Representation: The Detective

Representation

Detective

 

The detective is a blatant staple in the Film Noir movie genre, as he is usually given the status as main character and protagonist. The detective usually falls into a category defined by several unique traits and repetitive qualities which truly individualize the character and demonstrate who he is and what he’s about.

 

The detective is often introduced as a very quiet character, as he is defined by his hard-boiled attitude and is often facing inner-turmoil which makes him an introvert when observed by other people. Despite his silent and somewhat anti-social nature the detective remains confident and assertive in his abilities and is capable of getting his own way through force and persuasion. Although the detective is shown as quite powerful and masculine he has a strong weakness through the femme fatale, who is an antagonistic character who easily takes control of the detective through manipulation and deception. The detective is very gullible and a sucker for love, meaning he is an easy target for the femme fatale, made even worse by his unique passionate nature and chauvinistic attitude which deludes him into thinking he’s in control of the situation. The detective is often depicted as quite suave and sophisticated, adorned in a traditional black suit, topped off by a distinct trilby hat, if not his styled gelled back hair to give him a trait of class. The detective is often shown to be quite relaxed and in control, despite this he is often actually facing quite a deal of inner-turmoil and stress, often a result of the storyline, stemming from the mystery, this may lead to alcoholism through the detective, a significant sub-plot in certain film noirs if not a subtle note of the character as he is often seen drinking.

 

On top of the detective’s battle with his emotions he ends up managing a love-life, however to his dismay it ends up being intimate with the femme fatale, a result of the detective’s initial flirtatious nature which gives him a sense of an ego as it implies that he is in control, however he ends up losing control to the femme fatale as she dominates the relationship and effectively manipulates the protagonist unbeknownst to him. The detective is always depicted as a heterosexual protagonist, as this gives him opportunities to be sexually involved with women and panders to an incredibly large audience of very traditional conservative viewers, he is quite masculine and misogynistic towards woman, often talking in a very patronising way towards them, addressing women in pet names that may be quite degrading, somewhat referring to them as objects or possessions. Despite the fact that the Detective’s misogynistic attitude seems to come back to bite him when the femme fatale takes advantage of his male instincts and makes him vulnerable, in the end the femme fatale often gets her comeuppance from the detective, restoring his respectable hero role and making him seem like the winner in the end. Due to the general outline of the film noir genre the detective ends up getting away with his bias views towards women and receives no backlash from his actions, since the femme fatale is the antagonist and film noirs do not like to have many loose ends she is often killed off and the protagonist justified and admired.

 

Thoroughly the detective as the protagonist of the film noir genre is evident everywhere and provides room for a lot of emotional drama, romance, action, sex and mystery due to his personality in general personifying the entire film noir series in its clichés. The detective reflects a lot of the conventions of a film noir through himself since he’s the main character, which interests and excites an audience.