This book examines the contrasting forms neo-noir has taken on screen, asking what prompts our continued interest in tales of criminality and moral uncertainty. Neo-noir plots are both familiar and diverse, found in a host of media formats today, and now span the globe. Yet despite its apparent prevalenceand increased academic attentionmany core questions remain unanswered. What has propelled noir's appeal, half a century on after its supposed decline? What has led film-makers and series-creators to rework given tropes? What debates continue to divide critics? And why are we, as viewers, so drawn to stories that often show us at our worst? Referencing a range of films and series, citing critical work in the fieldwhile also challenging many of the assumptions madethis book sets out to advance our understanding of a subject that has fascinated audiences and academics alike. Theories relating to gender identity and neo-noir's tricky generic status are discussed, together with an evaluation of differing comic inflections and socio-political concerns, concluding that, although neo-noir is capable of being both progressive and reactionary, it also mobilises potentially radical questions about who we are and what we might be capable of.

Presents an original approach to addressing neo-noir's appeal Discusses films and television series that have not been included in published works of this kind Provides an accessible gateway into the topic while still being of interest to fans, students and lecturers

Autorentext

Sue Short is a lecturer and writer and has an Honorary Research Fellowship at Birkbeck College, University of London, UK. Prior publications include Cyborg Cinema (2004), Misfit Sisters: Screen Horror as Female Rites of Passage (2006), Cult Telefantasy Series (2011) and Fairy Tale and Film: Old Tales with a New Spin (2015).

Inhalt

1. Introduction: in pursuit of the neo-noir.- 2. Crime, corruption and social critique: a thematic overview of noir.- 3. Conflict and crisis: masculinity and noir.- 4. Fear and fantasy: women in noir.- 5. Noir by any other name?: generic confusion and diffusion.- 6. A lighter shade of noir: differing uses of comedy.- 7. Fatalism vs free will: nihilism and noir.