Techniques in
Fiction—Noir and Contemporary Society
This
course will focus on the type of crime fiction that falls under the fluid
categories hard-boiled and roman noir, its relation to its filmic
counterpart, and its relevance to contemporary society. The class will
initially trace the formation of the hard-boiled novel, focusing on progenitors
such as Dashiell Hammett, James Cain and Raymond Chandler, and the films based
on their work in order to view, recognize, and discuss the conventions that
mark the sub-genre: the cynical, nihilistic protagonist, usually a detective;
the corrupt, idle rich; femmes fatales; cigarette smoke; razor-sharp dialogue;
dark, rainy streets in a cityscape; and so on.
We
will investigate to what extent the literary and filmic production of the NOIR
era (the period between the early 40s and the late 50s) was informed and
inspired by the prevailing political climate and we will explore the reasons
the style/genre has attracted more readers and viewers in present times. James Ellroy
is one author who has gleaned both popularity and acclaim for documenting, as
Lee Horsley puts it, “the criminality at the heart of American political life,” influencing an
entire generation of authors who contend with “politics as crime, the private
nightmare of public policy” (qtd. in “Founding Fathers: ‘Genealogies of
Violence in James Ellroy’s L.A. Quartet’”; 1998).
The
course will cover other trajectories as well. In its incarnation, white males
and, no surprise, white male protagonists, dominated this style/genre. In
response, this course will give significant attention to authors who don’t fit
this mold, including Patricia Highsmith, who in her Psychological Noirs
(notably the series of Ripley novels) challenges the reader by presenting her
tales from the criminal’s perspective, and Natsuo Kirino, a Japanese writer who
has extended the hard-boiled formula in order to depict the dark side of
modern-day Japan. Besides the listed below, students will be assigned shorter works
by Joyce Carol Oates, Louise Erdrich, Stephen Graham Jones, Dashiell Hammett, Holly
Goddard Jones, and others.
The
course will the engage with the topics and issues (e.g., societal roles,
racism, corruption, moral depravity, rebellion) triggered by the readings and
film viewings. Students should gain a deeper and more critical understanding of
the Zeitgeist of the classic NOIR era, and armed with this framework, they
should be able to apply it to contemporary society. Literature breathes life
into history and with a richer understanding of the recent past students will
be invited to play “detective” in their examination of sub-rosa and
less covert communities.
This is a Literary Studies
and a Creative Writing course. While all students are expected to respond critically,
ENG 716B is also a CW course. CW students will be encouraged to create their
own hard-boiled narratives.
Required Texts
The Big Sleep, by Raymond Chandler
The Yiddish Policeman’s Union, by Michael Chabon
Noir, by
Robert Coover
The Name of the Rose, by Umberto Eco
L.A. Confidential, by James Ellroy
The Talented Mr. Ripley, by Patricia Highsmith
The Dark Side of the Screen: Film Noir, by Foster Hirsch
Out, by Natsuo Kirino
Gone, Baby, Gone, by Dennis Lehane
Inherent Vice, by Thomas Pynchon
List of films likely to be shown, all or in
part, or assigned to be viewed:
L.A. Confidential,
Chinatown, The Big Sleep, The Maltese Falcon, The Long Goodbye, Out of the
Past, Double Indemnity, Body Heat, The Talented Mr. Ripley, The Good German,
Inherent Vice, The Name of the Rose . . .
Assignments
Responses to each novel
and/or film
A presentation on a text
A 20-page essay on a
subject triggered by the readings
or a short story/chapter of equivalent
length
Goals, expected outcomes
For all
students:
Increased
familiarity with advanced research methods
Recognition
of the need to place one’s own scholarly work within broader critical
conversations
More practice
doing independent research using primary and secondary sources
For creative
writers:
Increased
familiarity with genre-based creative writing strategies
Recognition
of the need to place one’s creative work within broader artistic conversations