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.

Wow I can't believe everything I just wrote disappeared, so I am starting over but will be a brief. The difference in the locations are in Leimert, things are done by the code of the streets. You have the gang violence, drug dealing and buying, turf wars, crooked cops, and all a sorts of crimes that can lead to murder. Carrying a gun is a way of life. Silcon Valley's market was high technology, that would lead to white collar crime. Greed is the motive in both cases also with a fed up wife in Silicon. Where ever the location murder is still murder. Sorry so short my time is up. I can't believe that I lost the other one. I had a lot to say and will say it in class.

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 culters 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 commited and murder, all with good people trying to do the right thing and survive the drama. Mostly Hispanics and African Americans fighting oneanother. John Hannible Cravitz also known as "Quick" appreared to have made something out of hisself 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 nesscessary. With the other charaters 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 coller 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 potenial 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. Steet crime or white collor crime location does not matter, Murder Is Murder.

Noir vs Neo-noir

After reading the article, "The Dark Past Keeps Returning: Gender Themes in Neo Noir" written by Heather Fireman. I see many similarities to noir. The mood is just about the same. "The noir style blends form and content; the dark side of human nature is reflected in the visually dark and menacing world that the noir characters inhabit" as mention in the article, and neo-noir seems to imitate classic noir. However, neo-noir uses the characteristics of noir in modern times, to express the anxieties of modern times (Fireman). Neo-noir exist in a post-modern frame of mind. It may be based on political views, current social commentary, or life as it exists in the present times. "Most noir is modernist and tries to find truth and make sense of a warped world. In post-modernism the world is too warped and incomprehensible, and our access is so flawed that we can not make sense of it"(Fireman). While film noir's genre was during the 1930's and 1940's, neo-noir cannot totally prevent using classic noir to express it's mood. "The language of noir is used to express anxieties belonging to modern times"(Fireman). The greatest distinction between the two appear to be the gender roles. WWII had an effect of noir gender characterization because the women were left at home and had to work to support the family that was left behind, this sort of took away from the family environment. When the war was over men were living in their proper roles as the bread winners and providers of the family. We see in neo-noir modern times, where women are more independent and aggressive. This changes the role of the protagonist, making the gender male or female and even both. The female protagonist seems to loose the femininity and sexuality, to becoming a hard, cold woman. The male protagonist may even be a little soft and more sensitive, loosing his true masculinity. The femme fatale role is still manipulative and seductive, however she has her own independence, making it hard for any man to provide what she needs besides sex. In neo-noir we have the aspect of color and reality, in a post-modern world with gender roles possibly reversed.

DOUBLE INDEMNITY, TRUE FILM NOIR

After reading the novel Double Indemnity, by James M. Cain and watching the majority of the 1944 film, based on the novel by Raymond Chandler and Billy Wilder, it proves to have all the the characteristics of Noir based on the handout titled "Primary Characteristics and Conventions of Film Noir". After reading the review by Lawrence Russell on the Internet, web address www.culturecourt.com his observation is in line with the handout and the definition of noir. According to Russell," It's in black and white, and it certainly had the pathology: a woman gets a man to commit her crimes on the promise of sex and big money". He also states "that the male dupe is betrayed and takes the fall for her crime".

The story takes place in Los Angeles with insurance agent Walter Huff trying to make a sale of auto insurance to Mr. Nirdlinger and he decides to make a house call. Once he gets in and discovers the man of the house is not home, he encounters the femme fatale of the story, Mrs. Phyllis Nirdlinger. This begins the entrapment and destruction of Walter by the fatal sexual manipulation that Phyllis portrays. Russell states, " that if the fate of the protagonist is revealed from the beginning, what's left to keep you watching?

 Noir seems to have the characteristic of the end of the novel or film starts at the beginning of the work product. This effect would make the reader or viewer want to know what is in between, especially when the murder has already taken place. How did it get to that point. Russel brings out a lot of good points in his review. "Within the modernist sets of the classic noir sex is primarily an act of self-destruction", suggested by Russell. " The actual murder is carried out like a play wherein Walter is both assassin and understudy. That Walter pretends to be the dead man complete with crutches and leg cast when he boards the train for Palo Alto is both a prophecy and a parody of his fate" states Russell. I liked the way he ended his review with the statement, "In the noir universe, there is no insurance for an agent who writes his own plans, it seems". This was a very good review, having seen the film and read the book it gave life and faces to the characters.