawelti wrote an article called, "Chinatown
and Generic
Transformation in Recent American Films." Cawelti discussed
how genres
change when they endure past their native time, into an era
not quite as
sympathetic toward their ethos. He broke the transformations
into four
catagories: burlesque, nostalgia, demythologizing and,
finally, the
affirmation of the myth for its own sake. This last can
probably best
be described by a quote from a newpaperman in the film "The
Man Who Shot
Liberty Valance." He said, "When the legend becomes fact,
print the
legend."
Obviously, there are few that lie wholly within just one of
these
categories (we could probably have some fun debating who
belongs where).
Most use a bit of each. Still, I think far too many of the
current
private eye writers have chosen the last approach, that of
propping up
an empty myth. The hollow core at the center of this stance
becomes
more evident with each new book in one of their series.
Personally, I think a far more interesting, and possibly
more
productive, tack lies in the demythologizing school. It is
only by
questioning the myth that it can be determined which parts of
it are
outmoded and which are still useful. It is only then that it
can begin
to evolve into a mythos more suited to our times. Many the
most fit
survive.
To be continued,
Mark
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