Blog option two: How does having a female as both protagonist and first-person
narrator affect these narratives? Would
you still consider these stories as noir? Why or why not?
When I first began to read The Method by Janet Fitch, I decided right away to chose blog option 2. I think having a woman be the protagonist is a nice breath of fresh air. I was just getting used to Neo-Noir's vulgarity in the new stories. Now with Holly in The Method being a woman and being so raunchy and raw was pretty entertaining for me. It took the classic noir depiction of stay at home women in the 40's to a neo noir perspective; The new Era of women- Holly was an independent single woman living by herself in the city.
Is a female protagonist still considered noir? I would have to say it is. While I was reading the story, it reminded me of Sunset Blvd. Same washed out actress, the location and even the gloominess of it all. As Holly walked in Mariah's house she describes is as being "dark and smelled of mold". The Method, like other noir stories, also escalated quickly. She got seduced (surprisingly) pretty fast by Richard (Anthony), suddenly was willing to kill, then suddenly turned crazy and killed him. So I think besides a protagonist female, I would label this story Neo-Noir. I'm actually enjoying the neo-noir stories a little more, especially in these short stories. I kept predicting which of Holly, Richard or Mariah were going to die. It's somewhat nice now to not know the outcome of the story in the beginning.
I have to agree with you that a female protagonist is still considered noir in my eyes. I also enjoyed the raunchiness of it, her attitude and independence made it interesting. A small town girl living on her own and trying to make it in the big city is the complete opposite of a stay at home women from the 40's. The more I read these short stories I find myself liking neo-noir over noir, actually I don’t know I’m confused. I think it depends on the story because last week’s stories were not as good as this weeks. Hopefully we get more stories with female protagonist I seem to be enjoying those more.
ReplyDeleteStacey, I like your take on the female protagonist as being “a nice breath of fresh air.” Both stories do give the audience a renewed sense of noir with a different perspective. I agree with you that the reversal of the roles for the protagonist being female does not change the story and it is still considered noir, more specifically neo-noir. As we learned last week, neo-noir contains elements of noir and gives it a twist to express the anxieties of a modern condition. In both of the stories, the role of the protagonist is reversed, as it is now recounted through a female’s perspective. I also liked your perception that “it is somewhat nice now to not know the outcome of the story in the beginning.” The sense of fatalism was respectable in classic noir, but with neo-noir, I would say, it feels more relevant to not know the ending of story in the beginning, leaving the outcome to be less obvious and less predictable.
ReplyDeletegreat blog...Just like the comment above mine i do love the part when you said it was "a breathe of fresh air" while reading it. I couldnt agreed more! When I read the other stories told by a male Ive found it really hard for me to focus. Although, when reading these stories it seemed to flow easily.
ReplyDeleteI agree with these stories being a film noir as well.