Assignment 1
Question 2
Both writers in these stories use the landscape of Los Angeles very well. They honestly make you imagine the landscape and everything that you are reading you can see it in your own mind. In both stories when they were on the freeway they placed everything out so well that I myself felt bad that they had to drive on the freeway just because of the experiences I have had on the freeway and how the described it made it worse. I thought the way they both used the freeways and the traffic that you always experience and how they both explained everything out to you made you have a great idea of what you would be seeing if it was in front of you. They both definitely do distinguish an environment that is different from other places, they definitely give you great examples to help distinguish what someone would experience in these spots, from the 405 to the 5 freeway and even the LA river. The way they use the landscapes of LA makes both stories so interesting because they give you a sense of where and what to experience.
Assignment 2
Kinship
I definitely think that the story Kinship has to be the story that is the least noirish. I thought that there definitely were not enough elements in this story to make it noir. I felt like this was more a short story about a disabled kid who struggled with bullies than really a noir type story. Although the story was good it just wasn't noir in my opinion. There were just not enough elements of noir for this to be considered a noir and that's why I say this is the harder story to classify as noir.
The Girl Who Kissed Barnaby Jones
I definitely think that this story is the best one that fits into noir. I thought this was a very good story about a washed up actress working at a run down restaurant. Cherie is a good looking woman in her later years but still gets men who want her so badly, Tate even says that " We get guys all the time with crushes on her, some of them very young; they come in on a daily basis for months sometimes before they accept the fact that she's never going to respond to their devotion." This definitely explains the Cherie still has it so she definitely fits into the character of a femme fatale. Also you have Tate who you can tell definitely wants Cherie and he is willing to go all the way to Pacific Palisades just to see what she wants. This story definitely fits into noir with the elements of the femme fatale and it makes for a great story because you definitely get the feel of LA with men falling in love with an outdated actress as you might say and are willing to do anything for this washed up actress. It definitely is a great story that fits very well into noir.
I also chose "The girl who kissed barnaby jones" as the most fitting noir story. Cherie is the washed up actress who has a dead beat job at her age and uses her looks and sexuality to get by.
ReplyDeleteAs i am reading through everyones blogs, I see that the least noir stories that are chosen are between "Kinship" and "what you see". I didn't get a chance to read Kinship so I can definitely see that kinship is a poor story for noir because of the way you described it as a regular story of a kid and bullies. Overall, Great blog!
Id definitely have to agree with you on assignment one, as I pretty much wrote the same thing. Having been on those freeways and seeing the Los Angeles river in person I was able to get a better vision of these short stories and was really able to get into them. I also agree with you on how both of these stories did a great job in explaining the landscape of where they were at, because you were able to visualize what was happening and really picture it in your head. In assignment 2 id also have to agree with you about The Girl Who Kissed Barnaby Jones as being the best fit for noir. It reminded me a lot of Double Indemnity. Nice Job!!!
ReplyDeleteI like how once you have been to a location you can relate to the story and better understand the plot. Making you feel that you are there, I think that is what neo noir highlights. The femme fatale feel in The Girl Who Kissed Barnaby Jones, I can see that. I liked how you described the noir feel of that story, nice job.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you guys all agree with me on the stories. I also find it interesting how you can remember a place after being there once remembering it so vividly. I think it definitely pulled me into to the stories just being able to know where these locations actually are helps alot.
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