In Lonely Places: Film Noir Beyond the City

In Lonely Places: Film Noir Beyond the City
ISBN-10
0786463058
ISBN-13
9780786463053
Category
Performing Arts
Pages
255
Language
English
Published
2011-07-28
Publisher
McFarland
Author
Imogen Sara Smith

Description

Although film noir is traditionally associated with the mean streets of the Dark City, this volume explores the genre from a new angle, focusing on non-urban settings. Through detailed readings of more than 100 films set in suburbs, small towns, on the road, in the desert, borderlands and the vast, empty West, the author investigates the alienation expressed by film noir, pinpointing its motivation in the conflict between desires for escape, autonomy and freedom—and fears of loneliness, exile and dissolution. Through such films as Out of the Past, They Live by Night and A Touch of Evil, this critical study examines how film noir reflected radical changes in the physical and social landscapes of postwar America, defining the genre’s contribution to the eternal debate between the values of individualism and community.

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