Sin City

3 Film Noir Conventions with Scene Justification

Film Noir

Cynical Protagonist – Protagonists are paranoid about death, smoking and drinking as they have a loss of self worth, this relates to society at the time because of the Cold War, no one knew if the war was going to start again. Marv drinking at the bar. John Hartigan risks his own life to save Nancy’s as he has nothing to live for, he keeps calling himself ‘Old Man’ and ‘Loser’.

Femme Fatale – Uses her body to get the cynical protagonist to do her bidding. Goldie uses Marv for protection so she sleeps with him, using her body to fulfil his needs.

High Contrast, Low-key lighting – We don’t know if we should trust the character. The first seen where the assassin is about to kill the girl, half his face is dark and half is face is light, so we cannot tell if we should trust his character, it turns out that we shouldn’t.

3 Comic Book Conventions with Scene Justification

Comic Book

Exaggeration of strength – Superhero strength to show that good defeats evil. Marv knocks police officers out of his way when he is fleeing the scene of Goldie’s Death. Marv pushes a man’s head into a wall to get information out of him.

Protagonists wear trench coats – Makes it look like a cape when they jump from a higher place. Take it off when killing someone, as it is not a superhero thing to do. Marv jumps down the flights of stairs and his coat swoops behind him. Dwight jumps from the window and his coat swoops behind him. John Hartigan’s coat swoops when he is following Roark on the Docks.

Exaggerated non-digetic sound in fight scenes – Loud noises when men are fighting with each other but the noises are not live within the scene. Loud Banging noises when Marv is banging man’s head against wall, can’t see where the noise is coming from.

Does Propp Apply?

Propp does apply to Sin City as:

The Hero – a character that seeks something – Marv Seeks revenge for Goldie’s death, John Hartigan seeks to save Nancy’s Life, Dwight seeks to save Shelly from Jackie Boy, and then the girls from Oldtown.

The Villain – who opposes or actively blocks the hero’s quest – Kevin, Uncle Roark, Roark Sr, Roark Jr, Corrupted Cops, The Gold Eyed Man (Manute).

The Donor – who provides an object with magical properties

The Dispatcher – who sends the hero on his/her quest via a message – Shelly and Gale, Wendy.

The False Hero – who disrupts the hero’s success by making false claims – Roark Sr

The Helper – who aids the hero – Gale and the girls from Oldtown, Bob.

The Princess – acts as the reward for the hero and the object of the villain’s plots – Wendy, Nancy, Gale, Shelly.

Her Father – who acts to reward the hero for his effort – No Fathers are in the film.

Does Todorov Apply?

Todorov applies to a certain extent, There is not state of equilibrium and there is no return or restoration of a new equilibrium, as the order is always disturbed by an event.

A state of equilibrium (all is as it should be)

A disruption of that order by an event – John is Arrested for shooting Roark Jr, Goldie Dies, Jackie Boy threatens Shelly so Dwight sets out to kill him.

A recognition that the disorder has occurred – John is put in jail, waits for Nancy’s letters until they stop coming, Marv keeps getting Goldie and Wendy mixed up, not in the right mental state, Dwight and the Oldtown girls realize they have killed a Cop, therefore they will loose all power they possess.

An attempt to repair the damage of the disruption – Freed from prison for confessing he is a rapist, goes to save Nancy, Marv kills Kevin and Uncle Roark in revenge for Kevin killing Goldie and other girls, Dwight and the Oldtown girls work together to restore power of Oldtown by shooting police officers and trying to hide Jackie Boy’s body.

A return or restoration of a NEW equilibrium