American noir canon

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The American noir canon is a body of influential U.S. crime and suspense works—primarily mid-20th-century films and novels—characterized by moral ambiguity, fatalism, and shadowy, expressionistic style.

All labels observed (5)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf body of works
cultural canon
associatedWithTheme alienation
betrayal
corruption
crime and punishment
fate vs. free will
identity and deception
countryOfOrigin United States
field crime and suspense cinema
crime and suspense literature
hasCharacteristic chiaroscuro lighting
corrupt institutions
cynicism
doomed protagonists
existential themes
expressionistic lighting
fatalism
femme fatale archetype
flashback structure
high-contrast black-and-white cinematography
moral ambiguity
pessimism
urban settings
voice-over narration
hasGenre crime fiction
film noir
suspense fiction
hasNarrativeMode first-person narration
unreliable narrator
includesMedium feature films
novels
influenced crime cinema worldwide
graphic novels
neo-noir
television crime dramas
influencedBy German Expressionism
Great Depression social conditions
hardboiled fiction
pulp magazines
language English
region United States
typicalPeriod 1940s
1950s
mid-20th century
typicalSetting bars and nightclubs
cheap hotels
detective offices
nighttime city streets

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (8)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Nightmare Alley partOf American noir canon
subject linked to: Nightmare Alley (novel)
Ross Macdonald movement American noir
linked to: American noir canon
Experiment Perilous partOf American film noir canon
linked to: American noir canon
Kenneth Millar movement American noir
linked to: American noir canon
Fourteen Hours partOf American film noir cycle
linked to: American noir canon
A Hell of a Woman partOf American noir canon
Side Street partOf American film noir cycle
linked to: American noir canon
Backfire partOf American film noir tradition
linked to: American noir canon