Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 13 views

    40.1.miller (PDF Version (153k) )

    Uploaded by

    giovp
    This review summarizes Dennis Broe's 2009 book "Film Noir, American Workers, and Postwar Hollywood". The book examines how film noir crime and suspense stories from the mid-20th century reflected the politics of the time and portrayed the American worker. Broe analyzes how the portrayal of protagonists shifted depending on the era, from sympathetic fugitives to hard-boiled law enforcers, in line with changing public sentiments. The book provides a concise yet interdisciplinary look at how film noir was influenced by events like the Great Depression, World War 2, and McCarthyism. However, the review also notes some limitations, such as only focusing on American history and not placing film no

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    40.1.miller (PDF Version (153k) )

    Uploaded by

    giovp
    13 views2 pages
    This review summarizes Dennis Broe's 2009 book "Film Noir, American Workers, and Postwar Hollywood". The book examines how film noir crime and suspense stories from the mid-20th century reflected the politics of the time and portrayed the American worker. Broe analyzes how the portrayal of protagonists shifted depending on the era, from sympathetic fugitives to hard-boiled law enforcers, in line with changing public sentiments. The book provides a concise yet interdisciplinary look at how film noir was influenced by events like the Great Depression, World War 2, and McCarthyism. However, the review also notes some limitations, such as only focusing on American history and not placing film no

    Original Description:

    Dennis Broe on Film Noir, American Workers, and Postwar Hollywood.

    Original Title

    40.1.Miller (PDF Version (153k))

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    This review summarizes Dennis Broe's 2009 book "Film Noir, American Workers, and Postwar Hollywood". The book examines how film noir crime and suspense stories from the mid-20th century reflected the politics of the time and portrayed the American worker. Broe analyzes how the portrayal of protagonists shifted depending on the era, from sympathetic fugitives to hard-boiled law enforcers, in line with changing public sentiments. The book provides a concise yet interdisciplinary look at how film noir was influenced by events like the Great Depression, World War 2, and McCarthyism. However, the review also notes some limitations, such as only focusing on American history and not placing film no

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    13 views2 pages

    40.1.miller (PDF Version (153k) )

    Uploaded by

    giovp
    This review summarizes Dennis Broe's 2009 book "Film Noir, American Workers, and Postwar Hollywood". The book examines how film noir crime and suspense stories from the mid-20th century reflected the politics of the time and portrayed the American worker. Broe analyzes how the portrayal of protagonists shifted depending on the era, from sympathetic fugitives to hard-boiled law enforcers, in line with changing public sentiments. The book provides a concise yet interdisciplinary look at how film noir was influenced by events like the Great Depression, World War 2, and McCarthyism. However, the review also notes some limitations, such as only focusing on American history and not placing film no

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    You are on page 1of 2

    Film & History 40.

    1: Book Reviews Spring 2010

    Brian Dauth and the University they would be reflected—more or


    Press of Mississippi are to be less directly—in a public media meant
    congratulated for this fine collection to entertain the paying masses. Broe
    of interviews, which should encourage suggests, “the film noir tough-guy
    contemporary film scholars to language, which is often read as
    reconsider the contributions of Joseph simply the protagonist’s cynicism, is
    L. Mankiewicz to classical Hollywood explicitly presented as a contesting the
    narrative during the studio era. integrity of a working-class position
    Ron Briley when confronted with the raw power
    Sandia Preparatory School of an opposing class.” [69] Then again,
    Albuquerque, New Mexico “Just as the empire Western […]
    ___________________________ positioned the spectator behind the
    barrel of a rifle firing at the Native
    American (and metaphorically taking
    Dennis Broe. aim at the budding anticolonial
    Film Noir, American Workers, and movements) […], so too the crime
    Postwar Hollywood. film positioned its viewer behind the
    University Press of Florida, 2009. wheel of the squad car responding to
    192 pages; $69.95. an all-points bulletin in a working-
    Daniel Broe explores the film class neighborhood.” [87-8]
    noir crime and suspense story in the Broe discovers different
    mid-twentieth century, focusing not successive phases of Film Noir up to
    exclusively on cinematographic the high point of the McCarthy Era
    analysis but instead discussing the and subsequently follows the Neo-
    plots in light of contemporary politics Noir through the 1980s and 1990s to
    as a reflection on the worker within the Bush II administration. Depending
    society at a given moment in time. In on the general sentiment (such as
    a brief preface, Boer notes that the moments when the public sentiment
    book began in the Clinton-era 1990s shifted to a climate of public paranoia,
    as an examination of what seemed like as was the case at the onset of the
    a distant past—until with 9/11 he Cold War), protagonists in the Film
    found that “we are again in an Noir would shift from sympathy-
    undeclared war, the war on terror, inspiring fugitives to hard-boiled law
    where in an even more concerted way enforcers, thus shifting from a
    than in the previous cold war, we are questioning law-enforcement to
    constantly reminded that this unseen, almost giving it a cart-blanche. Broe’s
    unknowable menace can strike at any wry conclusion for the post 9/11
    moment.” (xi) There is no clear film: “Be afraid, be very afraid, and
    dividing line between past and never ask why.” [125]
    present. Instead, public fear recurs Broe structures his concise book
    periodically taking on new names, the into five main chapters: the Home
    invisible threat having currently Front detective as dissident lawman (-
    passed from the communist to the or, politically correct, -woman)
    terrorist. followed by two chapters entitled
    Broe’s book is an intriguing Noir Part I and Noir Part II, of which
    interdisciplinary approach to the social the first deals with socialism, and the
    sciences and the humanities. Labor second with “Fugitive Kinds.” The
    unrest, Great Depression, World fourth chapter explores McCarthyite
    War II, and HUAC certainly were crime films. The final chapter is
    significant moments in U.S. history, devoted to Neo-Noirers. In an
    which makes it all too plausible that appendix starting on page 129, Broe

    108
    Film & History 40.1: Book Reviews Spring 2010

    lists crime films for each of the Noir future, there will be more
    periods that he defined. The chapters comprehensive analyses, focusing on
    typically start out with a few remarks achieving an ever-closer synthesis of
    as to historical context followed by different disciplines, such as history
    examples including more or less and film studies
    detailed plot synopses. In discussing Anja Becker
    Neo-Noirers, Broe includes Errol Vanderbilt University
    Morris’ 1988 The Thin Blue Line, [email protected]
    which is actually a documentary ___________________________
    tracing the story of a man on death
    row who was innocently convicted of
    murder; as all of Morris’ films, it is a Allan Havis.
    sophistical art work in itself far Cult Films: Taboo and
    removed from traditional fact- Transgression.
    recounting documentaries. University Press of America, 2008.
    Due to its brevity, the book can 119 pages; $21.95.
    necessarily be but a glimpse, Difficult to pin down precisely,
    reminding us of a more and more the cult film has a special relationship
    widespread practice in U.S. academia with its audiences. As Allan Havis
    of publishing in book-format what argues it is an experience that is at
    should have been brilliant but concise once nostalgic and ephemeral, but “no
    articles. As they say: I am writing you a one agrees, about the top selection of
    long letter because I did not have the time such benchmark films.” While Havis is
    to write a short one. Broe’s book also quick to point out the obvious cult
    points to another problem of the (and camp) champion, The Rocky
    American academe: the tendency Horror Picture Show (1975), he wisely
    introspectively to focus on national does not dwell there, given the
    U.S. historiography without regard attention it has already received.
    for the outside world. Film Noir, as the Instead, his selection of three key cult
    French name suggests, obviously has films made in each decade from the
    foreign roots. Why would an art form 1920s to the 2000s allows him a broad
    in America take on this French name perspective. This results in some
    to depict the American worker? In the omissions beyond Rocky Horror that
    nineteenth and first half of the Havis points out in the introduction.
    twentieth century, the U.S. labor He is quick to convey that he wants to
    movement was actually carried by a “rule out any archival encyclopedia for
    huge immigration population. the sheer avoidance of the drudgery of
    Socialism and communism were cataloguing”, but in doing so, Havis
    brewed up in Europe and traveled probably engages in too much
    across the Atlantic aboard the mentioning’ of cult films in place of
    immigrant vessel. As sources from analytical insight.
    Russian archives revealed in the This is not to say that Havis’
    1990s, the communist underground in remarks about each of the chosen
    the U.S. did have strong ties with the twenty-seven films are not discerning.
    Soviet Union from its very inception. On the contrary, his lucid, although
    But the hysteria of the Red Scares in sometimes too brief, observations
    1919 and again in the late 1940s afford an incisive glimpse at the inner
    nonetheless unduly exaggerated the machinations of cult films and their
    actual threat. followers. “The cult viewer,” he
    Broe’s book is a starting point, writes, “slips beyond the usual ways of
    and it is to be hoped that in the seeing, sensing, and empathizing with

    109

    You might also like