Why Theory

Film Noir

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Apr 3, 2022
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ANECDOTE

Film Theory's Perceived Demise

  • Todd McGowan recounts a recent hiring search at the University of Vermont for a film theory position.
  • Three of five candidates stated they would only teach psychoanalytic film theory up to Laura Mulvey's work, believing film theory ended in the 1980s.
INSIGHT

Film Theory's Continued Relevance

  • Film theory did not end in the 1980s, and Laura Mulvey's work extends beyond her famous essay, "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema."
  • Even discussions of the "gaze" in film theory continue after Mulvey, with important contributions like bell hooks' "Oppositional Gaze."
INSIGHT

Film Noir as a Theoretical Movement

  • Film noir is a film theoretical movement centered around a formal relationship to constraint.
  • The theory embedded within these films requires theoretical analysis to fully understand.
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