Noir is Back

After reading Stein’s article about Millennial Noir, I started picking up on specific differences between types of noir in the Veronica Mars episode and the Gossip Girl Episode. Stein says that noir today is either nostalgic or connotative.

Let’s take a look at Veronica Mars first. I loved the scene where Keith comes into the kitchen and starts imitating Humphrey Bogart’s rough, low drawl. Veronica calls him “Phillip Marlowe,” making a reference to the 1920’s detective that Bogart embodies in “The Big Sleep.” (It’s a great example of a traditional noir, full of black shadows, many sexually ouvert women, gunshots, and dirty money…). This kind of noir is obviously nostalgic, and not only does it make viewers like me feel intelligent about the reference, and thus feel more intimately connected with Veronica and Keith, but it also legitimizes the teen detective show as following in the same tradition, 60 years later.

In Gossip Girl, Chuck goes on a hunt for a mysterious femme fatale woman who ends up double-crossing him. This also represents the nostalgic noir, especially lighting-wise: Chuck’s only memories of the previous night are dark, shadow-filled glimpses of a rich mansion lighted by candlesticks.

A good example of the connotative noir – noir that calls on old noir techniques in order to enhance the intrigue – is in little details of the Veronica Mars episode: constant ambulance sirens float through the windows of Keith’s office, which through green and red lighting has a gritty, ugly, and almost surreal feel to it. Wanda invokes the double-crosser by hiding an ugly, corrupt side of herself from Veronica while simultaneously pretending to save the miserly. And Logan represents the corruption and confusion of the rich, by being both the snobby, superior classmate who uses his fame to get what he wants, and being victimized by the affects of the money that has corrupted his parents.