Neo-noir (English: New-black; from the Greek neo, new; and the French noir, black) is a style often seen in modern motion pictures and other forms that prominently utilize elements of film noir, but with updated themes, content, style, visual elements or media that were absent in films noir of the 1940s and 1950s.

History[link]

The term film noir (French for "black film") was coined by critic Nino Frank in 1946, but was rarely used by film makers, critics or fans until several decades later. The classic era of film noir is usually dated to a period between the early 1940s and the late 1950s. Typically American crime dramas or psychological thrillers, films noir^[a] had a number of common themes and plot devices, and many distinctive visual elements. Characters were often conflicted antiheroes, trapped in a difficult situation and making choices out of desperation or nihilistic moral systems. Visual elements included low-key lighting, striking use of light and shadow, and unusual camera placement.

Although there have been few new major films in the classic film noir genre since the early 1960s, it has nonetheless had significant impact on other genres. These films usually incorporate both thematic and visual elements reminiscent of film noir. Both classic and neo-noir films are often independent features.

It was not until after 1970 that film critics began to consider "neo-noir" as a separate genre by its own definition. However, noir and post-noir terminology (such as "neo-classic", "hard-boiled”, etc.) in modern application are often disclaimed by both critics and practitioners alike due to the obscurity of such an unrefined genre. For example, James M. Cain, author of The Postman Always Rings Twice and Double Indemnity, is considered to be one of the defining authors of hard-boiled fiction. Yet, Cain is quoted as saying, "I belong to no school, hard-boiled or otherwise, and I believe these so-called schools exist mainly in the imagination of critics, and have little correspondence in reality anywhere else."^[1]

Unlike classic noirs, neo-noir films are aware of modern circumstances and technology—details that were typically absent or unimportant to the plot of classic film noir. In the films of the early 1940s and '50s, audiences are led to understand and build a relationship with the protagonist or anti-hero. Neo-noir films of post-1970 often reverse this role. Unconventional camera movements and plot progression remind them that they are merely watching the film and not partaking in the story.

Modern themes employed in neo-noir films include identity crises, memory issues and subjectivity, and—most importantly—technological problems and their social ramifications. Because these fundamental elements are as ambiguous in practice as their definitions, film theorists^[who?] argue that the term "neo-noir" can be applied to other works of fiction that similarly incorporate such motifs. Robert Arnett states that "Neo-noir has become so amorphous as a genre/movement, any film featuring a detective or crime qualifies."^[2] It is because of this genre's ambivalence that neo-noir is still shaped and interpreted so malleably today.

Others^[who?] have noted that films like After Dark, My Sweet and Hard Eight are neo-noirs that seamlessly combine the noir genre with elements of the Western genre in terms of setting and themes.

See also[link]

• Cyberpunk
• List of film noir titles

Notes[link]

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Arnett, Robert (Fall 2006). "Eighties Noir: The Dissenting Voice in Reagan's America". Journal of Popular Film and Television 34 (3): 123–129. 
• Conrad, Mark T. (2007). The Philosophy of Neo-noir. Lexington, Ky.: The University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0-8131-2422-0.  The Philosophy of Neo-noir at Google Books.
• Hirsch, Foster (1999). Detours and Lost Highways: A Map of Neo-Noir. New York: Proscenium Publishers. ISBN 0-87910-288-8.  Detours and Lost Highways: A Map of Neo-Noir at Google Books.
• Martin, Richard (1997). Mean Streets and Raging Bulls: The Legacy of Film Noir in Contemporary American Cinema. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0-8108-3337-9. 
• Snee, Brian J. (July 2009). "Soft-boiled Cinema: Joel and Ethan Coens' Neo-classical Neo-noirs". Literature/Film Quarterly 37 (3). http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Soft-boiled+cinema%3a+Joel+and+Ethan+Coens'+neo-classical+neo-noirs.-a0204565670. 

Notes[link]

External links[link]

• An Introduction to Neo-Noir at Crime Culture by author Lee Horsley
• Neo-Noir Grosses at Box Office Mojo

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"The Man" is a slang phrase that may refer to the government or to some other authority in a position of power. In addition to this derogatory connotation, it may also serve as a term of respect and praise.

The phrase "the Man is keeping me down" is commonly used to describe oppression. The phrase "stick it to the Man" encourages resistance to authority, and essentially means "fight back" or "resist", either openly or via sabotage.^[1]

History[link]

The earliest recorded use^{[citation needed]} of the term "the Man" in the American sense dates back to a letter written by a young Alexander Hamilton in September 1772, when he was 15. In a letter to his father James Hamilton, published in the Royal Dutch-American Gazette, he described the response of the Dutch governor of St. Croix to a hurricane that raked that island on August 31, 1772. "Our General has issued several very salutary and humane regulations and both in his publick and private measures, has shewn himself the Man." ^{[2][dubious – discuss]} In the Southern U.S. states, the phrase came to be applied to any man or any group in a position of authority, or to authority in the abstract. From about the 1950s the phrase was also an underworld code word for police, the warden of a prison or other law enforcement or penal authorities.

It was also used as a term for a drug dealer in the 1950s and 1960s and can be seen in such media as Curtis Mayfield's "No Thing On Me", William Burroughs's novel Naked Lunch, and in the Velvet Underground song "I'm Waiting for the Man", in which Lou Reed sings about going to Uptown Manhattan, specifically Lexington Avenue and 125th Street, to buy heroin.

The use of this term was expanded to counterculture groups and their battles against authority, such as the Yippies, which, according to a May 19, 1969 article in U.S. News and World Report, had the "avowed aim ... to destroy 'The Man', their term for the present system of government". The term eventually found its way into humorous usage, such as in a December 1979 motorcycle ad from the magazine Easyriders which featured the tagline, "California residents: Add 6% sales tax for The Man."

In present day, the phrase has been popularized in commercials and cinema, featuring particularly prominently as a recurring motif in the 2003 film School of Rock.^[3][4][5][6]

Use as praise[link]

The term has also been used as an approbation or form of praise. This may refer to the recipient's status as the leader or authority within a particular context, or it might be assumed to be a shortened form of a phrase like "He is the man (who is in charge)." One example of this usage dates to 1879 when Otto von Bismarck commented, referring to Benjamin Disraeli's pre-eminent position at the Congress of Berlin, "The old Jew, he is the man."^{[7][dubious – discuss]}

In more modern usage, it can be a superlative compliment ("you da man!") indicating that the subject is currently standing out amongst his peers even though they have no special designation or rank, such as a basketball player who is performing better than the other players on the court. It can also be used as a genuine compliment with an implied, slightly exaggerated or sarcastic tone, usually indicating that the person has indeed impressed the speaker but by doing something relatively trivial.

See also[link]

• Absentee landlord
• Big Brother (Nineteen Eighty-Four)
• New World Order (conspiracy theory)
• Ruling class
• The Establishment
• Power elite
• Corrections officer
• YTMND

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Lighter, J.E. (Ed.). (1997). Random House Dictionary of American Slang. New York: Random House.