{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/44231"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/44231","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"The socio-political dimension of film noir","abstract":"After World War II, Hollywood produced a series of low budget pictures characterized by a dark mood, bleak urban landscapes and fierce violence. French critics called them <i>films noirs</i> (black films). These movies presented a critical vision of the social injustice present in the American capitalist society. This thesis examines the socio-political dimension of <i>film noir</i> firstly through its social, literary and filmic origins, then through a piecework study of shots and dialogues from six <i>noir</i> pictures: <u>Body and Soul</u> (1947), <u>Force of Evil</u> (1948), <u>Knock On Any Door</u> (1949), <u>Kiss of Death</u> (1947), <u>I Walk Alone</u>(1948) and <u>The Set-up</u> (1949). It is shown how the Marxist convictions of their makers influenced their style and their content. Even <i>films noirs</i> made by apolitical or moderate filmmakers follow a similar pattern. It is concluded that <i>film noir</i> contains expressions of anti-capitalist struggle toward social justice and moral redemption. The appeal of these ideas to many Americans is shown by the box-office success of these pictures, while many <i>noir</i> writers, actors and directors were the victims of the reactionary repression of the early fifties.","abstract_html":"After World War II, Hollywood produced a series of low budget pictures characterized by a dark mood, bleak urban landscapes and fierce violence. French critics called them &lt;i&gt;films noirs&lt;/i&gt; (black films). These movies presented a critical vision of the social injustice present in the American capitalist society. This thesis examines the socio-political dimension of &lt;i&gt;film noir&lt;/i&gt; firstly through its social, literary and filmic origins, then through a piecework study of shots and dialogues from six &lt;i&gt;noir&lt;/i&gt; pictures: &lt;u&gt;Body and Soul&lt;/u&gt; (1947), &lt;u&gt;Force of Evil&lt;/u&gt; (1948), &lt;u&gt;Knock On Any Door&lt;/u&gt; (1949), &lt;u&gt;Kiss of Death&lt;/u&gt; (1947), &lt;u&gt;I Walk Alone&lt;/u&gt;(1948) and &lt;u&gt;The Set-up&lt;/u&gt; (1949). It is shown how the Marxist convictions of their makers influenced their style and their content. Even &lt;i&gt;films noirs&lt;/i&gt; made by apolitical or moderate filmmakers follow a similar pattern. It is concluded that &lt;i&gt;film noir&lt;/i&gt; contains expressions of anti-capitalist struggle toward social justice and moral redemption. The appeal of these ideas to many Americans is shown by the box-office success of these pictures, while many &lt;i&gt;noir&lt;/i&gt; writers, actors and directors were the victims of the reactionary repression of the early fifties.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Maltère, Hugues"],"institution":"Virginia Tech","degree_name":"Master of Arts","degree_level":"masters","degree_discipline":"Political Science","degree_department":"Political Science","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":["Luke, Timothy W."],"committee_members":["White, Stephen K.","Prince, Stephen R."],"year":1992,"date_issued":"1992-08-18","date_published":"1992-08-18","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:18:55Z","subjects":[],"languages":["en"],"rights":["In Copyright"],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["etd-08142009-040450"],"render_values":[{"text":"etd-08142009-040450","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/10919/44231","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.committeechair","label":"Committee Chair","values":["Luke, Timothy W."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["White, Stephen K.","Prince, Stephen R."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Political Science"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Maltère, Hugues"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2014-03-14T21:42:44Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2014-03-14T21:42:44Z","2009-08-14"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["1992-08-18"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Virginia Tech"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"dc:type.dcmitype","label":"Dc Type Dcmitype","values":["Text"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Political Science"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["In Copyright"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["etd-08142009-040450"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/44231"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["After World War II, Hollywood produced a series of low budget pictures characterized by a dark mood, bleak urban landscapes and fierce violence. French critics called them <i>films noirs</i> (black films). These movies presented a critical vision of the social injustice present in the American capitalist society. This thesis examines the socio-political dimension of <i>film noir</i> firstly through its social, literary and filmic origins, then through a piecework study of shots and dialogues from six <i>noir</i> pictures: <u>Body and Soul</u> (1947), <u>Force of Evil</u> (1948), <u>Knock On Any Door</u> (1949), <u>Kiss of Death</u> (1947), <u>I Walk Alone</u>(1948) and <u>The Set-up</u> (1949). It is shown how the Marxist convictions of their makers influenced their style and their content. Even <i>films noirs</i> made by apolitical or moderate filmmakers follow a similar pattern. It is concluded that <i>film noir</i> contains expressions of anti-capitalist struggle toward social justice and moral redemption. The appeal of these ideas to many Americans is shown by the box-office success of these pictures, while many <i>noir</i> writers, actors and directors were the victims of the reactionary repression of the early fifties."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Master of Arts"]},{"key":"dc:format.medium","label":"Dc Format Medium","values":["BTD"]},{"key":"dc:format.mimetype","label":"Dc Format Mimetype","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The socio-political dimension of film noir"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.committeechair":["Luke, Timothy W."],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["White, Stephen K.","Prince, Stephen R."],"dc:contributor.department":["Political Science"],"dc:creator":["Maltère, Hugues"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2014-03-14T21:42:44Z"],"dc:date.available":["2014-03-14T21:42:44Z","2009-08-14"],"dc:date.issued":["1992-08-18"],"dc:description.abstract":["After World War II, Hollywood produced a series of low budget pictures characterized by a dark mood, bleak urban landscapes and fierce violence. French critics called them <i>films noirs</i> (black films). These movies presented a critical vision of the social injustice present in the American capitalist society. This thesis examines the socio-political dimension of <i>film noir</i> firstly through its social, literary and filmic origins, then through a piecework study of shots and dialogues from six <i>noir</i> pictures: <u>Body and Soul</u> (1947), <u>Force of Evil</u> (1948), <u>Knock On Any Door</u> (1949), <u>Kiss of Death</u> (1947), <u>I Walk Alone</u>(1948) and <u>The Set-up</u> (1949). It is shown how the Marxist convictions of their makers influenced their style and their content. Even <i>films noirs</i> made by apolitical or moderate filmmakers follow a similar pattern. It is concluded that <i>film noir</i> contains expressions of anti-capitalist struggle toward social justice and moral redemption. The appeal of these ideas to many Americans is shown by the box-office success of these pictures, while many <i>noir</i> writers, actors and directors were the victims of the reactionary repression of the early fifties."],"dc:description.degree":["Master of Arts"],"dc:format.medium":["BTD"],"dc:format.mimetype":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier.other":["etd-08142009-040450"],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/44231"],"dc:language.iso":["en"],"dc:publisher":["Virginia Tech"],"dc:rights":["In Copyright"],"dc:rights.uri":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"dc:title":["The socio-political dimension of film noir"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"dc:type.dcmitype":["Text"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Political Science"],"thesis:degree_level":["masters"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts"],"thesis:institution_name":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:18:55Z"}