America Noir: Underground Writers and Filmmakers of the Postwar Era [Paperback]

David Cochran (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2000

B-movies, crime novels, science fiction- all of these forms of mass media came into their own in the 1950s. Dismissed by critics as dehumanizing to both author and audience, these genres unflinchingly exposed the depths of American life at a time when it was not politically correct to do so.

David Cochran details how, at the height of the Cold War, ten writers and filmmakers challenged such social pieties as the superiority of American democracy, the benevolence of free enterprise, and the sanctity of the suburban family. Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone related stories of victims of vast, faceless bureaucratic powers. Jim Thompson's The Grifters portrayed the ravages of capitalism on those at the bottom of the social ladder. Patricia Highsmith's The Talented Mr. Ripley featured an amoral con man who infiltrated the privileged class and wreaked havoc once there. All of these artists helped to set the stage for the 1960s counterculture's challenge to the established order. In doing so, they blurred the lines between "high" and "low" art.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A must for any serious student of noir tradition in American culture. . . . Entertaining and enlightening.”—BookPage

“Insightful . . . a welcome addition to the literature devoted to postwar culture.”—American Studies International

“Demonstrates . . . an obsessive knowledge of and contagious enthusiasm for its subject.”—Modern Language Notes --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

David Cochran earned his PhD in American history from the University of Missouri-Columbia. He currently teaches at John A. Logan College and lives with his wife, three children, and four cats in Herrin, Illinois. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 312 pages
• Publisher: Smithsonian Books; First Edition edition (May 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560988134
• ISBN-13: 978-1560988137
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,576,141 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not an easy read, but a GREAT read!, June 25, 2000

By 

Curt Garcia (California, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: America Noir: Underground Writers and Filmmakers of the Postwar Era (Paperback)

As a tail-end "baby boomer" I have long been fascinated with the changes taking place in popular culture throughout my adolescent years and into adulthood. A long-time fan of MAD magazine, I never really understood the counter culture statements being made in the magazine or how they reflect society as a whole.

David Cochran's treatise, "America Noir: Underground Writers and Filmmakers of the Postwar Era" describes the propagation of a subculture which was not afraid to assert that all was not as rosy as the dominant culture would purport.

Reading the book was very much NOT like reading a novel or one of Rod Serling's short stories. To a certain extent, the book reads like a history text.

America Noir conists of five parts: The Killer Inside Me-Roman Noir Authors; Progress and Its Discontents-Science Fiction and Fantasy Authors; Outside Looking In-Minority Authors; Little Shop of Horrors-Independent Filmmakers; and Cracks in the Consensus-Liberal Artists. These five parts "connects the dots" to form a cohesive picture of the events, attitudes, and expressions which have marked the changing of American society from the period immediately following World War II to the current time.

I have a better grasp of the causes underlying the changes in society from the time I was a kid myself to now when I have adolescent kids of my own. I'm sure I will soon go out to experience some of the books and movies described in "America Noir." It is an excellent addition to my library.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars PEELING BACK THE UNDERBELLY OF AMERICA, July 15, 2005

By 

Kevin Stewart "negatives" (Atlanta, Georgia USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: America Noir: Underground Writers and Filmmakers of the Postwar Era (Paperback)

As a photographer who enjoys images more than text these days. This book is so well written that one "sees" images while David Cochran unfurls text in a manner that mimics the tendencies of the writes discussed within the book itself. Cochran knows his politics, his "POST WAR ERA" history and his subjects so well that while reading I had to keep looking at the cover to remind myself why I got the book. It goes beyond the call of duty.

Because of this book, I will be able to ascertain how the current bevy of movies being made on Marvel Comics and dark subject matters stack up to the tone of the era in which they were drawn. Also, I know better why American people are in the shape they are in. With more unresloved issues and more neurosis its a wonder how we have survived this long. Thank God for the Underground Writer and Filmmakers of the Postwar Era, there are valves to let some steam off.