Is LA still the capital of noir fiction? - CrimeSpace2024-03-19T05:37:42Zhttps://crimespace.ning.com/forum/topics/is-la-still-the-capital-of?commentId=537324%3AComment%3A248977&x=1&feed=yes&xn_auth=noI think the key to noir is th…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-09-05:537324:Comment:2489772010-09-05T16:01:53.736ZJohn McFetridgehttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/JohnMcF
I think the key to noir is that the setting has to have gone from optimistic, expanding and forward-looking to "sagging under the weight of its own filth." If it never had that promise (real or not, people had to have believed a little of it) and never lost it, then it isn't really a noir setting.<br />
<br />
And the timing is important. That optimistic, forward-looking attutide can't have been too far in the past.<br />
<br />
Also, LA isn't an abandonded city like Buffalo or Detroit, people are still moving to LA…
I think the key to noir is that the setting has to have gone from optimistic, expanding and forward-looking to "sagging under the weight of its own filth." If it never had that promise (real or not, people had to have believed a little of it) and never lost it, then it isn't really a noir setting.<br />
<br />
And the timing is important. That optimistic, forward-looking attutide can't have been too far in the past.<br />
<br />
Also, LA isn't an abandonded city like Buffalo or Detroit, people are still moving to LA looking for a new beginning so it's always harkening back. There's an odd nostalgia to noir - for the characters and the settings, youth is almost always gone. I agree with Benjamin and his…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-09-05:537324:Comment:2489552010-09-05T14:34:52.397ZDonna Moorehttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/DonnaMoore
I agree with Benjamin and his saggy, sprawling metropolis :o) Any and every city can be - and often is - noir. And then what about the country? Daniel Woodrell's small Ozak towns are totally noir. Or Jim Thompson? So I don't think there's any new capital city of Noir. It can creep into the nooks and crannies anywhere because it comes from the dark hearts of the people who live there.
I agree with Benjamin and his saggy, sprawling metropolis :o) Any and every city can be - and often is - noir. And then what about the country? Daniel Woodrell's small Ozak towns are totally noir. Or Jim Thompson? So I don't think there's any new capital city of Noir. It can creep into the nooks and crannies anywhere because it comes from the dark hearts of the people who live there. When people think of noir, th…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-09-04:537324:Comment:2488282010-09-04T00:55:46.723ZBenjamin Sobieckhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/BenjaminSobieck
When people think of noir, they probably think of L.A. But what they're <i>really</i> thinking of is "large, sprawling metropolis sagging under the weight of its own filth." I think you could apply that to any major urban hub. It wasn't too long ago that noir came to the Twin Cities - a far cry from L.A.
When people think of noir, they probably think of L.A. But what they're <i>really</i> thinking of is "large, sprawling metropolis sagging under the weight of its own filth." I think you could apply that to any major urban hub. It wasn't too long ago that noir came to the Twin Cities - a far cry from L.A.