The Rise of 'Bright Noir'. Redemption A
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Author’s Accepted Manuscript (AAM) of the following chapter: García, Alberto N. "The Rise of 'Bright Noir'. Redemption and Moral Optimism in American Contemporary TV Noir", in European Television Crime Drama and Beyond, edited by Kim Toft Hansen, Steven Peacock, and Sue Turnbull, Palgrave, 2018, pp. 41- 60. Published version: https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9783319968865 1 The Rise of “Bright Noir” Redemption and Moral Optimism in American Contemporary TV Noir Alberto N. García Lou Solverson: We’re just out of balance. Betsy Solverson: You and me? Lou Solverson: Whole world. Used to know right from wrong. A moral centre. Now... (Fargo, “Fear and Trembling”, 2.4) Seated on the porch of their home, the Solversons reflect on evil and its masks, consequences and origins. Such ruminations have always been implicit, and sometimes explicit, in film noir since its emergence. However, as the above scene illustrates, Fargo (FX, 2014–) addresses evil from a classical moral perspective, as opposed to the anti- heroism and cynicism of angry, contradictory protagonists that have characterized the first decade of the golden age of television fiction (Martin 2013; Lotz 2014; Vaage 2015). Fargo is unlike other ‘quality TV’ crime series – such as The Sopranos (HBO, 1999–2007), The Wire (HBO, 2002–2008) or The Shield (FX, 2002–2008) – because the Solversons demonstrate hope, the “cousin” of optimism. Fargo embraces optimism, which, as defined by the anthropologist Lionel Tiger, is “a mood or attitude associated with an expectation about the social or material future—one which the evaluator regards as socially desirable, to his advantage, or for his pleasure” (1979, 53). During the first two seasons and against all odds, the Solverson clan exhibits an anthropological hopefulness that, far from being naïve, is characterized by courage and reason; they rely on patience and persistence to rectify and overcome human evil. This article explores how some recent American TV crime dramas (and to a lesser extent, some British)1 that can be specifically labelled as noir address the issue of hope and redemption by undermining one of the main thematic and ideological features that both spectators and critics tend to assign to noir narratives – i.e., the logic of hopelessness, of “no way out”, to paraphrase Porfirio’s classic article (1996). Or, as Turnbull puts it, “A 2 useful full-form of the acronym ‘noir’ may therefore be: Negative Outcome Is Requisite. In other words: It’s only going to end in tears” (2014, 29). In what I have coined as “bright noir”, several recent, influential and popular TV noir series offer stories in which brave protagonists achieve a positive outcome and defeat evil while fulfilling a higher purpose or attaining an honourable end. To approach this idea, the article first recalls that existentialism and moral alienation became essential features of film noir, which remains a controversial term. It then explains the sociological and artistic reasons that have led to this wave of morally hopeful noir. Finally, this thesis will be demonstrated with in-depth analysis of key series from recent American TV crime fiction, with particular attention given to Justified (FX, 2010–15) and Fargo. A morally grey area As Steenberg recently summarized, “noir is a worn and frayed category—much discussed by scholars, critics, and filmmakers themselves” (2017, 62). This article does not intend to widen the fluidity of the term, but rather to focus on one particular strand of the TV crime drama, broadly characterized by moral ambiguity, a mood of unhappiness, and a bleak realism. Nowadays, noir is “a fusion of nostalgia and imitation that can never fully function as a generic category but nonetheless becomes a widely circulating way of identifying certain types of television shows” (Steenberg 2017, 63). Consequently, although they share several features, TV noir is not synonymous with TV crime; it would be more precise to affirm that noir is a specific subtype of the broadest crime fiction genre. Unlike procedural morality—a generally friendlier police genre (see Turnbull 2014; Nichols-Petchick 2012)—film noir, although it may sound contradictory, has always been coloured by grey areas because it blurs notions of good and evil and draws dramatic energy from constant uncertainty. Following classic scholars of film noir (Frank 1946; Borde and Chaumeton 1996; Schrader 1996; Naremore 1998), there are two prominent moral features, among others, within the genre: ethical ambiguity and an ultimate sense of despair. These features are articulated to an even greater degree in neo-noir (Conard 2007), where, after the downfall of the Hays Code, narratives portray criminals who can, and often do, succeed - even getting away with murder. In their analysis of the classical period, Borde and 3 Chaumeton already began to point to moral ambiguity as a determining feature: “The old motto … ‘Crime does not pay,’ is still the order of the day, and there must be moral retribution. But the narrative is manipulated so that at times the moviegoer sympathizes, identifies with the criminals” (1996, 21). Along with this ambivalence, the classic period exudes an American existentialist air, ill-fated destiny, and imminent misfortune, like that of Melville: Far from being steeped in optimism, film noir projects a nightmare world of deceit and death. The detective becomes, in many ways, existential man personified. A seeker after truth, no less than Ahab, the existential detective looks hard at existence and finds meaning only in temporary truths, not in conforming absolutes (Cotkin 2012, 135). The notions of moral incertitude and even nihilism that typify the noir genre have become a sort of cliché because, as Skoble points out, moral clarity and redemption can be found in several classic noir pieces: “These protagonists may be nihilists, but the films are not thereby nihilistic, inasmuch as the films portray their characters’ impulsiveness or narcissism as ultimately fruitless or self-destructive” (2006, 44). Skoble is right in his diagnosis, but it is also true that cliché continues to determine the genre both for those producing noir—the recent European revival is rather fatalistic, as exemplified by Southcliffe (Channel 4, 2013), Forbrydelsen (DR1, 2007–12) or Wallander UK (BBC1, 2008–16)—and for spectators and critics alike, as seen in their frenzied reaction to True Detective’s first-season finale. Reasons for an upsurge The term “bright noir” is not to be confused with “sunshine noir”, which Sanders, using Miami Vice (NBC, 1984–90) as a prime example, coined to point out how aesthetic postmodernism subverted the style and spatial characteristics of the genre (2007). In contrast, those series included under my definition of “bright noir” maintain the typically dark style of noir. The difference lies in a more benign tone and, above all, in the moral reading taken from the conclusion, which implies social optimism, narrative happy endings, protagonists who overcome grim prospects, and even several instances of redemption, recovery, and healing from identity fragmentation and social alienation that 4 typically characterize the noir genre. This article suggests three main explanations for this bright, hopeful trend in recent TV noir: (1) the emergence of an intellectual trend that favours an optimistic reinforcement opposed to a pervasive pessimistic, and sometimes even misanthropic, culture, (2) the exhaustion of the antiheroic formula, and (3) the logic inherent in any genre’s evolution. As professor of cultural policy Oliver Bennett explains in his Cultural Pessimism. Narratives of Decline in the Postmodern World, variants of apocalyptic, terrifying, and negative visions have grown exponentially in Western civilization during recent decades (2001, see especially 1–19, 178–97). In fact, pessimism is a constant in Western countries’ cultural elites, where the world appears to be full of Cassandras: “Pessimism had not only become deeply embedded in the practice of cultural criticism, but it had also to some extent become a mark of moral and intellectual seriousness” (Bennett 2011, 302). In a similar vein, Tallis describes how narratives2 not only reflect the contemporary zeitgeist, but also actively influence it through a process whereby “contemporary humanity is taking itself into a terminal state of despair, self-disgust and impotence” (1997, xiv). However, in his latest book, Bennett explores the paradox of a cultural pessimism that markedly contrasts with institutionalized forms of optimism, including that of governments, churches, and associations of all kinds (2015). Bennett’s argument can be linked with a recent influential academic and popular movement that, with a countercultural and contrarian air, reclaims optimism as a rational argument, as seen in recent publications3 in fields like history, psychology and science. Some of the biggest non-fiction bestsellers of the last decade come from the scientific essayist Matt Ridley (The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves, 2010), evolutionary psychologist Steven Pinker (The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined, 2011) and neuroscientist Tali Sharot (The Optimism Bias: A Tour of the Irrationally Positive Brain, 2011), to name just a few of the best known cases. Similar positive approaches continue to be successful in socio-economics (Progress: Ten Reasons to Look Forward to the Future, Norberg, 2016), ecology and environmentalism (Inheritors of the Earth: How Nature Is Thriving in an Age of Extinction, Thomas, 2017), and progressive politics (The Optimistic Leftist: Why the 21st Century Will Be Better Than You Think, Teixeira, 2017). 5 Secondly, there is an institutional explanation: television, as a medium, is constantly evolving in order to offer spectators new takes and refreshing views on genres, themes, and archetypes. Today, most crime drama on television does end in a rather positive manner, and it is mainly within so-called “complex television” (Mittell 2015) that we have seen the predominance of the antihero. But, after years of incredible success – both in terms of critical praising and cultural resonance – narrative fatigue appears to be setting in around antiheroes.