There are many aspects towards understanding the concept of Film Noir. There are infinite details to be put together before creating the ideal Noir film. Noir films began during the Great Depression and when Europeans came to the United States to escape Hitler. This is one of the reasons why these films were so “depressing.” The films concentrated on visual style, tone, characters, setting and conflict.

Visual style is where the most detail subsides in the film. Lighting plays the biggest role in creating the right mood. By the room being dark and creating shadows, it makes the scene more intense. Some directors even use blinds and fog machines to set a more dreary mood. Back in the day, they did have color films, but Film Noir directors chose to keep it in black and white to make sure that their viewers felt the depressed and dark mood. To keep that same feeling going, most of the scenes were shot at night. For instance in the movie, In Cold Blood, when Perry Smith was about to be hung, it was late at night, and pouring rain, and when he was hung, there was only one dim light on him.

Film directors also use angles and move the camera from object to object to have the viewer’s mind set on their hero. Experimenting with different angles such as high and low and even using different lenses helps increase the suspense, and keeps the viewer questioning what will happen next.

Film makers also concentrate on plot elements such as tone, characters, setting and conflict. Each character is created with great detail. From the tips of their fingers to the way they speak. Perry Smith always had an uneasy tone to his voice, as if a piece of the puzzle was missing. He had such a terrible life, it almost looked at though he was always watching his back.

Each film also contains an anti-hero, which is a person who isn’t a perfect role model, but still ends up being the hero of the story anyway. Take Perry Smith for example, he has had the worst life, steals, hangs around the wrong crowd, kills an entire family, ends up in jail, but is still the hero, because of his sincere character. He makes you want to reach out to him and you sympathize with him. Even though he killed her, he protected the teenage girl from getting raped by Dick. Perry apologizes for all that he’s done, and he’s taken so much of other people’s baggage, he has nothing left to say except that he’s sorry.

Each story has it’s own conflict and each story has a specific ending. In most Noir films, someone ends up going completely insane and either killing someone else, or themselves. They feel as though there is no easy way out, so it’s either do or die. In most of these films there is a particular conflict dealing with money and a girl or two. To spice things up a bit, they’re maybe some kind of sex scandal. When these films first came out, people were shocked because they were so “graphic.” In that time, the public kept sex, rape, and drugs off the big screens because everyone was too “conservative” to even talk about it. No one wanted to know if you were raped, they really didn’t even care. No one saw people doing drugs or having an affair with another man or woman, it just wasn’t morally right, so actually seeing it was absurd.

Film Noir was a great advance in society. People finally realized that the world and life in general was not all rainbows and sunshine, and that bad things were going to happen. Just because you don’t talk about it, doesn’t mean you can escape it. Film writers branched out and told these stories whether they were true or fake. And by adding in all of these little details, it made the film and the story more believable. For every gun that was shot and for every person that was killed, for every girl that was raped and for every fear that it would happen to you, well, that’s Film Noir.

It’s difficult to understand someone who has an addiction. Mentally, they’ve drifted off to a place where no one can reach them, and that’s how they fall so hard, so fast. They begin speaking differently, not comprehending things the way they should be, and blaming their issues on others. In Eugene O’Neill’s, Long Day’s Journey into Night, the mother, Mary is addicted to Morphine. Ever since her addiction began, her and her family’s lives have been a constant worry. No one knows what she’s capable of doing, or what she will say next. They find it hard to trust her enough to leave her alone. It’s as if they have to babysit her all the time.

At first, the father, Tyrone, and one of the sons, Edmund, are in denial that Mary has started using again. They believe that life has been perfect and so is Mary. They refuse to spy and keep an eye over her because they feel guilty for not trusting her. However, Jamie, the oldest is capable of seeing right through Mary and all of her lies. He knows she’s using again, and tries to bring it to the  attention of his father and Edmund, but they are too ashamed and they try to ignore the situation.

Jamie: It was her being in the spare room that scared me. I couldn’t help remembering that when she starts sleeping alone in there, it has always been a sign-

Tyrone: It isn’t this time! It’s easily explained. Where else could she go last night to get away from my snoring? By God, how can you live with a mind that sees nothing but the worst motives behind everything is beyond me!

 As the day grows older, Mary becomes worse, and her appearance gives off a sense that she’s not quite well. She comes up with the most random thoughts, and she’s so jittery it makes her addiction so obvious. Tyrone and Edmund finally see the light and understand what’s happening to Mary. Living with that woman must be difficult. The overwhelming stress, and the constant worry could kill a person. And it’s not even worrying about yourself, it’s someone else. The worry and the stress is because of someone else….

Mary: Go away? No! I won’t have it! How dare Doctor Hardy advise such a think without consulting me! How dare your father allow him! What right has he? You are my baby! Let him attend to Jamie! I know why he wants to send you to a sanatorium. To take you away from me! He’s always tried to do that. He’s been jealous of every one of my babies! He kept finding ways to make me leave them. That’s what caused Eugene’s death. He’s been jealous of you most of all. He knew that I loved you most because-

Mary tries to put the blame all on Jamie, and that it’s his fault that her life is a complete wreck. Because he’s tried to “get rid of” all of the other children, Mary had to result to drugs to make everything “better” for herself. Mary is selfish, and she only cares about herself. She makes up excuses to blame things on her son, so she can feel less guilty about herself in hopes everyone will forgive her as well.

By night, Mary is higher than the sky. Somehow she is able to get a hold of her wedding gown and drags it behind her down the stairs. He hair has lost it’s style and her face is drained of emotion. She sits down to play the piano, and she thinks she is a nun, and that Sister Theresa is going to punish her for playing so badly.

Mary: She’ll give me something to rub on my hands, and tell me to pray to the Blessed Virgin, and they’ll be well again in no time. Let me see. What did I come here to find? It’s terrible, how absent minded I’ve become. I’m always dreaming and forgetting.

In the end, the men are all drunk, and Mary is gone. Her mind has drifted so far, there is a slim to none chance of hope for her. They are all pretty much thinking, “here we go again.” It’s as if she were never sober, it’s as if they have never forgotten who Mary is. Living with someone who has an addiction is one of the hardest things to do, and it’s sad to say, that’s why most people give up….because it’s too hard. Too hard to quit, or too hard to be the support system. We’re human, we can’t read minds, and it’s hard to get inside someones head. Understanding someone is half the battle, actually trying to do something about it…well, that’s the war.

There is no such thing as a perfect family, or a perfect person for that matter. Each family is dis-functional and has their own issues to deal with. However, it’s unfortunate that one person has the power to make everyone around them miserable and frustrated. In The Glass Menagerie, by Tennessee Williams there is a family of three who live in a small, cluttered home and have more problems than most, and is seems as though the problems begin to build up and it makes the air harder to breathe.

The mother, Amanda, is loud and obnoxious about everything. She wakes her son in the morning for work and says, “Rise and shine! Rise and shine!” in the most irritating tone. It’s like nails on a chalk board. Amanda is like any other mother and wants the best for her children. She sends her daughter, Laura to the Business College, and later discovers that she drops out. Her son, Tom, is the man of the house. He works and pays the bills, but he is the most unhappy and most miserable soul. The personalities of these three characters can be compared to one person and that’s Blanche Dubuois from A Streetcar Named Desire. Blanche has many personalities, and acts a certain way around different people. Laura is very timid, and gentle, especially around the gentleman caller, Jim O’Connor. She has a hard time letting her guard down and letting people in because she is so insecure with herself, which is a lot like Blanche. When Blanche is around Mitch, (her love interest) she doesn’t tell him everything about her at once, and she looks for a complement where-ever she can get one.

Tom, Laura’s brother has his own issues as well. Most of the time he’s off on his own trying to figure out what’s going on in his head, but when he’s angry he doesn’t hold back.

Tom: Listen! You think I’m crazy about the warehouse? You think I’m in love with the Continental Shoemakers? You think I want to spend fifty-five years down there in that- celotex interior! with- fluorescent- tubes! Look! I’d rather somebody picked up a crowbar and battered out my brains- than go back mornings! I go! Every-time you come in yelling that God damn “Rise and shine!” “Rise and shine!” I say to myself, “How lucky dead people are!” But I get up. I go! For sixty five dollars a month I give up all that I dream of doing and being ever! And you say self- self’s all I ever think of. Why, listen, if self is what I thought of, Mother, I’d be where he is- GONE! [He points to his father's picture.] As far as the system of transportation reaches! [ He starts past her. She grabs his arm.] Don’t grab at me, Mother!

Blanche still lets it all out, but not quite at violently as Tom. When Blanche talks about her past with her husband, she explains that the majority of the reason why she is who she is, is because of what happened to her in the past. Her husband who was homosexual had killed himself, and she hasn’t fully recovered.

“Don’t go any closer! Come back! You don’t want to see!” See? See what! Then I heard voices say -Allan! Allan! The Grey boy! He’d stuck the revolver into his mouth, and fired- so that the back of his head had been-blown away!

However, Amanda and Blanche are the most similar. They are both in their older years and are beginning to notice they are not as “vibrant” as they once were. They are always talking down about themselves so that others will politely disagree.

Blanche: It isn’t enough to be soft. You’ve got to be soft and attractive. And I- I’m fading now! I don’t know how much longer I can turn the trick.

Amanda: Something I’ve resurrected from that old trunk! Now, just look at your mother! This is the dress in which I led in the cotillion.

Both women are also terribly uncomfortable around the light. They always like it dim and dark so no one can see their true age. Blanche is by far more uncomfortable with her image than Amanda. Blanche always feels as though she has someone to impress, as if someone is always watching her because she was never good enough for someone to stick around or to satisfy someone else. However, Amanda knows she’s not young anymore, Blanche knows it too, she just refuses to see it.

It’s unfortunate that someone could be so diverse in so many negative ways. It’s unfortunate because now everyone else has to deal with the next mood swing, or a mental breakdown. The people surrounding that person end up getting annoyed and frustrated and end up getting rid of the problem, or taking themselves out of the picture. In A Streetcar Named DesireBlanche is sent away to a mental hospital, which was probably the best solution. However, InThe Glass Menagerie, Tom is the one who leaves. He’s tired of dealing with the stress of a hard day and getting nothing in return except the irritating voice of his mother in his ear. It’s sad to say, but there are real families that are as dis-functional, if not more, than these two, and you never know who might give up and walk out.

People often go through their whole lives wondering what purpose they have in this world. Some find the light, but most feel loss of hope. In Eugene O’Neill’s Desire Under the Elms, there is evidence of various typical themes. Each character is in search of something weather it’s love, money, or greed. Ephraim Cabot is a greedy old man who cares about nothing but himself. To him, the meaning of life, is greed and how much he can get out of anyone.  He doesn’t care about love, or family. He wants to keep “his” farm running, and a wife in his kitchen. His children are not much different, all but one.

Eben, knows that the farm belongs to him. Before his mother died, she told him to never give it up for anyone, because it is his. Eben, now grown, is determined to get back what is rightfully his. Eben has money that he stole from his father, so he sends his brothers, Simeon and Peter off to California. Simeon and Peter can’t stand their father, he’s always dissapearing and coming home with a new woman. However, they share their father’s greed and love of money.

Eben’s father brings home his new wife, Abbie, who he beings having an affair with. Later, she ends up giving birth and makes Ephraim believe that it is his inorder to keep the farm at her fingertips. Her outlook on reality is gaining all she can by deciving others. So, to keep the farm, and her love for Eben, she kills her baby hoping that would keep their relationship alive. Eben is distraught and upset, but before turning Abbie over to the sherriff, he admitts the love he has for her and that he played a role in killing the infant.

Although, all of these characters were after their own desires, they each shared one thing in common. They were testing what reality truly is. Greed became their other half and they let it rule their lives. Their desires showed what they truly value in life.

When someone goes through a dramatic experience in their life, it’s hard to let it go. It becomes even more difficult to not let it take control of your life and the people around you. Understanding someones past and where they’re coming from is not an easy task, so most leave words left unsaid. In Tennessee Williams’, A Streetcar Named Desire, Blanche, a soft spoken southern belle endures in two of the most dramatic and difficult events anyone could ever go through. She and her sister, Stella grew up on a plantation with the comfort of money surrounding them. Later, when Stella left Belle Reve, life around the plantation just became harder. The whole family was laying on their death beds, sick and fading. There was only Blanche to bury them all, Stella only arrived for the funeral.

It’s difficult to adapt when you’ve lost everything and you have to start all over again. When Blanche unexpectedly arrives at Stella’s, many thoughts race through her head. She couldn’t wrap her head around why Stella was living in a “shack” with a room separated by a certain, and why she is with a “common” Pollack. She knows Stella came from better and deserves better than what she has, but doesn’t understand how she could be functioning knowing Belle Reve is gone.

Blanche is furious and at her breaking point. Why was she left alone to deal with Belle Reve? Why was she the only one seeing death right before her eyes? Why wasn’t Stella there to help? Stella had made a new life for herself, and in Blanche’s mind, that isn’t a good enough excuse.

Blanche, trying to fix her shattered nerves looked to alcohol and hot baths in Louisiana to calm herself. Blanche is looking for some way out of her misery and a new love interest to break her free, someone to make her feel comfortable in her own skin. Keeping her personal life a secret after leaving Belle Reve, Blanche drowned away her sorrows with liquor and young men to “satisfy” her broken heart….

As a young girl, Blanche married the man of her dreams, though a man she could never please. Later in the relationship, Blanche discovers that the man she loved, loved men as well. Now knowing this information, Blanche felt as though she was undesirable. It hurts when the only person left in your life doesn’t want to be apart of it. This feeling of failure tears a heart apart. “I saw! I know! You disgust me…” Her husband ran outside and stuck a revolver in his mouth and blew himself away.

No one understands Blanche, and why she is the way that she is. She’s seen things no human being should ever see and going insane just seems like the sane thing to do. She has nothing left so what else chould she possibly lose? Mitch, a man she begins to fall for, doesn’t understand why Blanche is so needy, when all she wants is someone to want her. She needs that extra boost, someone to hold on too, someone to need her as much as she needs him, but no one is willing to look beyond the surface because they are too focused on her past. Stella decides it’s best that she stays in a Mental Hospital to calm herself. Unfortunately, Blanche will never be who she once was.

Ernest Hemingway’s The Killers, is much like The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. Prufrock and Ole Anderson have similar attitudes towards life and the challenges and situations that come along with it. When Anderson finds out that he is going to be killed, he gives up before even trying to save his own life. “I’m through with all that running around. There ain’t anything to do now.”

Like Prufrock, he’s down and depressed and is tired of life’s challenges. He decides to go in hiding and isolate himself from the world. “No. I got in the wrong. There ain’t anything to do. After awhile I’ll make my mind to go out.” He doesn’t feel like going out or socializing. He feels sick and wants to be alone.

As he sits in his room alone and waits for them to kill him. Nick tells the cook he needs to leave because it bothers him too much to think about Anderson sitting in his room waiting for his life to end.

The representation of psychological reality is one major attribute to modern literature. It includes experiences through the mind and inner thoughts that are opaque and misunderstood. In The Love song of J. Alfred Prufrock, by T.S. Eliot, gives off a sense of having an uncomfortable relation to space. There is the question if he is ever mobile, or communicating with the world outside of his room. He remains in-closed in this space and his ‘experiences’ are imaginary.
Prufrock has an unhappy relationship with time as well.

And indeed there will be time
To wonder, “Do I dare?” and, “Do I dare?”
Time to run back and descend the stair,
Will a bald spot in the middle of my hair–

He feels as if his time is slowly slipping away, and with time, he will change. It seems as though he feels uncomfortable in his own skin, and with time changing who he is on the outside he’s afraid of who will notice. He is a lonely man and he knows it.  He puts himself down because he feels worthless and feels as though he will never bring anything good to the world.

I should have been a pair of ragged claws
Scuttling across the floors of silent seas.

He knows that his world will soon come crashing down, so he figures, why wait? I have nothing to live for, now. He dwells on his miserable life, because if no one else wants to be apart of it, then why should he?

Hey there! My name is Stephannie, and no I did not spell my name wrong. I am sixteen years old, and pretty much your average teenage girl. I love to write and hope to become a journalist for National Geographic someday. However, right now, I’m still trying to figure who I am. As I get older I am exploring new depths of my life. I try to focus on just being a kid, but the world forces you to grow up so much faster than you really want too. There are things in my life that I hold on to, to try and keep my youth. I’m a total goofball, and a great listener.

The attribute I’m most interested in is the presentation of inner reality. I love trying to understand what people are thinking, and why they think the way that they do.

Here I am.