Neo Noir - a genre for the mess we're in right now

Article by Ian Long

From the first season of Danish "Scandi Noir", THE KILLING

You don't need me to tell what the world's like these days. But here’s a short reminder of the current state of affairs:

• "Populist" politicians lying, tricking and bullying their way into power
  
  
• Shadowy billionaires and rogue states manipulating election results.
  
  
• Corrupt institutions from Hollywood to the Vatican covering up sexual misdemeanours.
  
  
• Previously respected, even loved, public figures outed as abusers.
  
  
• News becoming another commodity, with consumers buying the "truth" that suits them.
  
  
• New levels of substance abuse and knock-on gang violence.
  
  
• The illegal supply of drugs established as an international big business.
  
  
• Powerful corporations tracking and manipulating our behaviour.
  
  
• And, in the background, the steady destruction of the environment in the name of profit.

The divided self was a powerful theme in Fritz Lang's M (possibly the first Noir?)

Q: BUT HOW CAN WE TURN THESE ISSUES INTO FICTION?

A: They have something in common: human perversity and reversals of intention.

Many of the things listed above have a perverse aspect, in which things morph into their opposite ...

• The meteoric careers of dictators and firebrand politicians end in disaster.
  
  
• Supporters of populists end up with leaders who act against their interests.
  
  
• Sexual abusers are dicing with shame and exposure, maybe even willing it on.

This perverse streak is part of the genre description of Neo Noir, which you can explore in depth at our workshop on August 31.

Updating the tropes and conventions of classic Film Noir, the genre provides a tool-box of plots, characters and situations to deal creatively with our self-destructive tendencies.

Neo Noir protagonists often don’t really need antagonists – they do the job so well themselves.

BREAKING BAD - Walter White as both hero and villain

In the workshop, we'll:

• Detail the many powerful themes and ideas the genre can address.
  
  
• Use fun and interesting exercises to help you to create the elements of your own Neo Noir story.
  
  
• Demonstrate ideas with carefully chosen film clips
  
  
• Talk about how the genre can employ female protagonists
  
  
• Afterwards you'll continue to learn and share information about the genre in a special Facebook group.
  

For more information and to book, click here.