Blog #10 "The Girl Who Kissed Barnaby Jones" and "Kinship"

In blog #10 we were to select two stories that will describe the elements of a classic noir and a neo-noir. The story “The Girl Who Kissed Barnaby Jones” to me follows the classic noir element; it has its femme fatale, Cherie a washed-up actress who killed a man and also has its male protagonist Tate who will do anything for her for sex. She gives him the sex, but in return he must help her get rid of the body. Before he can get the why, he finds himself facing the barrel of a gun. He drives off to a supermarket call 911. He now notice that there a set of headlights coming at him and see her behind the wheel. All he can think of is how beautiful she looks.

I fell that “Kinship” has the element of a neo-noir; it has its male protagonist Tomas, an ex-gang member, who at times will have flashback growing up in the neighborhood. He will be influence not by a femme fatale but by evil using revenge to hurt someone for someone else. You see Tomas cousin Veronica has a son name Emerson, he has a disability condition. He is constantly being bullied and beat-up by a kid at school. Manny Emerson father had confronted the bully’s father but gets beat up himself. So Tomas’s anger takes control by getting revenge on the bully’s father.

Blog #9 "Memories"

Growing up in the Los Angeles area, I felt that both writers did a great job in describing the locations. “The Kidnapper Bell,” took place in L.A. near the L.A. River and “City of Commerce” took place in Commerce. As I was reading both stories, it had brought back memories as a little girl. I remember seeing the cat’s faces in the L.A. River, also the graffiti along the cement walls as we drove to L.A. I also remember seeing the Southern Pacific Yard Station when we would cross the Broadway Bridge to go to Pasadena. I recall see all the trains coming and going. I also remember pass thru the City of Commerce, the truck stop, the outlet malls, the Crowne Plaza Hotel/ casino on our way to visit relatives in Norwalk. I recall one time we had to stop at the hotel just for a second on our way home, to use the restroom. You could see the casino, and it did look like Vegas to me. Again both writers description of the location was right on.

                     

 

                                                           

Blog #8, "Hollywoodlandia"

I choose option 3, out of the two stories; I enjoyed “Morocco Junction 90210”and would recommend the story to my female friends. I don’t think that the male gender would enjoy reading it, not as much as the other story “The Method.” Why did I chose Morocco Junction over The Method, I found that The Method was a little to much for me, especially the language, and how there was too much detail regarding the sex. Where Morocco Junction 90210, was a little of my style to read, the language was not as bad, and there was no sex detail. I am not totally saying that The Method was not a bad story to read and not to recommend it, it wasn’t. I did enjoy reading it; I like the twist on how Holly found out that her Richard was the same Richard that Mariah (an old actress who Holly befriended) had an affair with and got a restraining order on him. Again it was just not my type of story.  Not like Morocco Junction 90210, it was a story about Eloise an elderly woman living in Beverly Hill, takes her life to save her family from being humiliated when and if they found out that she had an illegitimate son. How she had sold her jewelry to give her illegitimate son a good upbringing. This to me was sad, in how the people in Beverly Hill would discriminated someone and their family just because they did not fit into the BH life style.     

Leimert Park vs. San Marino

 I choose to write about option two. Reading the two stories, I found that the difference there is between the two would be the ethnic and language. “Dangerous Days” takes place in Leimert Park; you could say it is a Black/Mexican community where the violence there is high. The housing is low income housing. There will be payback shooting, such like Blacks killing Chicano and Chicano killing Blacks. You will have the gangster and drug dealers taking over the community. People tend to know nothing when a shooting accords. And there is the language; it is more of a slang style language, such like Spanglish, and Ebonics. “Midnight in Silcone Alley”, takes place in San Marino, an upscale housing and businesses community. People there will have a higher standard living. Its community is made up of Asian culture. They have their share of violence but not as bad as. The language is not as harsh as the language in “Dangerous Day.” Comparing the difference with ethnic and language you would have to say that San Marino is a place where people would like to live to bring up a family, more so then living in Leimert Park.

The differeces between film noir and neo noir

Film noir and neo noir are films that date to the early 1940”s and continue into the twenty fist century.  You could say that a film noir and a neo noir will have similar but different elements; they both have a protagonist, corruption, cynical stories, flashback, and a voice over narrators, murder and a femme fatale. The difference will be that film noir is made in black and white, it has low-key lighting, filmed mostly at night, and the femme fatale is more seductive. Where neo noir is made in color; there will be some black and white scenes. More violence, nudity and harsher language, the emergence of a serial killer and the femme fatale is more independent, less reliable on men and it portrayed as pure evil and intelligent woman.

Let’s compare” Double Indemnity” a classic film noir and “Fight Club” a neo noir. With Double Indemnity you use your imagination. Sex is just a passionate kiss. If someone were to get shot it is not graphite. Its femme fatale is more evil, her seductive and sexuality is her main weapon in weaving her web around a man.  Now Fight Club a movie about a white collar male who forms a fight club underground. Fight Club will leave little for your imagination. The language is strong; there is sex, nudity, violence, bloody scenes. The femme fatale in Fight Club is a complete nut case that has a filthy mouth, not beautiful.

In Heather Fireman article she quotes “Noir is not just noir anymore-its evocative power is a kind of vernacular to deal with the condition of modern culture.”  I agree with what she said that noir is not just noir anymore, the kind of language neo noir uses is not enjoyable. 

Blog #5

                                       Dark City: Film Noir and Fiction

 Review of Double Indemnity (1944)

                                          By Christine Lui and Karl Hill

As I was reading, Christine Lui and Karl Hill review on the movie Double Indemnity. I came across one section of the article that caught my attention, it was how they had stated that beside there being a femme fatale there was also a homme fatale. A “homme fatale" would be the male equivalent of a "femme fatale". This was my first impression of Walter Huff in the movie and in the book. He was a man who needed to be in control of the situation, a charmer, some what cocky, felt that he was smarter then everyone else. There were times that he seemed to be pusher.

When Walter Huff had gone to the house of one of the client, he had charmed his way inside, once inside he met Mrs. Phyllis Nirdlinger. He states his business on; why he is there at the same time he is trying to push for Mr. Nirdlinger to renew the policy. As he was leaving he took Phyllis into his arm and kisses her taking control. Both the book and the movie, tells and shows how Walter takes control of the situation with the murder of Mr. Nirdlinger. Telling Phyllis that it must go this way, if not then it won’t work.

Walter Huff the homme fatale of Double Indemnity, using his charm just like a femme fatale, will do anything to get what he wants. But at the end dies for it.