blog #7

so interesting! i would say that the method was a weird dark fantasy with a twist ending. i don't thing i like film noir with the "protagonist" being a girl because it became narrow minded and fantasy. The fact that she hooked up with a middle aged man who was scamming on her made the read feel ridiculous. i did not enjoy the read. Through lustful desire a girl was charmed into the bed of a psycho only to find out that he wanted to use her to kill someone else. She ends up killing him instead and proud of it. This was not art or beauty in any way, it was some girlish fantasy bent on betrayal. i would not recommend it to anyone nor would i even bring it up.  I would not bring it up because it did not have anything that you could learn from it or be intrigued by. The next story Morocco Junction 90210 was a simple short story that was interesting and seemed to only relate in the sense that the main characters both trained actors. This story was not thrilling and did not satisfy, but i found it much better to my liking. I guess I would recommend the morocco junction 90210 over the method because the main character plays more of the detective role and is more of the anti-hero. The main character is the anti-hero because she knew truth to murders, robberies and suicides but never told because that was her reputation. To clarify though if I was talking to a friend I really would not recommend either story because I didn’t like either of them. The first one was just ridiculous and the second one was unsettling. Both are indeed noir but they are neo noir to be sure. I personally don’t like most neo noir I’m seen or read and these add to the list. 

blog #6

to discuss Film (Classic) Noir and Neo-Noir would be like discussing two different breeds of dogs. both breeds are still dogs but each hold many traits and characteristics, some similar some different. when asked what are the differences i would say that the content has different meanings, the plot feels forced. the similarities are the content
Film (Classic) Noir is like the Mona Lisa in the sense that the artist was portraying art the way he saw life where as Neo-Noir is the art student in college recreating in their own way what had been inspired. it's not that the replica wasn't good, it's just that it wasn't inspired by it's artist it was a recreation. a replica can still show you details of the original but its a forced environment. classic noir reffers to a time where those fears were really and possible. neo-noir considers the fears of a completely different time and culture while still taking on the themes of the original.
since classic noir was a representation of how people felt or what people feared in the 40's and 50's it's plot seemed to flow unstrained and naturally. where as neo noir is  someone taking the thoughts and feelings of a current time and trying to make them fit into that old scene. this completely interrupts the the sacredness of that genre and puts it into a forced position. classic noir is a true beauty in the sense that the writers wrote what they were feeling with such sincerity that you believe that those stories actually happened. although i really do enjoy neo-noir it shows me a culture i am not new to. 
neo noir and classic noir are held with the same dark plots and scenes. "tough, loner private eyes, dangerous women, smoke, Venetian blinds, grimy city streets, gangsters, intrigue, deception, alienation, terse, stylized slang, and voice-over narration." these are traits that identify both sides. both noirs also hold the same characters such as the anti-hero and the femme fatal. neo-noir expresses the same scenes even though it has been made beyond that time.
film noir has a variety of characteristics that flow from other genres. i personally favor classic noir over neo noir because you get a different feeling from each film filled intriguing obstacles that feel realistic compared to that of neo-noir.

blog #5 book review

"Double Indemnity" is a book that opens your eyes to a different world, with a dark crime infestation. the Author, , of "Double Indemnity" i think screams the idea of underworld crime in the midst of innocence. this book exposed you to the evil people are capable of. "Double Indemnity" is not a chic-flick. it is a tragedy, a mystery, and some might even say a modern day Shakespearean story. this story exposes the evils directly committed by an otherwise innocent citizen. Huff, an average Joe insurance salesman, commits multiple crimes and falls under the spell of a dangerous tempest. I love that the author captures a dark and demented feel in the center of humdrum, common, every day people. Each second you wonder what is going to happen next as you read on and on, each chapter leaving you curious about the next. What the author does is get your attention with a simple love interest and then pulls you in while slamming the door shut when you find out that there was a murder and they just might get away with it. Of course they don’t get away with murder or fraud but you don’t know that until the end. What really intrigued me was that these people weren’t gangsters or mafia, they were real people with real live, normal everyday people and yet they had evil with in them. On page we see huff describe the Nirdlingers house as just like everyone else’s, average, and common. How can you describe a cold blooded killer as normal, what a hoax! This is where I think it really depicts an element of noir. Film noir is described to “show the Dark inhumane side of nature” in the film noir handout. This story was indeed inhumane, with murder such an easy concept and fraud a considered idea. At the other end there is a desperate house wife who is looking for a way out of her marriage. Huff, the average insurance sales man was immediately caught in her webs of lies and deceit. When you watch these stories remember that this is not a story of normality or routine. It is a story of surprise and mystery.  When discussing the normality of these characters you have to consider the problem with them. Huff was repeatedly caught describing in detail his schemes and plans for his future murders and heists. Also mrs. Nirdlinger gets caught red handed when accused of scheming for her husband’s death. pulling myself into reality at the end of the book this is what i have recalled of it. this book is really chalked full of different experiences but this is the one that stood out most to me.