Neo-Noir as Post-Classical Hollywood Cinema

by Robert Arnett

Neo-Noir as Post-Classical Hollywood Cinema suggests the terms “noir” and “neo-noir” have been rendered almost meaningless by overuse. The book seeks to re-establish a purpose for neo-noir films and re-consider the organization of 60 years of neo-noir films. Using the notion of post-classical, the book establishes how neo-noir breaks into many movements, some based on time and others based on thematic similarities. The combined movements then form a mosaic of neo-noir. The time-based movements examine Transitional Noir (1960s-early 1970s), Hollywood Renaissance Noir in the 1970s, Eighties Noir, Nineties Noir, and Digital Noir of the 2000s. The thematic movements explore Nostalgia Noir, Hybrid Noir, and Remake and Homage Noir. Academics as well as film buffs will find this book appealing as it deconstructs popular films and places them within new contexts.

217 pages, Hardcover

Published August 31, 2020

About the author

Robert Arnett has a Master’s of Arts degree in history from Indiana University. His undergraduate studies were at Tulane University, the University of Georgia, and the London School of Economics in England. He taught History of Western Civilization for the University of Maryland, European Division, while serving 19 months in Turkey as one of the youngest commanding officers in the United States Army Signal Corps.
Arnett has made six trips to India, spending almost two years studying art, culture, and religion while living with Indian families.
Arnett has mounted a traveling educational photographic exhibit with 35 select photographs from India Unveiled. Seven sets of the exhibit are sponsored by universities, private foundations, and museums.
His children’s book Finders Keepers? has won six national book awards and has been translated into Spanish under the title ¿Es mío?
Arnett has lectured widely throughout America including the Smithsonian Institute, The Kennedy Center, Harvard, Yale, and Stanford Universities. He has been interviewed on National Public Radio, Voice of America, and various television programs. He was a speaker at the Parliament of the World Religions in Cape Town, South Africa.

Reviews

[Brett Lambert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an academic take on neo-noir films so this is major movie nerd territory.

Nevertheless I appreciated the attempt to divide neo-noir films (which spans the 1960s up to the present day) into different chronological and thematic movements. Every era had something for noir films to address the times they represented as well as different ways it invoked nostalgia for classic era film noir.

I really dug all the film lists that accompanied each chapter so that alone was invaluable for me.