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The purpose of this book is to discuss the phenomenon of noir in fiction and film, which I contend is a manifestation of one form of existentialism in the United States. There is enough resemblance between fiction and films I will describe and European versions to account for usage of the same term, but too close a connection may oblige us to judge the American noir experience by the European standard, a condition I wish to avoid. Existentialism is a shorthand term for a compelling vision of the world that is at least as old the ancient Greek dramas. Secondly, existentialism’s criticism of Western philosophy noted by Walter Kaufmann resembles that made by American philosopher John Dewey. In Dewey’s 1917 essay, “The Need for a Recovery of Philosophy,” he chastises Western philosophy for prioritizing the abstract problems of philosophers over the concrete problems of people (230). Unfortunately many of the attempts to characterize existentialism as a systematic philosophy responding to the breakdown of modern philosophy suffer from the same deficiencies.
Because I will present film noir as a form of American existentialism, an applicable source for defining existentialism is the American Heritage Dictionary. This neutral reference defines existentialism as “a philosophy that emphasizes the uniqueness and isolation of the individual experience in a hostile or indifferent universe, regards human existence as unexplainable, and stresses freedom of choice and responsibility for the consequences of one’s acts.” (642). Employing this definition, I am free to explore this uniquely American version of existentialism without emphasizing European models.
My presentation features chapters that discuss the existential metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, and politics of noir, but these terms will not be used in the service of analysis of abstract concepts. In fact, existentialism is critical of traditional philosophy’s attempts to reduce existential questions to abstractions for the purposes of intellectual manipulation. Existential questions are often ignored because they resist such attempts. I will discuss these terms in the larger context of philosophy as love and pursuit of wisdom as guidance for living. In this book, metaphysical, epistemological, ethical, and political challenges arise out of the protagonist’s difficulties in the world.