In looking at the abundance of literature on the general topic of film and genre there always exists, if not a simple section on film noir, an entire chapter devoted to its explication. The topic of film noir has always been one of debate. What is film noir? Is it a time period? Is it simply a style? Is it a genre? Given the debate surrounding the status of film noir, it is interesting that most “film” books feel obligated to discuss the issue. However, these discussions of film noir seem to be trapped in the middle of the 20 th century – the 40s and 50s. There seems to be a lack of discourse on the presence of film noir in the contemporary cinema. Granted, film noir had its heyday in the forties and fifties, but this does not mean it cannot have a life now. It does not appear that the crucial elements that comprise noir are locked to a specific time period. The theme of voice-over narration is not temporally confined. Nor are the highly stylized elements of chiaroscuro lighting. Neither is the femme-fatale character or the presence of the detective; what some might call the “seeker-hero.” Yes, these particular elements lend themselves to a specific type of film (i.e. mystery, detective, etc.), but nothing suggests temporal incarceration.

This site is an online representation of a synthesis of two course taken at Trinity University in the Fall Semester of 2006: Communication Capstone Seminar and a Web Design Course. The aesthetics of this site were the work of the web design course and the intellectual, or scholarly, portion of the site is the work of Capstone course.

Under the Genre Button, you will find an analysis of two of the major works on genre theory and they are accesible enough for all ability levels. Taking the discussion a bit deeper, I move into a discussion of a particular genre, film noir. Under the Film Noir Button I look at the debate surrounding the topic of film noir as well as introducing the most basic noir traits. It is in the Sin City Button where things get more interesting and less dry. I take the elements discussed by film noir scholars and apply them directly to the film Sin City (Robert Rodriguez, Frank Miller, 2005). Finally, under the Animation Button, I move into a much more abstract discussion of animation's effect on the film noir genre.

This is site for film scholars of all levels and for anyone looking for more discussion about the film Sin City.