The role of protagonist in neo noir is as different from film noir as night is to day. In film noir the protagonist is looking for a criminal, a person who has done wrong in some way. He searches through a city, usually Los Angeles, finding clues that ultimately lead him to the criminal, the one who needs to be brought to justice. The protagonist in neo noir looks into himself to find the bad guys. There are three different types of neo noir. They are past, present and future.
In movies that are past neo noir, the protagonist is placed in the distant past where he has to find himself. A perfect example of past neo noir is the movie Indiana Jones and The Raiders of the Lost Ark. The movie is set in the time of World War II. Indiana has to go against Nazis and femme fatals in order to find the Ark of the Covenant. He has to look deep into his soul to find out if he is a man of science or a man who believes in god. By the end of the movie, you find out that he is both. He believes in his science and also in the power of the lord.
In the movies that are present neo noir, the time is set in the here and now. A good example of present neo noir is the movie Bourne Identity. This movie is set in present day with a man who can’t remember anything about his past life. All that he remembers is from when he was in a fishing boat recovering from being shot in the back. Bourne goes on a journey to try and figure out who he is and who is trying to kill him. He has to look deep into himself to find the answers as his training takes over.
Future neo noir is the best of all neo noir. It gives us a look into the future to see what is possible. The protagonist is still looking into himself for the answers, but we get to see it in a way that is very interesting. Take the movie Minority Report; it is placed in the future in Washington D.C. In the future they have perfected a new way to solve crime by using clairvoyants to arrest criminals before they have even committed a crime. The next person the seers say is a murderer is the main character. He finds out and has to go on the run to find his victim and prevent this crime.
I got the same information you got out of the article. I understand the different roles of the detectives in each movie and who they are trying to figure out whether its themselves or someone else. I just cant seem to see the femme fatale in any of the movies. Maybe its just me idk..
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteI found your reading very interesting, because for me i didnt notice a big difference in protagonist in classic noir and neo noir until i read this. And i do see what your saying, in classic noir the protagonist would always have to go out of his way to find the bad guy. But, with neo noir the protagonist usually finds the answers within himself. Good eyes for being able to see that. I also like how you went into detail with the movies because you mentioned some things i missed in my blog. Overall you did very well, keep up the good work.
I agree with you when you state that “The protagonist in neo noir looks into himself to find the bad guy” at least from what I understood that was the main characteristic of the protagonist so he no longer seeks from criminal but seeks within himself to find what’s wrong, I found your article easy to read, I also liked the way you got one movie an exemplified every one of the subgenres it made me catch little details I had just totally ignored Good Job.
ReplyDelete