Film noir emerged in the United States under the leadership of directors and technical crews who were forced to emigrate from Europe due to the repressive policies of the Nazi regime. These films incorporated significant artistic elements from German Expressionism, French Poetic Realism, and Italian Neorealism. Film noir introduced a stylized, dark narrative style to cinema on a scale never seen before. The impact of the sociological, political, and economic devastation in America at the time was clearly reflected in these films. Film noir established itself in cinema as a narrative method that retained its influence even after the period during which it was most intensively produced.

“Noir” (nwɑːr) means “black” in French. When considered within the context of artistic disciplines, it is expected to evoke concepts such as ambiguity, pessimism, sadness, drama, and hopelessness. Although its characteristic features are very distinct, whether film noir is a genre, a movement, or a narrative technique remains a subject of debate. In this article, film noir will be evaluated under the scope of narrative technique, as it transcends specific genres and movements.

"Dark" works and movements—previously seen in literature, architecture, painting, and music—found a distinct place in cinema during one of history’s most chaotic periods through film noir.

The first half of the 20th century marked the darkest period in history for the entire world. During this period, two world wars, atomic bombs, the greatest economic crisis in history, and massive waves of migration spreading across the globe—along with sociological, economic, and political factors—led to the redefinition and transformation of virtually everything. Although America, being across the ocean, seemed largely unaffected by these events, it was both the central protagonist of nearly all these crises and, at the same time, a safe haven. European film directors and technical crews—primarily German and French—who fled Nazi Germany carried the full burden of fascism, the world wars, and the Holocaust to the United States, where they had emigrated. In America, these issues were compounded by economic, sociological, and political problems. The physical and psychological condition of American soldiers returning from the war was a problem in and of itself. As the wives of soldiers who had gone to war began to play an active role in the economy, the role of women was completely transformed. The status of immigrants and the chaotic state of the streets were problems specific to this emerging era. This troubled social structure led to the emergence of film noir and, at the same time, fostered the necessary audience and filmmakers to watch it.

The world wars of the early 20th century triggered critical events such as the use of atomic bombs, genocides, concentration camps, and mass migration. As a result, millions of people died, were left disabled, or suffered psychological trauma. Between the two world wars, the Great Depression—which began in 1929 and whose effects would last for decades—caused the existing economic system to collapse. Many factories closed, unemployment reached record highs, and industries ground to a halt.

German Occupation of Europe, 1941–1942, prior to World War II The events in Europe led to the destruction of the concept of “humanity.” Years of registration and racial profiling, deportations, concentration camps, occupations, mass killings, genocide, and every form of torture and death plunged all of Europe into darkness for decades. Many of these events—including the mass killings carried out by the Nazis—were justified by the perpetrators as being based on experimental and research grounds. In a short time, continental Europe was transformed into a laboratory from psychological, sociological, and physiological perspectives. These events called for revolutionary changes across all artistic disciplines. Those who emigrated from Europe to America were not just ordinary people; a great many intellectuals, scientists, and artists also emigrated to America. These immigrants were significant figures in Film Noir. Directors such as Fritz Lang, Robert Siodmak, Billy Wilder, Otto Preminger, and Michael Curtiz—who were among the immigrants—eventually became the most influential figures in Film Noir.

: The Atomic Bomb The two atomic bombs dropped by the United States on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 took the destruction of the “human” of this era to a different dimension. For the first time, “humanity” was physically and almost completely wiped out. The devastation left in the wake of the atomic bomb profoundly affected and transformed all of humanity, including the hibakusha and the artists of extinction.

American women had to sustain their lives on their own in the wake of the men who went off to war. Women also frequently took on roles in meeting military logistical needs during the war. During the wars, American women gained economic independence and social status; they dressed more boldly—and sometimes in a more masculine style—and increased their use of automobiles and cigarettes, activities traditionally considered masculine. This shift in women’s roles was another factor that placed pressure on men returning home from the war.

For those returning from the war, the changes in the streets were just as surprising as the changes in women. The streets were filled with immigrants fleeing the wars and facing economic hardship. The migrants were a source of cheap labor and were organized. The streets had been left to gangsters, cartels, the mafia, and gangs by governments focused on the war and the economic crisis.

In American cinema, there were restrictions stemming from the Motion Picture Production Act (known as the Hays Code), which was championed by William Harrison Hays. American cinema, which had been quite daring before this law, was confined to a narrow scope afterward because it failed to develop the necessary narrative techniques. In short, the code imposed restrictions on topics such as sexuality, abuse, the glorification or idealization of villainous characters, bad habits, and the dissemination of information that could encourage criminal behavior. American cinema broke free from this narrow confines through the innovative methods introduced by Film Noir.

Directors who emigrated from Germany brought their technical crews and approaches with them to America. Influenced by German Expressionism, Film Noir began to feature backlighting, high-contrast lighting, minimal fill light, shadows, and surreal set designs. This shift in technique directly transformed both content and narrative methods. This development served as a significant turning point for American cinema, which had been suppressed under the Hays Code.

's L'Atalante (1934) Films focusing on the working class were produced within the French Poetic Realism and Italian Neorealism movements. These films depicted the working class’s struggle to survive amid poverty. They were structured with a dark tone and typically ended with an unhappy ending. The film’s main character is removed from society, and throughout the film, this character usually takes on the qualities of an anti-hero. These characteristics, which were critical to the two movements in question, were similarly carried over into Film Noir.

Noir fiction was derived from another genre of novels known as “hardboiled.” Hardboiled novels centered on seasoned American detectives, with these detectives serving as the main characters, while the criminal and the motivation for the crime took a back seat. Noir fiction introduced the option for the criminal character to be the protagonist (the anti-hero), which in turn increased the interaction between the criminal character and the reader and brought to light the corrupt system and the toxic social environment. The greatest narrative foundation of film noir lay in the novels that emerged from noir literature. Most early film noir works were adaptations of noir literature novels. The creators of film noir incorporated the techniques and characteristics of Italian Neorealism, French Poetic Realism, and German Expressionism into noir fiction stories. Taking into account the restrictions of the Hays Code, they created film noir, which would go on to make a major impact on American cinema.

Film noir can generally be categorized into four distinct periods.

Double Indemnity (1944) In 1946, Nino Frank would apply the term “Film Noir” to American films such as *The Maltese Falcon*, *Laura*, *Murder, My Sweet*, *Double Indemnity*, and *The Woman in the Window*, which had the opportunity to be screened during the summer in France, now free from German occupation and censorship. Although the term “film noir” had been applied to some French films in the 1930s, Nino Frank’s definition—which was applied to American films within very specific and narrow boundaries—ensured that “Film Noir” became an established term in cinematic terminology. Characteristic Features of Classic Film Noir:

, *Nightcrawler* (2014) The conventions of classic noir evolved to meet the changing technical, sociological, sociopolitical, cultural, and psychological demands of the times. With the advent of color cinema, the use of color began to replace the interplay of light and shadow as a means of conveying emotion. Characters drifted away from the characteristics of classic noir. Furthermore, the number of classic noir elements found within a single film began to decrease. These elements were either removed entirely from the film or replaced with others appropriate to the era.

Ghost in the Shell (1995)

The changes seen in neo-noir intensified even further with future noir. Since Future Noir aimed to depict a dystopia, films set in the future were made while maintaining the noir approach. The rules of Film Noir began to be permanently dismantled. The spread of liberal views around the world expanded the boundaries of noir as much as possible.

New noir films were produced under the umbrella of “Tech Noir” or its various subgenres. These films generally retained the structure of noir while replacing certain cinematic elements with technological ones. The anti-hero sometimes took the form of a robot or artificial intelligence. Instead of the femme fatale, a community or an ideology was sometimes introduced. Over time, film noir—along with all its subgenres—has evolved into a medium that has given rise to numerous cult and classic works.