GeorgeBamforth

6400628
ProfessorJarraway
DueDateNovember6th2015
MidtermAssignment
TheMotifskeytoLangsFilmNoirasexplainedbyPorfirio
InhisessayNoWayOut:ExistentialMotifsintheFilmNoirfrom1976,RobertG.
Porfirio defines Existentialism as an outlook which begins with a disoriented
individualfacingaconfusedworldthathecannotaccept.Itplacesemphasisonmans
contingencyinaworldwheretherearenotranscendentalvaluesormoralabsolutes,a
worlddevoidofanymeaningbuttheone manhimselfcreates(213).Followingthis,
PorfiriodiscusseshypotheticalthematicmotifsthatareapartofFilmNoirasweknow
it. These motifs show a strong similarity to the Epic Theatre movement that was
demonstratedbyplaywrightssuchasBertoltBrechtinthedecadespriortoFilmNoirs
conception, and much like the Critical Theory showcased in Brechts works suchas
CaucasianChalkCircle,ThreepennyOperaandManEqualsMan,themotifsshowcased
in film noir lends itself to Freuds psychoanalytic theory, especially in Fritz Langs
filmography.LanghavingastrongconnectiontoWWIIandGermany,havingfledhis
homelandofGermanyfollowingHitlersrisetopower,verysimilarlytotheplaywright
Brecht (the two actually later worked together in 1943). Langs fleeing led him to
Hollywoodin1934,andthatwasthebeginningofhisAmericanCareer,andasaresult
Film noir was born, influenced greatly by WWII, Freuds psychology, German
expressionism, and existentialism; and eventually showcasing the motifs outlined by
Porfirio.Langsfilmnoirisheavilyfocusedonpsychoanalytictheory,witheitherdeeper

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hiddenrootsinthetheoriesofFreud,etc.,orjustdirectreferencestopsychologyand
theorieswithinthefilms.
Alienationandloneliness,oneofthesevenmotifsdescribedinPorfirios1976essayNo
WayOut:ExistentialMotifsintheFilmNoir,alsoportrayedinBrechtianworkand
otherEpicTheatre,isshowninseveralFritzLangfilmnoirs.WhatdiffersinLangs
workfromtheBrechtianversionofalienation,orVerfremdungseffektasthetermwas
initiallycoined,isthealienationofLangscharactersasopposedtothealienationof
Brechts audience. Langs film noir version of alienation follows closely with the
psychoanalytictheoryofEgo,anditssynthesis,AlterEgo,whereitisalienated.Fritz
Langusesalienationofhischaracterfromtheirsurroundings,andlonelinessgenerallyas
acharacteristicassociatedwithpowerlessness,thatweoftenseealternatefromcharacter
tocharacter.AlienationandlonelinessisamotifoccursveryearlyoninLangs The
WomanintheWindow,asweseeProfessorWanleybiddingfarewelltohisfamilyfrom
theCentralTrainStationbeforetheyaretoleavethecityforavacation.Wanley,aman
ofroutineseemstobesufferingfromlonelinessfollowingthedepartureofhisfamily,
alienatedfromhisregularlife,heappearsanalteriororalteregotohisregularself,when
heheadstotheclubtodinewithfriends;enrouteheiscaptivatedbyaportraitofa
beautifulwomaninthewindow.Hefallsasleepafterdinnerandtwotoomanydrinks,
anduponwakingupreturnstothewomaninthewindow,whoappearsoutfrombehind
thepaintingandinvitesWanleytoherapartment.Afterbeingwitnesstomuchflirting
betweenthetwocharacters,AliceandWanley,thenextshotisoutsideasweseeClaude
MazardenteringtheshadowylobbyofAlicesapartmentbuilding,againstthebackdrop

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of a lonely, rainy nightscape pierced by the glare of a neon clock. The descriptive
lonelinessinthescenerybehindMazardgivesprecedentforourunderstandingofhis
character, before he walks in to find Wanley there, whom he attacks and subdues.
WanleyactsinselfdefencekillingMazard,beforerealizinghewilljeopardizehiscareer
andfamilyifhecallsthepolicesohastohidethebodyhimself.Afterstrugglingand
comingupagainsthurdleswithAlice,Wanleydecidestocommitsuicidebeforewe,as
audience members see him wake up in the club following the dream that we just
witnessed.ItisatthispointthatWanleyleavesthealteregofortheego,andresumeshis
regularlife,withoutthealienationbroughtuponhiminthedreamarguablybyAlice
Reed.Itisworthnotingthattheentirefilmtakesplacewithverylittleacknowledgement
ofasettingotherthanoccasionalreferencestothecollegeWanleyisaprofessorat,and
thenameGothamanalteregoforNewYorkCity,perhapsalienationoftheplaceto
keeptheaudienceoutoftheloop,orperhapsanalteregoofthecitynameasafilmnoir
motif.
Afascinatingpieceofcinematographyiscappedoffnicelywiththesuicidecumdream
endingshotthatshowsWanleyaloneinhischairinhisquarters,zoomedintohisface,
andzoomedouttoseehimwakeupinadifferentlocationinadifferentsuit,allinone
take.EventhissceneilluminatesthelonelinessoftherealegoofWanley,aseventhis
crazynightmareendingwithhimalonetakinghisownwasactuallyjusthealone,ina
chairattheclub.
ItisrumouredthatTheWomanintheWindow,wasoriginallyintendedtoendwiththe
dramaticfinaleofthesuicidebutwasnotallowedtoendlikethis,andthatiswhythe

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storywas endedwitha(heavilydeemed)copout,dreamsequence.Manyarguethat
Langs work a few years later, Scarlet Street, was the darker, and now pushing the
envelopeinanewsetofstandard,remountof TheWomanintheWindow,duetothe
similaritiesofthecharactersandtheirroleswithinthestoryline,mostnotablythelatent
criminalityoftheaveragecitizeninthemaleprotagonist.Argumentssupportingthis
claimalsostemfromthefactthatalotofTheWomanintheWindowcastreprisethese
similarcharacterrolesforScarletStreet,includingleadactorsEdwardG.Robinson,Joan
BennettandDanDuryea.However,insteadofaProfessorofPsychologywithacriminal
specialization,likeWanleyseversoironicoccupation,Robinsonportraysamiddleaged
bankclerkwho,likeWanley,becomescaughtupinthemidstofamurder.Chrislivesa
veryvanilla,normallife,hasajob,ahobbyandawife,and,likeWanleyisamanof
routine,untilKittyentershislife.KittyseducesChrisintothinkingshesinlovewith
him,andheisthereonherbeckoncall,andpaintsforherandherboyfriendsfinancial
gain. Both Kittys infidelity and Chriss attempted infidelity or thoughts are both
commonoccurrencesinfilmnoir,usuallystemmingfromalienationofthecharacter,in
thecaseofKittyorfromloneliness,inthecaseofChris.ChrisCrossistheepitomeofa
lonelycharacter,usedbytheFemmeFatale,Kittyuntilhebreaksandkillsher,onlytobe
tormentedbyvisionsofherforeternity.ThefinalscenepinpointsChrislonelinessand
alienationfromhisegowhenthepedestriansofthestreetslowlydisappeartoportray
ChrisnolongerbeingabletoseeanyoneexceptKittytormentinghim.
InLangsworkMinistryofFear,arguablyoneofhismostpopular,theleadprotagonist,
StephenNealehasjustbeenreleasedfromamentalasylum,andafterwinningacakeata

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fair,startsgettingintotroubleresultinginhislackoffaithandtrustinpeople,causing
himtobelonely.Hisparanoiaovercomeshimandheendsuphiringstafftohelphim
stay alive. Neale continues on the story of Langs destinymachine, ending up on a
murderscene,holdingagun,paranoidthathehasshotthevictim.Themotifdescribedby
PorfirioisChaos,ViolenceandParanoia,acommonthemewithinthisLangfilm,all
handinhand;whereNealeisparanoid,violenceandchaosarenotfaroff.Thisistrueup
untiltheendofthemoviewhenInspectorPrenticekillstheremainingNazis.
WhereLangshowsparanoiafollowedbychaosandviolencein MinistryofFear, both
ScarletStreetandWomanintheWindow,albeitsimilarstorylinesandcharacterarcs,see
violence(amurder)followedbyextremeparanoiabytheleadprotagonist.WanleyIn
WomanintheWindow becomesparanoidoverlosinghisfamilyandcareerandisso
scared of being caught that he attempts suicide and his counterpart Chris Cross is
tormentedbytheimageandshriekcallsofKittyaftermurderingherwithanicepick,thus
showinghowparanoiaandviolenceusuallytiehandinhandinLangsFilmNoir.
Langoftenusedapowerstruggletotogglebetweengenderroles,oftenwithviolence,or
attemptedviolencebeingthekeytothepower,andwithparanoia,ormerelynervousness
showingtheweakerpowerlessnesswhichcanbeillustratedinthescenebetweenHeidt
andAlice,in WomanintheWindow, whenAliceisattemptingtopoisonHeidt,butis
paranoid,thepowerswitches,asHeidtknowsherplan,andintendsonreversingher
violentidea.Genderandpowerswitchesareverycommoninfilmnoir.
A third motif brought upby Porfirio in his essay is sanctuary, ritual and order in
regards to either personal or religious ritual; harking back to theatre, Greek tragedy

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showedritualasbringingordertooneself,whichappliesinavarietyofwaystofilmnoir,
andspecificallyLangswork.ItcanbearguedthatSanctuary,ritualandorderareapart
ofallofLangsworkeitherinoneextremeortheotherresultingintheFilmNoir.Langs
work TheWomanintheWindow,showsWanleystuckinaroutine,inaritual,almost
timecodedlifestyle,withthesamedailygrinddayinanddayoutwhichishighlightedin
the film by the constant referral to the time by Wanley, including the scene
superimposingclockfacesontoWanleysback,orhimexitingReedsapartmentbythe
neon clockwe,as audience members,know that Wanleyhadtwoextradrinks than
usual,andthis,coupledwiththeshiftinroutinewithhisfamilyoutoftownthroughoff
his entire pattern, which we can time code through the constant clocks on screen.
ContrastingthisinanonLangnoirnovel,ThePostmanalwaysRingsTwice,byJamesM
Cain,theleadprotagonistisaneasyflowingguywhoendsupworkingatarestaurant
thecompleteoppositetotheintricatelyplannedandtimedWanleyfromtheLangfilm.
Neitherislessormorenoirbecauseoftheiruseofritual,andorder,butitcanbeseen
that noir uses extremes as a motif to illuminate and emphasize the storyline; both
characterscreatedtheirownmeaningtolife,beitlaidbackororganizedandtimely.
Ritual,suchasbinarymarriage,alaFrankSinatrasLoveandMarriage,isoftenbelittled
ortornapartinFilmNoir,ascanbeseeninLangsClashbyNight,whereweseeavery
realistic adulterous situation stemming from a loveless marriage; because of Langs
understanding approach to the problems of a wayward wife, Mae, and a forgiving
husband,theusualHollywoodjusticeisnotexacted,thetwocharactersaretheirown
downfall.Theritualofmarriageisbrokenbutsealedagainalbeitloveless.Freudpoints

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outinpsychoanalytictheorythatritualisrepressiveandbringspsychicconflictsthat
causedesire,whichLangdoesagreatjobofportrayingthroughtheadulteroustaleof
MaeandEarl.
AlloftheexamplesofthemotifsPorfirioexplainsstemfrompsychoanalytictheoryand
arepresentinLangsworkindependentlycreatedbytheirowncharacter,Langshowsa
worlddevoidofanymeaningbuttheonemanhimselfcreates.