The Philosophy of Neo-noir

by Conard, Mark T.

• ISBN13: 9780813192178
• ISBN10: 081319217X
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-02-20
• Publisher: Univ Pr of Kentucky

Summary

In The Philosophy of Neo-Noir, Mark T. Conard and an ensemble of contributors investigate the genre of neo-noir and the philosophical questions about humanity that it explores. While most neo-noir does not exhibit the techniques of classic noir, including the tilted camera angles, skewed scene compositions, and interplay between darkness and light, the contributors demonstrate how it addresses and expands upon many of the same philosophical concerns-guilt, redemption, the essence of human nature, and problems of knowledge,, memory, and identity. Neo-noir, with its blurred concepts of right and wrong and consistent themes of ambiguity and disillusionment, illuminates the human struggle for self discovery and moral orientation. Conard asserts that neo-noir explores philosophical thought to an even greater degree than its predecessor, as it is able to draw upon its classic noir inspirations while also investigating new avenues of philosophical thought and cinematic expression. Book jacket.

Author Biography

Mark T. Conard, assistant professor of philosophy at Marymount Manhattan College in New York City, is the editor or coeditor of many books, including The Philosophy of Film Noir and The Simpsons and Philosophy.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. vii
Introduction	p. 1
Subjectivity, Knowledge, and Human Nature in Neo-Noir
Space, Time, and Subjectivity in Neo-Noir Cinema	p. 7
Blade Runner and Sartre: The Boundaries of Humanity	p. 21
John Locke, Personal Identity, and Memento	p. 35
Problems of Memory and Identity in Neo-Noir's Existentialist Antihero	p. 47
Justice, Guilt, and Redemption: Morality in Neo-Noir
The Murder of Moral Idealism: Kant and the Death of Ian Campbell in The Onion Field	p. 67
Justice and Moral Corruption in A Simple Plan	p. 83
"Saint" Sydney: Atonement and Moral Inversion in Hard Eight	p. 91
Reservoir Dogs: Redemption in a Postmodern World	p. 101
Elements of Neo-Noir
The Dark Sublimity of Chinatown	p. 119
The Human Comedy Perpetuates Itself: Nihilism and Comedy in Coen Neo-Noir	p. 137
The New Sincerity of Neo-Noir: The Example of The Man Who Wasn't ThereR. Barton PalmerPalmer, R. Barton
"Anything Is Possible Here": Capitalism, Neo-Noir, and Chinatown	p. 167
Sunshine Noir: Postmodernism and Miami Vice	p. 183
Contributors	p. 203
Index	p. 207
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