Jim wrote:
"By that logic, since many publishers use "noir" as a synonym
for
"hard-boiled," believing that "hard-boiled" is passe, but
"noir," with its evocation of European intellectualism,
sells, it follows that
"hard-boiled" and "noir" are interchangeable. Is that what
you think, or do you think that those who use the two terms
as interchageable marketing ploys are misusing them?"
Now you are twisting my argument. You were the one touting
the defining characteristics of a marketing term, Duhamel's.
I said:
"But then critics came along and wrestled the terms from
marketers and started drawing very fine distinctions between
punk and new wave, in retrospect . . ."
And I would say we do exactly the same in the case you
mention. As specialists, be we writers, critics or readers,
we wrestle the terms from the marketers and use the terms in
specialized ways, just as the jargon of scientists often has
very specific meanings for words, such as validity, that have
far looser meanings for the general public. For the general
public, noir and hardboiled are probably largely synonymous,
and it doesn't really matter for their level of interest. For
us, it does, so we wrestle the words from the marketers and
the public, then wrestle amongst ourselves over what the more
specialized meanings are.
"Primarily because the guess you're hazarding is wrong.
Gertrude Walker and Elizabeth Sanxay Holding were among the
early writers on the Serie Noir list."
I finally looked at the list. Over 60 books were published by
Serie Noir before one by Walker; Holding didn't make the
first 100. So for 60+ books, male-written was a common trait
of Noir books. So I guess itcomes down to at what point a
member of the noir Amish freeezes time and refuses to change
along with the culture.
Mark
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