Main character types in Film noir
The main character types in classic Film noir have moods and personas of a negative nature and very dark like Film noir settings many of the characters in film noir may seem very alienated from society and from the normal individual. Characters in film noir are characters who are normal people in society but with a deep dark hidden secret. Characters such as femme fatale, corrupt cops and even average joes. Film noir character moods are pessimistic, morally corrupt, guilty, desperate and paranoid.
The male character types in film noir are mainly corrupt and have a dark element about them they could be seen as heroes or anti heroes. the characters are corrupt even though their job title is in the public sector such as detectives, politicians, cops or even just plain average joes. The types of characters used in film noir are villans, conflicted hard boiled detectives or private eyes, gangsters, government agents, a lone wolf, socio-paths or killers, crooks,war veterans, petty criminals and murderers. These leading male characters were often morally ambigious low lives from the dark and gloomy place of violent crime
and corruption often set in cities such as Los angeles and San francissco.
Distinctively they were tarnished menacing sinster members of society struggling to survive and in the end, ultimately losing.
A quote from a film noir which is an example of this:
"when a man's partner is killed, he's suppossed to do something about it. It doesn't make any difference what you thought of him. He was your partner and you're supposed to do something about it. And it happens we're in the detective business. Well,, when one of your organisation gets killed its bad business to let the killer get away with it. Bad all around. Bad for every detective, everywhere".
Female characters
The females in film noir were either the perfect woman (often as an icon for family life), dutiful, reliable, trustworthy and loving women. Or FEMMES FATALES mysterious women with a cheating nature, con artists, gorgeous, unloving, iressponsible women a women looking for a challenge taking full control of the challenge and getting the male to do all the dirty work, almost as if roles have reversed a woman who really knows what she wants and answers to no man infact nobody. Usually a very sexy character dressed in a sexy manner not your typical housewife style of clothing. The main male character would take the wrong path and may meet a feeme fatale on the way which can lead to a tragic or fatal ending. He would become embroiled and trapped in the black widdows(femme fatale) webb and also trapped in crime which would lead to an ultimate loss down to iressistable love and corruption.
Ideology of film noir
The ideology of film noir is not a typical hero narrative like superman or the good cop saves the day. But that of a normal person from society who is not a good role model in society and some may say is an anti hero opposed to hero. So the whole ideology of the good cop saving the day and a happy ending is not used in film noir but instead is the opposite as the main character who is the anti hero ultimately loses at the end and is not a hero but instead epically fails.
Target audiences
Film noirs are dark and heavy crime based dramas which contain violence and corruption. They are also seen as gangster films containing murders etc. The target audience for the film noir Genre would be prodominately a male audience from teenagers onwards and also people who love classic films.
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