A4 Blog 1: Eric Lott's Whiteness of Film Noir

I read an article written by Eric Lott, "The Whiteness of Film Noir" to compliment my understanding of Noir based on the articles we've read, movies watched in class, as well as discussion.  The article analyzes film noir as a film containing an interest in blackened lives and frames to depict racism of 1940's American Life.  Film noir serves to illustrate the differences between perceived racial differences and stereotypes, a topic widely popular in film.  Lott states, "At a moment when bold new forms of black, Chicano, and Asian activism and visibility confronted resurgent white revanchism and vigilantism, film noir's relentless cinematography of chiaroscuro and moral focus on the rotten souls of white folks" to illustrate the struggle between light and dark depictions in film.  This article has reaffirmed what we have learned of how film noir uses lighting and other visual effects to represent how the color of one's skin determines the stereotypes placed on an individual, where it is favorable to be "light".  In this aspect, film noir celebrates those with a light phenotype while doing the opposite for their darker skinned counterparts.

Lott examines the role of women in film noir--a prevalent idea we have already examined in class.  The femme fatal, or  as Lott refers to it female power, is the power given to women in the films and because of this they skew societal relationships.  Women often prey upon men in these films such as the film, The Devil in a Blue Dress, where Daphne Monet has a great amount of influence and causes many unnecessary deaths because of her power.  Lott furthers the examination of women in film noir by stating, "the feminist critique of noir constitutes the most far-reaching account of the self's partitioning (into good/masculine and evil/feminine) in this run of American film and without it our understanding of noir would be impoverished indeed."  It is the portrayal of good/masculine and evil/ feminine that I have paid particular attention to in film noir and has been further brought to my attention thanks to Lott's article.

Here is an example of a femme fatal character common in noir films.  Also, notice how obvious the lighting is, another important aspect of film noir. 


From reading Eric Lott's article I was able to learn and get a better understanding of film noir.  Specifically, how racially charged this genre was.  The white favoritism is apparent through the lighting and depiction of the characters in the films.  On the other hand, the film would use darker scenes and lighting when showing people of darker races to give the feeling an impending crime or something bad is about to occur.  I am very interested in how film noir represents the desire for directors of these 1940'S films to perpetuate existing racial stereotypes in film.


Lott, Eric. "The Whiteness of Film Noir." Whiteness: A Critical Reader. Ed. Mike Hill. New York: New York UP, 1997.  81-101