Martinez JoseMrs. BlakerEnglish 10116 December 2013Film NoirThe end of the Second World War in 1945 brought a new era of reconstruction and rediscovery. In the 1940s, going to the cinema was comparable to shopping in a sweet shop: there was something for everyone. It was during this period that the biggest stories in Hollywood history premiered in America. These stories depicted a fraudulent Hollywood unimaginable to Americans. This new image of cinema illustrated a different version of America by offering unconventional endings in which no one was left “happy.” French critics called this new form of cinema film noir, or black film. The New Face of Hollywood was aptly named, as it was shown in black and white, featured dark and gritty scenes, and grounded themes of betrayal, sex, money, and death. For such dark films they had their own unique look. They represented the darker side of human nature; the world as it really was. The line between legal and illegal has become blurred. Nightlife became clandestine and this made it even more seductive and dangerous. You travel safely into the mysterious world with writers like Raymond Chandler. The Big Sleep, based on the book by Raymond Chandler, is considered an example of film noir due to its use of darkness in a profane society as a private detective, Phillip Marlowe, struggles to piece together the puzzle and solve the mystery. Although The Big Sleep contains some elements of film noir, it does not function as a representative film of the genre because it lacks the essential principles that black films embody. corruptDespite film noir being a term to describe American crime dramas, Germany has had a major influence on dark cinema. It was the end of the First World War when... middle of paper... of The Big Sleep is not a film noir; instead Raymond Chandler's book embodies the noir genre. Readers keep thinking, inexplicable things keep happening, but they all have darkness and murder in common. Evil gets away with their crimes and even if there is attraction between two characters, their bond can never be that strong. Chandler has the language of film noir. Through his detective Phillip Marlowe you travel to every point of society without getting hurt. You can be in the darkest places in the city and still be alive. The ending of the book The Big Sleep reveals that what you want you cannot get. Marlowe managed to solve the Sternwood case, but his most important case about love remains cold and dark. Film noir isn't hard to point out. It has a unique look and connects to people emotionally. But love never prevails, evil always prevails.