Blog Entry #10: Classification of Noir

    Two out the four stories that I have read I found very interesting. I believe that from all the Los Angeles stories that I’ve read they all seem to fall under the noir category. The main story that I found that is an example of noir would be Kinship by Brian Ascalon Roley. Mainly I choose this story as a classification as noir just because of what happens at the end of the novel when Veronicas cousin decided to stick in an ice pick into the man that did damage to Emerson. As a proof that I feel that it’s somewhat related to noir would be when in the novel it states ‘I am a father too, I said loudly enough for Manny to hear, and then I reached down and stuck him’ (pg. 317). As for this statement it relates to noir because back then all the violence involved a lot of weapons than today’s time. Even in today’s time there are still weapons involved but not as many as before. The novel that I found difficult to classify as noir was the novel What You See by Diana Wagman. The reason that I had found this novel difficult to classify as noir is because how the narrator wrote it. In the novel What You See it seemed easier to classify it as if it were to be a horror type of novel and being able to visualize it as a horror film by the way the story ended. This novel actually wouldn’t fit with noir. The narrator describes the things and places very well but I wouldn’t classify it as noir.

Blog #9: "The Kidnapper Bell" and "City of Commerce

I really liked both of the stories but the one that I liked the most was ‘The Kidnapper Bell’ just for the fact that I got a creepy feeling when I was reading it but I really like this story. The way that I think that both of the writers used the landscaping of Los Angeles was very distinctive. The way that they were really distinctive was by one having to do with a bell and the other one had to do with gambling and money. Both of the novels were very unique. I believe though that The Kidnapper Bell was very interesting because as I was reading it I felt a big creepy feeling, you know the ones that you get sometimes when you watch a horror film and you feel that something bad might be coming up. These two stories do create a very distinctive sense of place because one takes occurs in a river in the city of San Fernando and the other one takes place in the Crowne Plaza Hotel where there’s a lot of casinos that are similar to Las Vegas Nevada. For the story of The Kidnapper Bell the sense was very spooky as if someone was going to come up behind you and kidnap you. As for the other story the Russian does kidnap the guy in the hotel for winning over the Russians money that wants it back. In my point of view both stories were very interesting but at the same time very unique and distinguished in every way. Overall both narrators did a very good job.

Blog #8: Option #3 "The Method" by Janet Fitch

   Both of the stories “The Method” (pg.97) and “Morocco Junction 90210” (pg.122) were very interesting to me but if I were to choose one between these two stories for a recommendation I would have to go with “The Method.” To be very sincere I believe that it’s really hard to choose between any novels because it also depends on the other reader who is going to read it after and find out what it’s about because maybe they have a different prospective than we do but in this case we the readers would have to go with the one that we enjoyed. The one that I would recommend would be “The Method.” I choose this story because to me it was very simplistic and easy to understand. This story told everything about it. It stated where it took place, the characters names, the year it took place, etc. I would also recommend it because of the way that the narrator wrote it for us. Not only because it was plain and simplistic but also because throughout the story it was very straight forward to each of the characters. It was also very abrupt when it came to reading it. I have never read a story like that before. With all those intense and abrupt vocabulary word that the narrator has used made me want to read more of it. I really think that the narrator did a magnificent job in writing this story. I give a whole lot of credit to Janet Fitch. I think that she is an incredible narrator. So this is mainly why I choose the story “The Method.”

Blog #7: Los Angeles the Main City of all Cities

  Yes, it’s very true that in both of the novels they both take place in the city of Los Angeles the most popular city of all California. It’s also true that both of these authors used a greater backdrop for their deception and intrigue for this story. The way that both of these settings are different is that with Dangerous Days by Emory Holmes II (pg.54) she describes the novel in a very positive and happy way that’s going to capture the attention of the readers. I also find this story different because it starts off on a holiday. With this story there is a lot of positive moments to share by amongst the characters, not only did I read the quotes carefully and also felt the enthusiasm between one another. As I kept reading throughout the story it felt to me that as if the characters were together as a family and having a good time like any other family would be with each other. So overall these settings have shaped in a completely different way. As for the story called Midnight in Silicon Alley by Denise Hamilton (pg.85) the story starts off with a tone of discretion, discomfort, and full of tragedy. To me I see many differences overall I noticed the tone in which the narrators used. In this story I feel that it’s somewhat like Double Indemnity which has darkness, bleakness, and even very close lust to one another. So the way that these settings have shaped would be by making the novels positive and in a very happy tone. Overall the narrators have different stories but both have an interesting story to tell to the readers which will make us understand what we read and will make our lives more interesting than what we have been discovering.

Blog #6: The Contrast between Neo-Noir and Film Noir

Obviously some of us students didn’t know what the words Neo or Noir meant when we entered our English 101 class. We as students at the beginning had to research about both Neo Noir and Film Noir. Overall have you ever noticed that there hasn’t been much of a difference between them two? I have. With both of them they’ve stretched their movies through the early 1940s and through the late 1950s. Ever have thought about how the word Neo-Noir connect but not quite make sense to one other, in other words how they connect? Well if you really think about it or translate Neo Noir in English it doesn’t make sense. It actually says in English new black which of course doesn’t make any sense at all. So why did people come up with this name? The better question is who came up with this name? The answer to this would be the French people. Now with Film Noir when it came to making the movies they had stylish Hollywood crime dramas that make cynical attitudes and sexual motivation which make the films look Noir than what they already are. Many of their styles have roots from German Expressionist Cinematography. I believe that what this means was that the films came from Germany and starte4d extending out all over the countries. Most of the great Film Noirs were filmed during the Great Depression.

Blog #5- Double Indemnity:Overview Article

Wow!!! Double Indemnity is two big words that you don't hear often. Would you know the meaning to Double Indemnity? I do, the meaning of these two words are really fascinating to me. Overall what Double Indemnity means is two types of either damages or losses that someone would provoke. Well I found an article that Rob Nixon wrote about Double Indemnity. Rob couldn’t be more right about the novel when he said that to him it was a cold-blooded, brutal, highly stylized, and informed with a black sense of humor. I agree with Rob Nixon. I mostly believed that overall it was highly stylized because of the form that the actors talked with each other in the film. In the article that I have chosen it had also said that Barbara Stanwyck was afraid of the role for who she was going to play which was Phyllis Nirdlinger. Barbara was scared because for the other movies that she’s had been in she would play an innocent role in which she liked to be and for Double Indemnity a murderer. In my article that I have chosen I read that Edward G. Robinson also known as Barton Keyes in the film was best known for a gangster that he acted out for in the film Little Caesars in the year 1930. When I read that section about Edward G. Robinson I had thought about him and connected his acting with Double Indemnity and thought to myself how Edward G. Keyes would act in the movie Little Gangsters because in the film Double Indemnity I could see him playing a gangster for Little Caesars. In Double Indemnity Edward G. Robinson played a lethal lover nemesis which was a shrewd investigator who was able to sense a phony insurance from a mile away. For the role that Edward G. Robinson got was an excellent part that he played in Double Indemnity because he acted out his role very well. I would have to say that Double Indemnity was an incredible film from the nineteen fortys.

Article Title: Double Indemnity: Overview Article

Author: Rob Nixon