The story that can be classify as neo-noir isThe Girl who Kissed Barnaby Jones; even though, not the all descriptions of noir are present in such novel, is which has a better idea of what noir mode is.
     The Girl who Kissed Barnaby novel, has the elements such as the femme fatale, Cherie, the male protagonist, Tate, and the scenario of a of sex. Tite is draged by Cherie to a case where crime is involve. As a neo noir femme fatale she does not need any aid to accomplish the crime rather she needs help getting rid of the body. Cherie in one way knows that she is attracted to Tate, so she calls him and let him know that she needs his help.Tate goes to the place where she is and after to have a quick sex, she let him know her real intentions.She has sex with him in the house where she kills a man; therefore, in certain way, he is implicated in the case. Even though, Tate tryes to call the police, Cherie does not allow him. They get in a fight until Tate decides to help her with the body. Toward the end of the story become funny the way that Tate steps on Gary's corpse and kick Cherie buttocks, so she trip up and her heels do not help her too much with it.
      I like how this novel has some neo noir elements as well as some funny parts that I did not see before.

In contrast with The Hour When The Ship Comes In, that the whole story I was confuse.  The protagonist was a gangster or something that took him to be in a place where criminal violence was involve.

That lines make me to remind when I did not know the meaning of noir and

Maybe in such way the tale is noir because crime is present, but I did not recognize more than that.
 

     The protagonists of neo-noir either in The Kidnapper Bell and City of Commerce are characterized by:



     Male who put himself in dangerous situations; even, when it is not necessary.



     Moreover, the protagonists are married people where the wife's role is not clear. In one hand, The Kidnapper Bell, Jim's wife is not mention in the all story just towards the end of the story. In the other hand, City of Commerce, the wife persona is mentioned in the beginning of the tale. However, it does not clear that she is the wife until almost of the end of the story where he is worried for her life. Sex is involved in this type of story but does not have deep participation.

 

     In the novel of The Kidnapper Bell, written by Jim Pascoe, its protagonist, Jim, involves himself in a crime that he could prevent.Even though, Jim is a married guy, he looks for sex with somebody else rather than with his wife. Waiting for his date in a bar something is dancing in his head: how long has it been without sex? Moreover, he is pondering that this date it will be just sex. However, his thoughts are far away about what it will happen. His date arrives but only to takes him to crime scene. Although, he can can look for the right help, like calling the police, he decides to do foolish things. In the last scenario, he arrives at home where his wife is sleeping, with two murders behind them and wearing the clothes that belong to a death man.

 

     In City of Commerce tale, written by Neal Pollack, Nick is the protagonist, a man who enjoys gambling.
Nick plans to play at the casino that is at Commerce city by one hour, but after he is making profit he plays passed  2am. When he decides to retire from the game,the problems begin. He is knock down by somebody from the casino and later wakes up in a cheap hotel. Around with people that just are gambling, he is apparently force to play until the next day. Nick escapes from his kidnappers and in his way back home he realizes that he does not have his wallet. Worry that maybe them can hurt his wife.At the end of the story, Nick starts think about more money and gambling instead of his wife. 

Crime=Noir

   

     In their article of “Towards a Definition of Film Noir” Borde and Chaumeton comment “It is the presence of crime which gives film noir its most constant characteristic.” Therefore, in order a novel is considered as noir needs to have a crime scene.
      In both stories murder is present. In one hand is The Method, where the female protagonist, Holly, accomplished the crime poisoning Richard. Richard who plays the role of male protagonist thought that he had the perfect piece to carry out his plan: Kill Matiah Mckay, an old actress from the '70s. Richard had a kind of obsession relationship with Mariah which ended up in a restraining order against him. Such action goaded him to revenge on her. Therefore, when she met Holly, a waitress of a trattoria, he involved her with his game of lover and seduction methods to realize such revenge. Which it was the poison to kill Mariah it was the posion which took away to Richard from the picture.

     In the other hand is Morocco Juntion; despite of a crime is not achieve, instead it is a suicide which is relevant in that story. Mrs. Davis apparently decide to take away her life after she knew that her extramarital son has been killed. She used the money from her jewelry to pay her son school. And in her intent to avoid her family knows the absent of her chams, she sent them to be made.So she had been wearing fake ornaments all the time that she was alive. Moreover, when her son, Wintson, was talking with Minerva about his mom funeral he said "You know, she always insisted she be buried with all her jewelry. She made such a big deal out of it." (Morrison 138) Minerva found out the Eloise did not want that her family would be embarrased for her adolescence mistake. So being her buried with her false ornaments would deliver her loves one from the humiliation.

                                                          

  

     Apparently, in both novels a femme fatale is not present, instead in The Method, it seemed to be a role the opposite of femme fatale, a male fatale. He was sexi and attracted his prey with a lust relationship. However, this victim was more smart than he thought. Moreover, in Morocco Juntion, Minerva with her experience comes plays the role of detective.

More than white...

     Neo-noir films started in the early '50s, World War II had being done and people were fighting with themselves to find sense in their deformed life. The war allowed women to participate in tasks that were classified just for the opposite sex; therefore, it begun to being confuse the roles of men and women in life. In the article of  "The Dark Past Keeps Returning:Gender Themes in Neo-Noir" its author comments "Traditionally masculinity is defined as the opposite of femininity. If the definition of femininity changes and includes aspects of the masculine, what does masculinity become?"(Fireman).



Such situation gave to woman, known as the weaker sex, the power to not longer be the tail but the head. What it can be appreciated in both stories that a woman is at front of the setting as same as the classic noir; however, in one of the stories, Dangerous Days, Athena is who takes place to commit the crime, something that it did not happen with noir. In contrast with Midnight in Silicon Alley, where Chen's wife is who is driving the crime without being at the picture scene. In addition,  Fireman borrows the quote "The shallow emptiness of a culture of consumption is reflected in an obsession with labels and brand names as more important than the products themselves; image is all-important in the postmodernist era" (Burke) The type of life style can be see it if the lines of Midnight in Silicon Alley, when Chen is with his hijackers, he is imaging that even though his family will be OK, his financial situation will not be the same. His spouse is accustamed to a well-off life " A big house. A club membership. A fancy cars" (90). Thus, in that type of film is most important what they have outside that what they have inside. Lack of emotions it can easily be observed.



     Moreover, the way that neo-noir plays the role of the femme fatale is quite bit different than classic noir. By example, Dangerous Days, talks about the character of Benita, a gorgeous woman with a little bit of dangerous in her style of life. For instant, it can looks that she is the femme fatale, the way Cravitz describes her  "She was statuesque, voluptuous." (67). Also, he does a reference that when he met her it feels like a voltage is running in all his body. Her beauty and present  makes the readers think that she a femme fatale.
Later on with the persona of Athena in the setting, it is understood that she is the real femme fatala. Not emotions at all, but if she needs to act with love she does it just to accomplish her plans. Femme fatale in this
novel she does not merely has the desire to kill, she performs the murder without necessary being in plot with a male.
     That characteristic as well the informal language, religious, interracial, and technology are some elements that distinguished neo-noir from classic noir. Informal language trait is more seen in the novel of Dangerous Days more than Midnight in Silicon Alley, where the participation of Latin characters are involve.The story is based in gangsters, Latino and black people, allowing the conversation to be in cut form. By example, when Cash is talking with Cravitz about that he needs his support to make a business with Benita their conversation is "Well then,c'mon,boy. I done took care of y'friend. No I needs you t'take care of some messy bi'ness, f'me." (61) That type of form it ca be tired if the reader are not accustom to such language.



 Moreover, the way that the sex is expressed in such tale is broad different from the classic noir. Obviously that the time when noir novels were written did not allow to be too explicitly about it. At the same, it is a way where a religious relation exist in the neo-noir mode. After, Calzone's funeral Cravitz goes to a church and while he is there he drops a $100 bill into a purse which belong to a lady who is praying there. He has a kind of a promise to himself to visit that church and has his conversation with a saint, as well as he try to do a good deed for somebody everyday.

                                                    
Different races are involved in neo-noir crime, Latinos, African-America, Chicanos, Asians, etc. where in the classic noir the white race was the only one which participated. Moreover, technology is seen in this type of stories. The access to TVs,cell phone, and computers is the up-dated of film neo-noir. Cravitz found who killed his friend, Calzone, so he called Vargas to let him know about it. The author of such book commented how the tech was present. Meanwhile,  Midnight in Silicon Alley, author mentioned the technology "In the rearwiew mirror, Chen watched his computer chip factory shrink to a snowball panorama, then disappear"(Hamilton 65).



It is not just the color which makes a gap between neo-noir and the classic noir. The participation of more than one race, advanced equipment, the lacking of flashback, among other elements created the new taste of noir; however, the aspect of murder involved in the narrative is what classify a film as a noir.



Two Faces...Same Coin

          VS        

There are several differences between classic noir and neo noir films. Some of them can be that the classic noir was in black and white versus neo noir in color, noir films were created in the early '40s and associated with with World War II while neo noir movies were produced in the late 20th century. Obviously the scenarios changed, while noir has a lack of space, hotel rooms or urban streets, might because the budget. Neo noir is film in places with more room and its lines are based in real situations as political, social or general life. In addition, the narrative which is present in noir mode is not longer used for the modern noir films, the author of  The Dark Past Keeps returning: Gender Themes in Neo-Noir, Heather borrows the quote "Form is fragmented, narratives are discontinuous, and absolute truth is meaningless" (Salim). I do know exactly why, but might be because the scenes are more understanding so the narrative is not necessary.  Either classic noir and neo noir characters have different roles but the same freaky intention: manipulate with their emotions to accomplish their goal.

Noir male protagonist do everything for the femme fatale desires until both are destroyed for their own human nature. Neo noir story-tales apparently are based either to find how to be a real man or how the roles of man an woman has affected femaleness. Some of the actors are not longer guided for a woman instead they are driven for a male. Like in the case of Fight Club, where Jack in his intent to avoid Marla, he finds himself being guide by Tyler, to whom he sees as a teacher of his life. Moreover, Tyler has the theory of "Manhood is lost because we were raised for a woman, and then later for another woman, a wife." In my humble opinion this Tyler wants to create and raise kids without female figure.

Based to what I comprehended, it looks like there are two types of female protagonists involved in the neo noir films. Either she plays the role of whom makes men's life miserable and she is see just as sexual object or as the classic noir femme fatale with the difference that she neither died nor change her life style. Such characters can be appreciate in the movie "Fight Club"  and "The Last Seduction". Where in the first movie mentioned before, Marla plays the only female persona, a woman that confronts en several occasions the rejection from men. And the other side, The Last Seduction film, Bridget as a femme fatale killed her husband and her lover paid the consequences of such crime. This scenario is as same as classic noir, but here Bridget left without to pay for her evil actions and with money in her packet.

As the quote that Heather Fireman took from Marla San Felippo "The Last Seduction reflects anxieties about current feminist advances, examining masculinity and femininity in light of deconstructed and reconstructed gender roles." Therefore, female characters have something else in their minds than being beautiful, treacherous, and being killed. They play to be alive with glory and money.

Lack of colors versus color films, predatory characters, and different budget are some of the descriptions of Classic Noir and Neo Noir, however the tale of the fisherman and the fish is the same, I think that later on we will see who is the fisherman and who is the prey...