Film Noir Definition Synthesis

Read in the Film Noir Reader:

  • Introduction, by Alain Silver
  • "Towards a Definition of Film Noir," by Raymond Borde and Etienne Chaumeton
  • "Noir Cinema," by Charles Higham and Joel Greenberng
  • "Paint It Black: the Family Tree of Film Noir," by Raymond Durgnat
  • "Notes on Film Noir," by Paul Schrader
  • "Some Visual Motifs of Film Noir," by Janey Place and Lowell Peterson
  • "No Way Out: Existential Motifs in the Film Noir," by Robert Porfirio
  • "Film Noir: A Modest Proposal," by James Damico
  • "Out of What Past? Notes on the B film noir," by Paul Kerr

Building on the readings from the Film Noir Reader, create a definition of film noir. Identify the elements of flm noir: the themes, the patterns, the iconography, the characters, the techniques, the visuals, etc. Identify the minor variations within film noir. Define the extent and the limits of it.
You shouldn't respond to this prompt by listing qualities one after the other. Instead, you should use the prompt as a starting point for formulating your thesis statement and building a coherent essay.
The goal of a synthesis is to take two or more writings on a related subject and bring them together to get a greater understanding of the subject than could be gleaned from looking at the texts individually.  You should be able to refer to several articles or sources in order to make a single point, in order to advance a thesis. You should NOT base your paper around a single article. However, you need not feel compelled to refer to all the essays in question. Nevertheless, remember, the only way I'll know you did the reading is by your use of the essays in this assignment.

What I will be grading:

Thesis—You should focus your essay around a strong statement of thesis that illuminates something about film noir.

Development of points—You shouldn’t just give a laundry list of qualities. Instead, you should be able to explain the reasons for and/or the significance of those qualities.

Specific support—Don’t make vague generalizations.  Support your points with specifics and references to the articles.

Organization—Your points should be arranged in a logical order.

Points to remember:

1)     You must properly cite (parenthetical and works cited page) all sources, including any films.

2)     Your essay should be approximately 1000-1500 words.

3)     Authors, both male and female, are referred to by their last names, i.e. Asch's experiment broke new ground in social psychology.

4)     Spell check and proofread.  Sloppiness, although not my primary concern, detracts from your authority as a writer and my enjoyment of your essay.

Due:  Wednesday, February 16

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