Customer Reviews

Arts of Darkness: American Noir and the Quest for Redemption

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Thomas Hibbs' Book, "Arts of Darkness," is an insightful and enjoyable journey into the world of Film Noir. Hibbs' discusses the themes of redemption in Noir through the vehicle of philosophic minds such as Blaise Pascal.

I would highly recommend this book.

This is a great book for those who are seeking a way to a more thoughtful existence. The author uses what some might consider "popular culture" as an entrance into a deeper way of thinking and living that will have you viewing everything in the world differently.

I've so far only read this book in sections, but I wanted to give a brief review. I mainly just want to recommend it. Basically, if you're interested in noir and neo-noir films in relationship to Gnosticism, then there isn't a whole lot else even out there. This is a rare gem.

I've looked around quite a bit, and as far as I can tell there is only one other book that is comparable. Secret Cinema: Gnostic Vision in Film by Eric G. Wilson covers similar territory as this book. I actually read Wilson's book first and I was happy to discover that another author was actually writing about this convergence of subjects.

Both authors bring together diverse ideas using perceptive insight into cultural patterns. These books go much deeper than most books about movies.

Let me add one further comment. There is both a strength and a weakness to this book. Unlike Eric G. Wilson's book, Arts of Darkness is extrememly focused in that he heavily emphasizes the ideas of Pascal. I really appreciated this because I wasn't previously all that familiar with Pascal, but he leaves out the larger context. Pascal's ideas were a part of the Western intellectual tradition. Many other theologians and philosophers are relevant to the discussion. Pascal is far from being the only insightful view of the belief in God as hidden, Deus Absconditus. For example, it was central to Martin Luther's theology.

I also wish he had discussed Philip K. Dick in more detail. I was very happy to see that PKD was discussed in this book because there are few writers more relevant to the topic. My criticism is that he apparently lacked a broad understanding of PKD's ideas. He discusses PKD without even bringing up the topic of Deus Absconditus which was one of PKD's most cherished notions. PKD wrote endlessly about how God's revelation is unclear to us, but Hibbs seemed entirely unaware of PKD's philosophical writings (which often are even found in his fiction). This was a sad oversight because PKD would've been a perfect example of how the author could've brought Pascal's thinking into an even more contemporary framework. If you want to know how theology and fiction relate, then you should study PKD. Eric G. Wilson discusses PKD more thoroughly. But if you're specifically interested in PKD's views on the hidden God, then read Gabriel McKee's Pink Beams of Light from the God in the Gutter: The Science-Fictional Religion of Philip K. Dick.

In conclusion, this book is a rare gem. It's a great book more than worth reading and even re-reading. However, if the author had expanded his research, this could've been a truly awesome book. So, in order to get the fullest possible comprehension of this subject matter, read Hibbs book along with Wilson's.