Film Noir as Point de Capiton: Double indemnity, structure and temporality

Article

Tyrer, B. 2013. Film Noir as Point de Capiton: Double indemnity, structure and temporality. Film-Philosophy. 17 (1), pp. 96-114. https://doi.org/10.3366/film.2013.0006
TypeArticle
TitleFilm Noir as Point de Capiton: Double indemnity, structure and temporality
AuthorsTyrer, B.
Abstract

Reading noir and Lacan together can establish a structural corollary between the function of the signifier “noir” in film criticism and the retroactive function of the point de capiton in Lacan’s theory of language. Furthermore, at a narrative level, the function of the point de capiton can also be found in the retroactive constructions of film noir flashbacks. It is therefore possible to say that a retroactive “noir temporality” is also the temporality of the Symbolic order. This article explores the way in which the signifier “noir” enables the analysis of a certain type of 1940s Hollywood film, and how a noir film such as Double Indemnity (Billy Wilder, 1944) is concerned with the retroactive production of knowledge through narrative structure.

Middlesex University ThemeCreativity, Culture & Enterprise
PublisherEdinburgh University Press
JournalFilm-Philosophy
ISSN
Electronic1466-4615
Publication dates
OnlineDec 2013
Publication process dates
Deposited12 Jun 2023
Accepted01 Jun 2013
Output statusPublished
Publisher's version
File Access Level
Open
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.3366/film.2013.0006
LanguageEnglish
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