COMM341

(FORMERLY COMM 390 TOPICS: TV NOIR) If you have completed Topics: TV Noir, you may not enroll in COMM 341.

Film noir traditionally refers to a group of movies produced in Hollywood during and after World War II, unified by their visual and thematic representations of a dark, unstable universe rife with brutality and despair. The term was first used with respect to Hollywood movies by French critics in 1946, who were suddenly exposed to a wave of American movies following the embargo that existed during the war, and who were positing a new trend in American filmmaking. This courrse begins with an examination of the roots and characteristics of film noir, but focuses on the evolution of the noir ethos as it applies to television, from the earliest days of the medium up to the present. Television programming was essentially born during the height of the classic film noir cycle, and shared many of the same thematic and narrative preoccupations during these days. As the medium evolved the television noir ethos has mutated to accommodate and reflect political, social, and cultural developments, as well as changes within the industry itself.