Npotes on Film Noir - Assignment Example

Schrader stated that the two aspects can not be used to identify a movie as film noir and stated that every film noir contains elements. These elements were witnessed in the movies that were created in Hollywood during the session of 1940s. He asserts that these four elements make up the best definition of film noir.

Schrader states that the very first element that defines a film noir is the disillusionment that arose after World War II and the war itself. He states that during the period of 1930s and 1940s, movies were made for the purpose of conducting propaganda and helping people cheer up due to their sufferings of the issues of WWII and the Depression. He states that during the early period of the 1940s, movies such as The Maltese Falcon and Laura came into existence and they were a true form of film Noir. In these films, the disillusionment experienced by the whole nation was portrayed. These movies and the movie The Blue Tahlia represented the scenes of soldiers returning back home and they have no work and women had lost their jobs.

He further asserts that the second most element that is required to recognize a movie as film Noir is post-war realism. He states that after the war, Americans were demanding authenticity in the media industry, they no longer wanted to see moves that were melodramatic and represented the higher class. They wanted the real image of society to be portrayed in the movies and wanted these movies to be about the issues that they were experiencing. Their taste for sets even changed and they no longer wanted the actors to make movies in fake settings, they wanted them to shoot movies on the street. For example, They wanted the actors to work in locations such as Norma Desmond’s mansion which was brought down during the `957.