The Philosophy of Film Noir (The Philosophy of Popular Culture)

A drifter with no name and no past, driven purely by desire, is convinced by a beautiful woman to murder her husband. A hard-drinking detective down on his luck becomes involved with a gang of criminals in pursuit of a priceless artifact. The stories are at once romantic, pessimistic, filled with anxiety and a sense of alienation, and they define the essence of film noir. Noir emerged as a prominent American film genre in the early 1940s, distinguishable by its use of unusual lighting, sinister plots, mysterious characters, and dark themes. From The Maltese Falcon (1941) to Touch of Evil (1958), films from this classic period reflect an atmosphere of corruption and social decay that attracted such accomplished directors as John Huston, Alfred Hitchcock, Billy Wilder, and Orson Welles. The Philosophy of Film Noir is the first volume to focus exclusively on the philosophical underpinnings of these iconic films. Drawing on the work of diverse thinkers, from the French existentialist Albert Camus to the Frankurt school theorists Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno, the volume connects film noir to the philosophical questions of a modern, often nihilistic, world. Opening with an examination of what constitutes noir cinema, the book interprets the philosophical elements consistently present in the films -- themes such as moral ambiguity, reason versus passion, and pessimism. The contributors to the volume also argue that the essence and elements of noir have fundamentally influenced movies outside of the traditional noir period. Neo-noir films such as Pulp Fiction (1994), Fight Club (1999), and Memento (2000) have reintroduced the genre to a contemporary audience. As they assess the concepts present in individual films, the contributors also illuminate and explore the philosophical themes that surface in popular culture. A close examination of one of the most significant artistic movements of the twentieth century, The Philosophy of Film Noir reinvigorates an intellectual discussion at the intersection of popular culture and philosophy. Front Cover.pdf 1 The philosophy of film noir.pdf 2 Page_i.pdf 2 Page_ii.pdf 3 Page_iii.pdf 4 Page_iv.pdf 5 Page_ix.pdf 10 Page_v.pdf 6 Page_vi.pdf 7 Page_vii.pdf 8 Page_viii.pdf 9 Page_x.pdf 11 Page_xi.pdf 12 Page_xii.pdf 13 Page_xiii.pdf 14 Page_xiv.pdf 15 Page_xv.pdf 16 Page_xvi.pdf 17 Page_1.pdf 18 Page_2.pdf 19 Page_3.pdf 20 Page_4.pdf 21 Page_5.pdf 22 Page_6.pdf 23 Page_7.pdf 24 Page_8.pdf 25 Page_9.pdf 26 Page_10.pdf 27 Page_11.pdf 28 Page_12.pdf 29 Page_13.pdf 30 Page_14.pdf 31 Page_15.pdf 32 Page_16.pdf 33 Page_17.pdf 34 Page_18.pdf 35 Page_19.pdf 36 Page_20.pdf 37 Page_21.pdf 38 Page_22.pdf 39 Page_23.pdf 40 Page_24.pdf 41 Page_25.pdf 42 Page_26.pdf 43 Page_27.pdf 44 Page_28.pdf 45 Page_29.pdf 46 Page_30.pdf 47 Page_31.pdf 48 Page_32.pdf 49 Page_33.pdf 50 Page_34.pdf 51 Page_35.pdf 52 Page_36.pdf 53 Page_37.pdf 54 Page_38.pdf 55 Page_39.pdf 56 Page_40.pdf 57 Page_41.pdf 58 Page_42.pdf 59 Page_43.pdf 60 Page_44.pdf 61 Page_45.pdf 62 Page_46.pdf 63 Page_47.pdf 64 Page_48.pdf 65 Page_49.pdf 66 Page_50.pdf 67 Page_51.pdf 68 Page_52.pdf 69 Page_53.pdf 70 Page_54.pdf 71 Page_55.pdf 72 Page_56.pdf 73 Page_57.pdf 74 Page_58.pdf 75 Page_59.pdf 76 Page_60.pdf 77 Page_61.pdf 78 Page_62.pdf 79 Page_63.pdf 80 Page_64.pdf 81 Page_65.pdf 82 Page_66.pdf 83 Page_67.pdf 84 Page_68.pdf 85 Page_69.pdf 86 Page_70.pdf 87 Page_71.pdf 88 Page_72.pdf 89 Page_73.pdf 90 Page_74.pdf 91 Page_75.pdf 92 Page_76.pdf 93 Page_77.pdf 94 Page_78.pdf 95 Page_79.pdf 96 Page_80.pdf 97 Page_81.pdf 98 Page_82.pdf 99 Page_83.pdf 100 Page_84.pdf 101 Page_85.pdf 102 Page_86.pdf 103 Page_87.pdf 104 Page_88.pdf 105 Page_89.pdf 106 Page_90.pdf 107 Page_91.pdf 108 Page_92.pdf 109 Page_93.pdf 110 Page_94.pdf 111 Page_95.pdf 112 Page_96.pdf 113 Page_97.pdf 114 Page_98.pdf 115 Page_99.pdf 116 Page_100.pdf 117 Page_101.pdf 118 Page_102.pdf 119 Page_103.pdf 120 Page_104.pdf 121 Page_105.pdf 122 Page_106.pdf 123 Page_107.pdf 124 Page_108.pdf 125 Page_109.pdf 126 Page_110.pdf 127 Page_111.pdf 128 Page_112.pdf 129 Page_113.pdf 130 Page_114.pdf 131 Page_115.pdf 132 Page_116.pdf 133 Page_117.pdf 134 Page_118.pdf 135 Page_119.pdf 136 Page_120.pdf 137 Page_121.pdf 138 Page_122.pdf 139 Page_123.pdf 140 Page_124.pdf 141 Page_125.pdf 142 Page_126.pdf 143 Page_127.pdf 144 Page_128.pdf 145 Page_129.pdf 146 Page_130.pdf 147 Page_131.pdf 148 Page_132.pdf 149 Page_133.pdf 150 Page_134.pdf 151 Page_135.pdf 152 Page_136.pdf 153 Page_137.pdf 154 Page_138.pdf 155 Page_139.pdf 156 Page_140.pdf 157 Page_141.pdf 158 Page_142.pdf 159 Page_143.pdf 160 Page_144.pdf 161 Page_145.pdf 162 Page_146.pdf 163 Page_147.pdf 164 Page_148.pdf 165 Page_149.pdf 166 Page_150.pdf 167 Page_151.pdf 168 Page_152.pdf 169 Page_153.pdf 170 Page_154.pdf 171 Page_155.pdf 172 Page_156.pdf 173 Page_157.pdf 174 Page_158.pdf 175 Page_159.pdf 176 Page_160.pdf 177 Page_161.pdf 178 Page_162.pdf 179 Page_163.pdf 180 Page_164.pdf 181 Page_165.pdf 182 Page_166.pdf 183 Page_167.pdf 184 Page_168.pdf 185 Page_169.pdf 186 Page_170.pdf 187 Page_171.pdf 188 Page_172.pdf 189 Page_173.pdf 190 Page_174.pdf 191 Page_175.pdf 192 Page_176.pdf 193 Page_177.pdf 194 Page_178.pdf 195 Page_179.pdf 196 Page_180.pdf 197 Page_181.pdf 198 Page_182.pdf 199 Page_183.pdf 200 Page_184.pdf 201 Page_185.pdf 202 Page_186.pdf 203 Page_187.pdf 204 Page_188.pdf 205 Page_189.pdf 206 Page_190.pdf 207 Page_191.pdf 208 Page_192.pdf 209 Page_193.pdf 210 Page_194.pdf 211 Page_195.pdf 212 Page_196.pdf 213 Page_197.pdf 214 Page_198.pdf 215 Page_199.pdf 216 Page_200.pdf 217 Page_201.pdf 218 Page_202.pdf 219 Page_203.pdf 220 Page_204.pdf 221 Page_205.pdf 222 Page_206.pdf 223 Page_207.pdf 224 Page_208.pdf 225 Page_209.pdf 226 Page_210.pdf 227 Page_211.pdf 228 Page_212.pdf 229 Page_213.pdf 230 Page_214.pdf 231 Page_215.pdf 232 Page_216.pdf 233 Page_217.pdf 234 Page_218.pdf 235 Page_219.pdf 236 Page_220.pdf 237 Page_221.pdf 238 Page_222.pdf 239 Page_223.pdf 240 Page_224.pdf 241 Page_225.pdf 242 Page_226.pdf 243 Page_227.pdf 244 Page_228.pdf 245 Page_229.pdf 246 Page_230.pdf 247 Page_231.pdf 248 Page_232.pdf 249 Page_233.pdf 250 Page_234.pdf 251 Page_235.pdf 252 Page_236.pdf 253 Page_237.pdf 254 Page_238.pdf 255 Page_239.pdf 256 Page_240.pdf 257 Page_241.pdf 258 Page_242.pdf 259 Page_243.pdf 260 Page_244.pdf 261 Page_245.pdf 262 Page_246.pdf 263 Page_247.pdf 264 Page_248.pdf 265 Back Cover.pdf 266 Nietzsche and the meaning and definition of noir / Mark T. Conard A darker shade: realism in neo-noir / Jason Holt Moral clarity and practical reason in film noir / Aeon J. Skoble Cherchez la femme fatale: the mother of film noir / Read Mercer Schuchardt From Sherlock Holmes to the hard-boiled detective in film noir / Jerold J. Abrams Film noir and the meaning of life / Steven M. Sanders The horizon of disenchantment: film noir, Camus, and the vicissitudes of descent / Alan Woolfolk Symbolism, meaning, and nihilism in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp fiction / Mark T. Conard Film noir and the Frankfurt School: America as wasteland in Edgar Ulmer's Detour / Paul A. Cantor Knowledge, morality, and tragedy in The killers and Out of the past / Ian Jarvie Moral man in the dark city: film noir, the postwar religious revival, and The accused / R. Barton Palmer On reason and passion in The Maltese falcon / Deborah Knight Ride the pink horse: money, mischance, murder, and the monads of film noir / Alain Silver. Nietzsche and the meaning and definition of noir / Mark T. Conrad A darker shade: realism in neo-noir / Jason Holt Moral clarity and practical reason in film noir / Aeon J. Skoble Cherchez la femme fatale: the mother of film noir / Read Mercer Schuchardt From Sherlock Holmes to the hard-boiled detective in film noir / Jerold J. Abrams Film noir and the meaning of life / Steven M. Sanders The horizon of disenchantment: film noir, Camus, and the vicissitudes of descent / Alan Woolfolk Symbolism, meaning, and nihilism in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp fiction / Mark T. Conard Film noir and the Frankfurt School: America as wasteland in Edgar Ulmer's Detour / Paul A. Cantor Knowledge, morality, and tragedy in The killers and Out of the past / Ian Jarvie Moral man in the dark city: film noir, the postwar religious revival, and The accused / R. Barton Palmer On reason and passion in The Maltese falcon / Deborah Knight Ride the pink horse: money, mischance, murder, and the monads of film noir / Alan Silver. From The Maltese Falcon (1941) to Touch of Evil (1958), the classic film noir is easily recognizable for its unusual lighting, sinister plots, and feeling of paranoia. For critics and fans alike, these films defined an era. The Philosophy of Film Noir explores philosophical themes and ideas inherent in classic noir and neo-noir films, establishing connections to diverse thinkers ranging from Camus to the Frankfurt School. The authors, each focusing on a different aspect of the genre, explore the philosophical underpinnings of classic films such as The Big Sleep (1946), Out of the Past (1947), and Pulp Fiction (1994). They show how existentialism and nihilism dominate the genre as they explore profound themes in a vital area of popular culture.