What are the
narrative conventions of neo-noir film making? – Ben Davis
My study will focus on the narrative conventions of neo-noir
films. To explore what narrative conventions are most prominent in neo-noir
films, I will look at character theory. I will relate them to my primary texts characters.
Neo-noir is a modernization of film noir. Film noir appeared after World War II
in America, films often reflected its dark mood. These narratives were frequent
with the protagonist following a journey with no good foreseeable ending. Film
noir was mainly shot in black and white to present sombre themes. J. P. Telotte
notes film noir will not sit still for an accurate or conventional portrait.
(1) It engages and stimulates the audience to participate in a narrative quest
rather than displaying a linear narrative with a predictable outcome. (2)
Some neo-noir films are based on comic books that have clear
binary opposition, showing good triumphing over evil may suggest the outcome
may be predictable. Mark Conard notes that film noir is a classic genre
characterised by visual elements such as tilted camera angles, skewed scene
compositions, and interplay between darkness and light. (3) Compared to
neo-noir, there are few differences; however, these visual elements are
reinforced through the characters as well as the characters personas.
Some neo-noir films are filmed in colour; an example of this
would be one of my primary texts Se7en.
The Dark Knight uses interplay
between darkness and light to portray Batman as an intimidating, dangerous
character. Sin City is filmed in
black and white apart from certain parts of the film the use of skewed camera
shots; partially stick to the conventions of film noir. Fight Club, like film noir and neo-noir films, have non-linear
narratives with no distinct ‘good’ characters.
The analysis of my texts will centralise around Neo-noir
films conformity to character film theory. The two are Propp and Goffman. If
you put Propp’s character types in to context of neo-noir films, you may find
that they are not applicable to every role. Propp’s character theory indicates
that there were 7 broad character types in the 100 tales he analysed, which could
be applied to media, for example, In the film the Lion King it is clear that Scar is The villain/false hero since he
betrays and kills his brother Mufasa and struggles against the hero, Simba for
control over Pride Rock. The donor, Mufasa, prepares Simba to be the king of
Pride Rock, he also sends Simba on his journey to save Pride Rock from Scar. The
helper would refer to Timone and Pumba who aid Simba on his quest. The princess,
Nala, is whom Simba marries and is sought for during the narrative. The
dispatcher, Raffiki, prepares Simba to go back to save Pride Rock (4).
Goffman’s theory may, apply more accurately to neo noir
films due to the complexity of the characters. It requires broader categories
for them to fit into. Goffman’s
theory suggests that there are four character types used in any type of media
text or production. This can be applied to the film Finding Nemo. The protagonist, Marlin, is the centralised character
since it follows his journey to find his son. The deuteragonist, the secondary
character, could be Nemo as he is the focal point of the narrative. The bit player, Dory, is a character whose
background is not clear to the audience. Finally, the fool, a character that uses
humour to convey messages could be Bubbles, who makes the film more light-hearted
(4).
Most neo-noir films seem to conform to Propp’s character
types. In Se7en, there is no clear
hero. Detective Mills could be perceived as a hero or false hero. The idea of
it seems to be played with throughout the film. Mills’ seems to be a detective
who wishes to make a difference in crime. But, in the end, one might say that
he becomes evil. Cited by Terri Murray, both Doe and Mills perpetuate the
wrongs they aspire to wipe clean. (5) Mills chooses to eradicate evil without realising
his methods may be seen as immoral by being the ‘trigger-happy’ cop, completing
John Doe’s ‘masterpiece’ when Mills kills him, becoming wrath.
Doe could be seen as the villain or dispatcher. His crimes caused
Mills’ investigation. Detective Somerset is another character that is difficult
to place in to a character archetype. He shares similarities to Doe as they are
both educated and cultured. This could mean that even Doe is difficult to place
in to a character type because of the complexity of his character. One of my references,
tvtropes.org, notes they both recognise how horrible society is. They differ in
their respective approaches to trying to improve the world. (6) This backs my
point that Doe and Somerset are similar. This may suggest why he doesn’t fit in
to Propps’ character types. There’s also no clear donor in Se7en due to Se7en being
a neo-noir film. A donor usually gives a backstory to the hero’s journey and a
neo-noir convention is to keep characters’ pasts a mystery.
If Se7en is
applied to Goffman’s theory Mills fits the protagonist role, he is the leading
character. A protagonist doesn’t need a high moral compass like a hero. The
protagonist is simply a main character who moves the narrative forward. Mills
has been used to do this, as the whole ending is comprised of his decision to
kill Doe.
Somerset fits the role of the deuteragonist; he has an
influential role in the narrative. He is a teacher and a mentor to Mills. His
journey is ending because he wishes to retire after this case with Mills. The
director may have done this in order for the spectator to align with this
character because he seems to be the only character not corrupted by society. There
is a use of film tropes in Se7en. A
film trope is a phrase or image used in a new and different way in order to
create an artistic effect. Cited from tvtropes.org, the trope of Red oni, Blue oni is used in Se7en. This trope is about two
individuals who are significantly linked together somehow e.g. co-workers. They
have differing personalities and, with it, often different approaches to the
world in general, especially to whatever they might be competing in, for, or
over. The Red Oni is associated with passion. A red oni character is often more
brawns than brain, like Detective Mills for example. The Blue Oni is a polar opposite
in most ways to The Red Oni. The Blue Oni is more intellectual and cultured
like Somerset (7). So when analysing the use of this trope, one may suggest
that Somerset could be seen as the Blue Oni. He is Mills’ co-worker and mentor
trying to harden the Mills heart to the harsh realities of life. Attempting to
show him the reality of a detective’s life in this part of town. This is almost
identical to the description of The Red Oni. The young and emotional Mills’ later
loses everything to John Doe, as he cannot control his impulsive nature that
Somerset (The Blue Oni) tries to calm. (8)
John Doe could fit the role of the fool, but rather than
humour to create messages, uses a more sinister method. This suggests that
Goffman’s character theory may be suited to neo-noir films because they present
less deterministic roles, which complex characters can fit into, better than
Propp’s character archetypes which present fixed roles from fairy tales. Neo-noir
attempts to represent a bleak ideology of society and a depressing view of the future.
Looking at mise-en-scene, if we compare Mills’ costume in
the last scene of Se7en to earlier scenes, there’s a distinct difference in
colour. On the left, below, Mills wears a darker outfit, mostly black. The
white shirt he has worn throughout most of the film is covered by the black
jumper. This may suggest that David Fincher has tried to highlight that Doe has
essentially broken Mills. In context of Propp’s character types, this has changed
Mills’ from the hero to the false hero. This could have caused the spectator to
change their alignment with Mills’. They may now align more with Somerset due
to the route that the director took with Mills’ character, shooting Doe multiple
times. This may also change the spectators’ allegiance through the use of
a-central imagining. Becoming unaligned and losing allegiance to Mills due to
their own moral code, disagreeing with Mills’ reckless decision. Quoted from
Wikipedia ‘Mills looks much younger than Detective Somerset, with a younger
complexion and more modern hairstyle, leading us to think he will be quite
vulnerable, and will perhaps be changed by the disruption of the equilibrium or
the villain himself by the end of the film.’ (9) This is expressed by the
darkness of his clothing. The colour black has been used to represent evil or
corruption. Since Mills becomes the sin of wrath, it may not be a coincidence
that he wears black in this scene. This could represent his tainted purity, covering
the white shirt due to the colour white representing purity.
In context of the film Fight
Club Propps’ character types may not apply completely to this neo noir
film. It is very different from the other films that I have explored so far.
You could argue that The Narrator is someone who he deludes himself to create
Tyler Durden, who he wishes to be. Durden could fit multiple character types
from Propps’ character types such as the dispatcher because, without the
creation of Durden in the narrator’s mind, there would be no journey for him to
embark on. Durden could also be
considered the villain due to the fact that he is a terrorist, bent on bringing
down the current society. Durden may also be considered the helper, as without
the creation of him, the narrator would have never begun to control his own
life. Tyler is an amalgamation of these characters; this may be due to the fact
that the narrator is schizophrenic. Through the use of diegetic sound, Durden
attempts to coach the narrator in to not conforming to capitalism, which is
what he really wants to do anyway; he wants to be an individual, being apart
from the system. During the chemical burn scene, even though the use of
diegetic sound is significant, the use of central imagining reinforces this as
the narrator’s screams provoke the spectator to have a physical response,
evoking feeling for him.
Roger Ebert looks in
to Durden’s character. Whether Durden represents hidden aspects of the male
psyche is a question the movie uses as a loophole--but is not able to escape
through, because "Fight Club" is not about its ending but its action.
(10) I agree with Ebert’s claim; the entire plot is driven by Durden’s actions
and represents in terms of psychology, the narrator’s ID, taking over his Ego
and Superego. Since Propps’ character types are meant to have one
classification for one character, it simplifies roles played in film/media
productions because Tyler’s character fits in to many of these roles throughout
the film. Tyler sends the narrator on his journey as the dispatcher, he is the
helper during the scene when the narrator’s apartment blows up, and he is the
villain who destroys everything at the end. The reason for this is most likely
due to Tyler being a manifestation of who the narrator wishes to be; he wants
to reject the society he is forced into and creates an alternative. This links
to Ebert’s exploration of Durden’s character a telling point about the bestial
nature of man and what can happen when the numbing effects of day-to-day
drudgery cause people to go a little crazy. (11) The use of mise-en-scene and
dreary, Noir style lightning the narrators own opinion of the society is
projected, painting capitalism in a negative light presenting capitalism as
Tyler’s creator. This is represented through Durden’s clothing. His outfit
differs from the colour palette used to create the setting, causing him to
stand out. Durden’s jacket is red, since he is an anarchist and the colour red
could represent revolution or anarchy.
If
Fight Club is placed in context of
Goffman’s character theory we are unsure whether the narrator is the
protagonist and whether Tyler is the deuteragonist. This could be because the
two are different manifestations of the same person. Due to this, Goffman’s
theory may not be applicable to Fight Club
since the protagonist is also the deuteragonist even though Goffman’s theory
outlines a broader range of character types than Propp’s character types. It
may seem that characters in Neo-noir films like Fight Club are too complex to fit into theories suggesting
characters can only play the role of a single character type.
If Sin City’s put in
context of Propps’ character types the only character type that characters fit
in to at first glance seem to be false heroes and villain’s. Sin City is full of corruption, full of
people with questionable morals. Marv is an example of this. Although he has
good intentions, he wishes to avenge the character Goldie by murdering anyone
who stands in his way. This suggests Marv may not fit in to Propp’s character
types as he’s not a conventional hero, he’s described as a character that
enjoys bloodshed. An example of this is where Marv kills Kevin, cuts off his
limbs, watching his pet wolf eat him showing his sadistic side.
Mise-en-scene
and cinematography is used to present a key example of Marv’s character. The
scene shows Marv standing, holding Kevin’s severed head whilst holding a saw.
The cinematography places Marv in a position of power with the use of a low angled
shot, looking up at him. This reinforces the idea that Marv is a powerful
individual and why he may fit in to the role of a hero or superhero based on
his exaggeratted strength. However, mise-en-scene may portray him as a
psycopathic killer or horror villain through the use of special effects to
create lightening in the background. Peter Bradshaw expresses his own
observation of Sin City. Everything
is constructed digitally and composed in a starkly defined monochrome on which
splashes of lurid colour show up like wounds. Their blood, are lividly painted
on to the Weegee-photo-style black and white. (12) Bradshaw’s observation of
style reinforces how Marv’s props, costume and makeup have been used.The blood
is the only piece of colour shown, Marv has blood all over his face as well as
his shirt. His props are a saw and Kevin’s severed head, causing him to further
look like a horror villain. This suggest’s that due to the unpredictable and
psychopathic nature of the character Marv could mean he is unable to be placed
in to Propp’s character types as he seeks justice like a hero, but his means to
reach that justice are more like a villain. Marv, could be described as an
anti-hero.
Sin City play’s with the idea of a
hero. There are, however, clear villians, such as The Yellow Bastard, the Rourk
family, and Kevin. These characters are extreme exagerations of what it means
to be evil. They are either cannibals, paedophiles, murderers, drug traffickers
or rapists. The Yellow Bastard is an example of a extreme exaggeration of
villain’s. He is a rapist and a murderer and therefore is presented in a way
that distances the audiences from even viewing him as a human being. The use of
mise-en-scene, specifically costume, present this. Central imagining is used to
affect alignment. His disfiguared face combined with the characters nature
causes him to be viewed as some sort of monsterous creature. This causes the spectator
to feel repulsed by him and therefore failing to align with him.
There are a lot of characters who could be considered bit
players in Sin City who, in neo-noir
films would be considered ‘femme fetales’ like Miho and Gail. They both fit the
role of bit players as they are characters who we are unaware of their past. They
also fit the roles of deuteragonists, they both assist Dwight in his story, making
it difficult in placement of a category of Goffman’s character theory. However, due to the convention of ‘femme fetales’ in
Neo-Noir films, they are characters who assist the protagonist but we are usually
made unaware of their past and there is little character development. The
mise-en-scene, specifically costume and make cause them to fit the role of the ‘femme
fetale’. They are sexualised because they are dressed in such a way that does
not leave much to the imagination. This fits the convention of the ‘femme
fetales’ as in the film they are both seen as sexually promiscuous and
dangerous.
The Dark Knight was influenced by a comic
book; because of this, one might say that Propp’s character types may apply to
this film due to comics being. Batman may be considered as the hero; he drives
the narrative forward and he saves Gotham and defeats the Joker. In fairy tales
Propp studied, a prince often adopts this role. This is ironic as Bruce Wayne
who is Batman’s alter ego, is referred to as the prince of Gotham. The Joker is
the clear villain in Batman as he attempts to terrorise Gotham and Batman,
villains in fairy tales also attempt to do this and are deformed, like the
Joker, the Joker also fits in to the idea of Neo-Noir since we are made unaware
of his past. The use of mise-en-scene in this film makes villains such as the
Joker and Two Face look frightening and deformities make the audience believe
they are villainous before they speak. Two Face’s face is burnt, showing part
of his skull. This use of makeup and effects make him look demonic, reinforcing
his role as a villain in the narrative. The Joker has scars around his face. The
mise-en-scene specifically his makeup makes him look like a clown. However, it
is used to hide his scars, which are prominent on his face. This seems to make
him a walking oxymoron. A clown who is meant to bring joy to people is instead
terrorising them in a sadistic manner, reinforcing his role of a villain.
Finally, Harvey Dent may be seen as the
false hero, since at the beginning Batman wishes for Harvey to take over his
mantle as the protector of Gotham so he can retire. However, when Rachel is
killed and Dent is left disfigured becoming the villainous Two-Face. This
suggests that Propp’s character types may apply to The Dark Knight; this is reinforced by the use of binary opposition
within the film between Batman and the Joker, the hero, versus the villain. Below,
an example of this is shown. We can see Batman interrogating the Joker; the use
of cinematography aligns us with the hero through an over the shoulder shot,
observing Batman’s perspective. Batman is placed in a position of power through
this shot and through diegetic sound his voice reinforces this, for example,
his deep husky voice creates a symbol of his dark reckoning that he enforces on
Gotham’s criminals. 
In
conclusion, Goffman’s character types apply to neo-noir films which involve thriller
aspects. The characters are too complex and seem too real for them to be
simplified down in to a categorisation e.g. Se7en.
Wheareas Propp’s character types apply to films adapted from action or fantasy.
For example, The Dark Knight, Sin City and Fight Club are film adaptions from novels or comic books involving
exaggeratted characters with seemingly superhuman abilities. Propps research
for his theory was formed from fantasy stories and myths which involve a lot
more characters which are simplified to fit in to these specific roles for the
story.
Word Count: 3280
References:
J. P. Telotte, Voices in the Dark: Narrative Patterns of
Film Noir (1)
http://hannahlovescomedy.wordpress.com/2009/11/30/textual-analysis-of-se7en/
(9)
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