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in original film noir, the hero was typically an anti-hero, a new man who must reject traditional values of black and white good and evil for a greyer world of justice and revenge. these films were seen as the 40's rejection of society, and the overwhelming feeling of being "trapped" in a societal web that doesn't believe as you do. Along with this, there was the rejection of the typical female figure, (ie: the frail flower, the wholesome madonna figure) and by extension i believe, the abandonment of the traditional mother figure, in favor of a different form of female nuturing, the manipulative, evil femme fatale.
in the 80's there was a slight stylistic resurgence of this type of film, known as the neo-noir, resulting in a number of dark, anti-hero styled movies (like Blade Runner and the like) but in this group of films, the rejection was not of societal values, but simply a rejection of the concept that you yourself are uncorruptable. in fact, in these movies, it became increasingly more apparant that we ourselves are the enemy and the hero, both the forces of good and evil, god and the devil, and are ultimately responsible and somehow not responsible for our own damnation, and in the end, our own salvation. In this new series of films, (which died out for a while but have had a recent resurgence due to the considerable influence of David Lynch) among which I include Total Recall, Lost Highway, Dark City, The Matrix, Fight Club, Memento, all seem to draw thier roots from Oedepis Rex, which has at its roots, the idea of the rejection of the father, which (as is so aptly illlustrated by Tyler's observations) leads to an ultimate rejection of the gods. In Oedepis, the hero is rejected by the gods, cursed from birth, struggling against a destiny that he can not help but fufill. His ultimate downfall ends in madness, as a punishement for his rejection of destiny, for attempting to thwart the ineffable will of god. In the neo-nior, this rejection, this transformation is NOT undergone by the hero as much as it is by the audience. the viewer is generally given some hint of the destruction, and although he struggles to stop it, and indeed, as the film progresses, it appears that the plot deviates from the hinted destiny, only to be revisited at the end in the form of a shocking or suprising twist that brings all in line. The end result is an attempt to create a doubt in the viewer of thier place in reality. To call into question the fabric of the psyche, the very foundation of reality.
So, what are we to glean from this? Why has the neo-noir resurface at this time, to be embraced as a new kind of film that intends to speak for the children of the Baby Boomers? I think it is simply because of the inherent alienation that "Generation X" feels when growing up in the shadow of such a clearly defined and determined generation, one that felt like it was going to tear down the established society and set up a new set of norms. As the boomers grew older, their utopian ideals tarnished, and they began to pursue goals more in line with thier fathers. Seeing the rebellion and ultimate compromise of their fathers, the X-ers have seen thier parental figures, thier authorities abandon thier ideals. It is like the gods have abandoned a world they created. In this light, the X-ers have embraced this style as a sign of thier discontent at having to grow and see the fabric of theiir world, their expectations, altered from thier original intent, to serve a past which they have been raised to see as flawed.
in the 80's there was a slight stylistic resurgence of this type of film, known as the neo-noir, resulting in a number of dark, anti-hero styled movies (like Blade Runner and the like) but in this group of films, the rejection was not of societal values, but simply a rejection of the concept that you yourself are uncorruptable. in fact, in these movies, it became increasingly more apparant that we ourselves are the enemy and the hero, both the forces of good and evil, god and the devil, and are ultimately responsible and somehow not responsible for our own damnation, and in the end, our own salvation. In this new series of films, (which died out for a while but have had a recent resurgence due to the considerable influence of David Lynch) among which I include Total Recall, Lost Highway, Dark City, The Matrix, Fight Club, Memento, all seem to draw thier roots from Oedepis Rex, which has at its roots, the idea of the rejection of the father, which (as is so aptly illlustrated by Tyler's observations) leads to an ultimate rejection of the gods. In Oedepis, the hero is rejected by the gods, cursed from birth, struggling against a destiny that he can not help but fufill. His ultimate downfall ends in madness, as a punishement for his rejection of destiny, for attempting to thwart the ineffable will of god. In the neo-nior, this rejection, this transformation is NOT undergone by the hero as much as it is by the audience. the viewer is generally given some hint of the destruction, and although he struggles to stop it, and indeed, as the film progresses, it appears that the plot deviates from the hinted destiny, only to be revisited at the end in the form of a shocking or suprising twist that brings all in line. The end result is an attempt to create a doubt in the viewer of thier place in reality. To call into question the fabric of the psyche, the very foundation of reality.
So, what are we to glean from this? Why has the neo-noir resurface at this time, to be embraced as a new kind of film that intends to speak for the children of the Baby Boomers? I think it is simply because of the inherent alienation that "Generation X" feels when growing up in the shadow of such a clearly defined and determined generation, one that felt like it was going to tear down the established society and set up a new set of norms. As the boomers grew older, their utopian ideals tarnished, and they began to pursue goals more in line with thier fathers. Seeing the rebellion and ultimate compromise of their fathers, the X-ers have seen thier parental figures, thier authorities abandon thier ideals. It is like the gods have abandoned a world they created. In this light, the X-ers have embraced this style as a sign of thier discontent at having to grow and see the fabric of theiir world, their expectations, altered from thier original intent, to serve a past which they have been raised to see as flawed.
