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constanceAfter a brief exchange this morning on Television Without Pity, I've been thinking about Supernatural in terms of Sera Gamble's recent reveal that Season Six would have a noir feel to it. This is something I've been curious about: how the show, which for all its darkness and even moral ambiguity has never achieved (or as far as I know ever worked towards) an even remotely hardboiled overtone, is going to handle such a plan.
One of the biggest differences between Supernatural and true noir, whether in fiction or in film, is that Supernatural usually can't resist sentimentalizing its moral choices. Traditionally, Noir's prevalent themes largely detail determined, cynical unsentimentality toward sex, violence, and human interaction in general; and I'm fascinated to see whether Supernatural can put its tendency to romanticize Sam and Dean's moral crises aside to embrace the genre thoroughly, or whether it'll just skirt the issues central to noir, trying for a look or a mood without being willing to give up its commitment to (and various judgments upon) the Winchesters' emotional arcs.
I suspect the latter (er, and truthfully, I can't say that I'm especially sorry about that, since I'm invested in the Winchesters' emotional arcs, and have been for years now). The way the season so far has been set up indicates that Supernatural's showrunners aren't quite able to abandon the Winchesters' sentimental journeys, since two episodes in, we're seeing a thematic mirror image of Season One, with Dean assuming Sam's role as erstwhile-hunter-and-pretender-to-an-ordinary-life, and Sam taking Dean's dutiful-soldier-and-family-mediator-trying-to-pull-his-brother-back out for a spin. Artistically speaking, I do think that fussing around with noir without buying fully into its precepts is a gutless copout, but I can buy into the possibility of the showrunners hedging their noirish bets this way. As I said, I'm reluctant to abandon that baseline sentimentality, as well.
But. But still, I do love me some dead-eyed, unflinching amorality. And as committed as I am to seeing this season's reversal play itself out in terms of the show's messy ardency, if Supernatural's headed in an anesthetized, truly noir-y direction, I don't think I'll be able to bring myself to loathe the change. Either way, with all the elements we've been given so far, I'm finding myself more excited for the coming episodes than I have been since fairly early in Season Five.
Thank cuss for that.
One of the biggest differences between Supernatural and true noir, whether in fiction or in film, is that Supernatural usually can't resist sentimentalizing its moral choices. Traditionally, Noir's prevalent themes largely detail determined, cynical unsentimentality toward sex, violence, and human interaction in general; and I'm fascinated to see whether Supernatural can put its tendency to romanticize Sam and Dean's moral crises aside to embrace the genre thoroughly, or whether it'll just skirt the issues central to noir, trying for a look or a mood without being willing to give up its commitment to (and various judgments upon) the Winchesters' emotional arcs.
I suspect the latter (er, and truthfully, I can't say that I'm especially sorry about that, since I'm invested in the Winchesters' emotional arcs, and have been for years now). The way the season so far has been set up indicates that Supernatural's showrunners aren't quite able to abandon the Winchesters' sentimental journeys, since two episodes in, we're seeing a thematic mirror image of Season One, with Dean assuming Sam's role as erstwhile-hunter-and-pretender-to-an-ordinary-life, and Sam taking Dean's dutiful-soldier-and-family-mediator-trying-to-pull-his-brother-back out for a spin. Artistically speaking, I do think that fussing around with noir without buying fully into its precepts is a gutless copout, but I can buy into the possibility of the showrunners hedging their noirish bets this way. As I said, I'm reluctant to abandon that baseline sentimentality, as well.
But. But still, I do love me some dead-eyed, unflinching amorality. And as committed as I am to seeing this season's reversal play itself out in terms of the show's messy ardency, if Supernatural's headed in an anesthetized, truly noir-y direction, I don't think I'll be able to bring myself to loathe the change. Either way, with all the elements we've been given so far, I'm finding myself more excited for the coming episodes than I have been since fairly early in Season Five.
Thank cuss for that.
