Outline for the Presentation (100 Points)

I.                   Introduce your film and provide the premise of the film in three sentences or fewer.

The film I selected is The Dark Knight directed by Christopher Nolan. It is from the Batman series of films and deals with millionaire Bruce Wayne disguised as the caped crusader fighting crime in Gotham City. His nemesis in this film is a dangerous psychopathic killer called the Joker.

II.        Characteristics and Conventions of the Film that Link it to Classic Film Noir

1.      Revenge, quilt, anxiety of our protagonist which is driven by his past. He also has a sense of fatality as he is fighting for self survival.

A. The protagonist is mysterious and struggling to survive without self-destructing. Bruce Wayne states in the film Batman Begins, “do you have to become a monster to kill a monster”?

B. Bruce wants to support district attorney Harvey Dent, also known as the “white knight”, because he sees dent as the symbol of hope he could never be. This makes him desperate to get rid of the joker and regain a normal life.

C. The film is mostly shot at night on the streets symbolizing doom and a sense of no hope for the city. Because Batman operates in the night in most cases, the mob is afraid to come out after dark. Dark warehouses, dimly lit rooms and jail cells also give us a sense of film noir.

D.We also see a good female role in Rachel who is in love with both Bruce Wayne and Harvey Dent.

2.      The city is filled with crime and a sense of disillusionment provided by the mob, and the Joker which brings terror and destruction against a city already confused by the thought of Batman being an outlaw vigilante.

A.  The joker in an attempt to take over the city manipulates everyone, including the mob and the city to get to Batman, which leaves all in fear of their safety.

B.  The Bat suit and the voice that Bruce Wayne uses when he is batman is frightening to the citizens, and because of all the destruction and deaths he causes while fighting crime, there is a sense of mistrust. They feel the anxiety of terror and not knowing when this will all end.

III.       Elements of the Film that Deviate from Classic Film Noir and Link it to Neo Noir

1.      The film is shot in color without voice-over narration, and it is in tune with modern day times.

A.    Also some of the crime takes place in broad daylight. The film starts out with a daylight bank heist with a group of criminals in clown masks.

B.     Technology plays a part as the gang members swing through the air from one building to get to the bank, using gadgets and special equipment to accomplish their mission. This also shows us the trend of neo-noir.

2.      There are gender role changes, no traditional femme fatale.

A. The Joker is the villain or nemesis manipulating and plotting throughout the film to get what he is after. In the film he states, “I want to bring a better breed of criminal to Gotham City”.

             B. The Joker is ruthless, and has no problem killing. Anxiety and desperation spreads to the mob, fearing batman, they make a deal with the joker to get rid of him. The Joker vows to kill one person a day until Batman reveals himself and the killing begins with top officials.

C. The city and police officers are feeling anger, and fear from this terrorist. The Joker double-crosses the mob, he show them a huge pile of money, from the floor to the ceiling and uses gasoline and a match to burn the money. He tells the mob boss in the film, “I’m a guy of simple taste; I enjoy gunpowder, dynamite, and gasoline. It’s not about the money it’s about a message, everything burns” This is definitely a new breed of criminal.

            D.  In film noir it was usually about the money or a woman, the joker does it for fun and excitement, a product of neo-noir.

            E.  Crime does pay and we see this when District attorney Harvey Dent goes on his vengeful killing spree, and the commissioner covers up his crimes and he dies a hero. Also Batman gets away to fight another day after the death and destruction he caused as a vigilante.

Quotes from Outside Sources (These may be inserted anywhere in the outline)

Source One:

Context:  Provide a signal phrase that includes the title of the source and the author:	Quote from the Source: Be sure to include the page number	Significance: How does this quote relate to the topic of your essay?
Bruce Wayne States in the film Batman Begins	“Do you have to become a monster to kill a monster?”	It relates to film noir, the protagonist ponders as he sees his humane compassionate side being compromised because of his actions to capture the Joker.

Source Two:

Context: Provide a signal phrase that includes the title of the source and the author:	Quote from the Source: Be sure to include the page number	Significance: How does this quote relate to the topic of your essay?
Alan K. Rhode the writer of the article What is Neo-Noir states:	“Not a movement and less than a genre, neo-noir is a trend of modern filmmaking that incorporates classic film noir elements into post classic periods”.	This fits in with neo-noir, updating the way crime and criminals behave in current times after post 9/11 terrorism.

Context:  Discuss the background situation regarding the film clip:	Provide a brief description of the scene you are showing:	Significance: How does this clip demonstrate conventions or characteristics of noir or neo-noir?

Summaries of My Sources for The Dark Knight

BAUM, BRUCE. New Political Science, Jun2009, Vol. 31 Issue 2, p267-269, 3p.

            Ebscohost Database: Academic Search Premier, May 6, 2011

Film Review: The Dark Knight

            This source is reviewing the film The Dark Knight. It starts out giving us information regarding the director, cast and makers of the film. It describes how and why the film was so successful. It also compares the superhero Batman, to other superheroes such as, Iron Man and Hancock, which were made into films as well. It brings into play as said by Warner Brothers executives, “the films gloom fits the nations mood and is a vivid allegory for our post 9/11 political economic moment of financial crisis”. The review also gives a good characterization of the late Heath Ledger’s role as the Joker and how his performance was instrumental in making the film a success.

LEUPP, THOMAS, Http://tleupp@reelzchannel.com,May 6, 2011.

Review of The Dark Knight

            Mr. Leupp uses his review to make comparisons of previous and futures Batman films directed by Christopher Nolan. He feels that “the dreadful late 90’s Batman flicks left a bitter taste”. He suggests that the “2005 film Batman Begins, successfully erased the taste and left Nolan free to unleash his full arsenal of filmmaking weapons”. He comments on the fact that Batman Forever transformed the character Harvey Dent into the villain Two-Face, and does not feel he is a bigger threat than the Joker.

Legel, Laremy, http://www.film.com/movies/review-the-dark-knight-is-exceptional, May  2011                                                                                                                                             .

Review The Dark Night is Exceptional

            Laremy Legel starts his review with praising Christopher Nolan for his work of The Dark Knight. He states, “that grading a film like The Dark Knight, is tough because it’s immediately clear that Nolan is much, much smarter than your average filmmaker”. The review evaluates the complexity and terror of this film, and how people are judging the film. According to Legel, “Nolan is tackling the social issues of our day and he is doing it with a bat suit”. 

Dreyer, Randolph. Perspectives in Psychiatric Care, Jan2009, Vol. 45 Issue 1, p80-81,

            2p, Ebscohost Database: Academic Search Premier, May 6, 2011.

Clap if you believe in Batman The Dark Knight

            Dreyer seems to take a psychiatric point of view about the film. He starts his article with the scene that has the late Heath Ledger, aka the Joker dressed in and old fashion nurse's uniform and the effect it would have on today’s nurses. He states, “He looks a little like Nurse Ratched, who terrorizes her patients in 1975’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”. He feels that the audience is in anguish due to a fiendish villain figure. He talks about what is new and different in this Joker’s character and some of the similarities of the others. He sees “Batman discovering a newfound hope for humanity, but the joker stills the show”. His focus is on the villain the Joker. 

http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/thedarkknight, May 6, 2011.

The Dark Knight

            This web site is where all the stats and figures are about the movie. It details the gross amount of money the film made domestically, worldwide, and total lifetime. It also gives information about who the players were, such as the director, writers, actors, producers, cinematographers, and composers of the soundtrack. It also discusses awards and ranks. There are many related stories and links about this film on this site.

           

Proposal of The Dark Knight for Research Paper

The movie I chose for my research paper is The Dark Knight. “Hollywood movies often reflect their historical moments in intriguing ways.The latest Batman movie,the Dark Knight (2008), directed by Christopher Nolan,is a striking example of this. In telling ways it gives us a hero and an anti-hero for our time, that is, a superhero and villain (or villains) who embody current political and economic contradictions. Featuring Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman and the late Heath Ledger as his nemesis, the Joker, the movie was by far the most successful of a series of Hollywood blockbuster movies last summer featuring male superheroes (including Iron Man, with Robert Downey Jr., and  Hancock, starring Will Smith); and it was probably the most visible Hollywood film of the year. With a production budget of $185 million, it grossed a record $314 million in tickets domestically in its first ten days of release. By mid-February 2009 it grossed more than $532 million in the US and nearly a trillion dollars ($999 million) worldwide”, according to Boxofficemojo.com.

This film is neo-noir at its finest. Batman is trying to get out of the spotlight as the city’s savior because of what he has become and what he has to encounter to save the city. He wants a normal life with the love of his life, Rachel. His daily routine almost always causes havoc, chaos, and destruction for the people of Gotham. The film is in color and in current times, unlike classic noir. Also we see gender changes in our manipulator and we have a good female role model. The detective figures are still in place, however, things get political. We still have deception, anxiety, mystery, and murder. Nothing is what it seems. A good film for the neo-noir genre. The sources that I will be using in my paper are; 

Baum, Bruce new Political Science,Volume 31, Number 2, June 2009, print. 

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page¼main&id¼darkknight.htm. 

Dreyer, Randolph, MFA, Clap If You Believe in Batman,80 Perspectives in pyschiatric Care Vol. 45, No. 1, January 2009, print. 

The Dark Knight. Dir. Christopher Nolan. Perf. Christian Bale, HeathLedger, Michael Cain, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, MorganFreeman and Gary Oldman. Warner Bros. Pictures, 2008. http://www.thedarkknightWarnerBros.com/dvd.  

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_dark_knight/

Best Neo-noir Story

The Girl Who Kissed Barnaby Jones, Pacific Palisades, written by, Scott Phillips is a perfect example of neo-noir. The ambiguous protagonist Tate, being lured in by the femme fatale Cherie, to manipulate him into a murder plot. Even going so far as to lock him in by having sex with him before she exposes her plan. Neo-noir seems to have some different characteristics then classic noir. The protagonist in some cases fight back once they see the trap they are in. Then to make it more interesting, the plan and even new plans due to the circumstances are carried out and the characters get away with the evil.

What You See, Westchester, written by Diana Wagman seems like a weird horror movie with really no plot. The protagonist seems true to the description, he's lost his mother, one friend, and some one he works for. He meets a nice girl that he can't get off of his mind and explores ways to get next to her, even fantasizes. Once he is on an assignment and just so happens to meet his lady friend and she agrees to spend some time with him, insisting that her friend accompanies them, all hell breaks loose and the story to me does not make any sense at that point. This would be in my opinion the most difficult story to classify as neo-nor.

Two Worlds Apart

The stories in Los Angeles noir, are located in two very different settings. The Kidnapper Bell, Los Angeles River, written by Jim pascoe, definitely gives an accurate description of the area. The way the Los Angeles river is shallow going into downtown on its way to the ocean.(209) The description of the walk past the buildings, which look like old warehouses or abandoned buildings. The flat edge of the riverbed, several feet away from the small swash of water tracing the center of the channel. (213) How you can here the water flowing and churning fast. (215) I could picture myself there on the scene. Very descriptive.

City of Commerce, Commerce, written by Neal Pollack did a very good job as well at describing the location. The freeways you needed to connect to get to the location. The once location full of factories that made things, was now like anywhere else, it's the outlet malls and truck-stop Arby's, pathetic little trees dwarfed by ten-foot freeway sound walls. (231-232) The description of the wanna be Vegas casino. I could feel myself driving down the freeways both familiar to me. These two locations are both in Los Angeles county, but they are worlds apart.

Secrets Can Cause Death.

Both of these stories were interesting in regards to the charaters and their stories. The areas provided suggested wealth and prestise with the people living in them. Even though, this was not always the case. Also secrets, and with secrets come lies and cover ups. I would reccommend "The Method" by Janet Fitch, located in Los Feliz to a friend. This story made you wonder until just about the end of it what was really going on. Richard aka Anthony Karras was very mysterious and a smooth man with a dark side that you could not put your finger on. Holly new something was not right from the minute she saw him. Yet as her curiosity rose to figure him out, as well as mine kept me wanting to read and see what his real agenda was. Fitch kept you wondering, was it theft, when and who was going to be murdered ( since this is neo-noir and death is a component) and what was the motive. We see a gender change as Richard assumes the male version of the femme fatale role. I liked this story better also because of the twist at the end when Holly discovered she was being manipulated. She did not take it well at all. I like mystery's like this, it makes you want to keep reading until you find out what the plot is really about. "Morocco Junction 90210" written by Pat Morrison located in Beverly Hill started out giving you a part of the plot with the information about the robberies. Even though it turned out Eloise's death was suicide and had nothing to do with the robberies, the indications of the plot were revealed as the story went along. Eloise had her own secrets and Minerva interest in intelligence gathering would reveal the true story. It was a good story, but I liked Fitch's better.

The noir world of Los Angeles (Spell Check Revised)

The noir world of Los Angeles

First of all the locations in both short stories I am very familiar with. I was raised on the southwest side of Los Angeles and lived there until 1995. I pass Leimert Park every time I am in Los Angeles, which is often as my parents and friends still live there. I occasionally still patronize a bakery in Arcadia. For me this area is a small world, with even smaller cultures in the various areas.

Leimert Park, View park, Inglewood, and closely surrounding areas will have the some of the same types of people, with the same type of mentality, street wise. This is a land of gang violence, drug dealers and users. Turf wars, crimes committed and murder, all with good people trying to do the right thing and survive the drama. Mostly Hispanics and African Americans fighting one another. John Hannible Cravitz also known as "Quick" appeared to have made something out of himself since View Park is one of the better neighborhoods, and his successful business. His relationship with Detective Yippie Calzone was a true friendship even though they were both flexible when it came to Justice if necessary. With the other characters all willing to let greed get the best of them, let the street way of life lead them to destruction. It is common for guns to be concealed and used in this area. It is a way of the life on the streets. Even the people who are law abiding citizens choose to carry a gun just for protection. This has been the way of life since I can remember in this area. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of professional people living very good lives still in Los Angeles, but also a lot of them have gotten out of the street mindset and left the area. Street smarts never really leave you though!

Midnight in Silicon Alley, white collar crime with one of the usual twist at it's best. This area is a high rent district, filled with professionals and successful people. Chen had a very hot commodity sold to businesses,corporations and even government agencies. The funny part, both markets have the potential to make the same type of money. Chen's product came with less risk with the cost of doing business, or did it? There was still murder in both. Greed played a part as well, although we had another factor. A fed up wife. I knew it was one of his women, but I thought it was his mistress Yashi. The wife Leila had a very well thought out calculated plan down to the time. Street crime or white collar crime location does not matter, Murder Is Murder.