The Anti-Hero As Seen in Detour

So, first off, Detour was excellent and made me want to watch more film noir. But that’s all I’ll say about it quality-wise. Now, on to the matter at hand. Film noir definitely alters the perception of characters, especially given the fact that the main character generally (I have yet to see a film noir that does not contain this) will narrate the story in a romantic, often hopeless-sounding way. This is, of course, also the case for Detour. Al Roberts is the protagonist in the film, and he narrates the events leading up to his sitting in the diner, being tortured by a song from his past.

Giving the main character of a film noir the ability to tell about the events from their point of view leads to a whole world of altered perceptions of themselves and every single character that they interact with. Take Al Roberts, himself, for example: his retelling of his own story leads to a whole new view of his anti-hero-esque character that viewers would not get without Detour being a film noir. The viewer hears Roberts’ thoughts throughout, such as when Haskell dies. The viewer really gets a, well, view of how hectic his thoughts are during that period. He is far from having the heroic qualities that may have saved him from inevitably getting into deeper trouble (he possibly could have just told the cop what happened). Instead, he is flawed, and takes a different route from the easiest one. After than, even, he continues to take on the identity of Haskell, killing Vera eventually, and further and further from being a hero, until he becomes the anti-hero.

Film Noir really helps to modify the anti-hero with its traditionally dark themes and the flaws of its characters. Al Roberts, who starts out as a guy on a mission to find his nearly-lost love, becomes an anti-hero in the end because of the events that ensue throughout the movie. His narration of the events just helps to solidify how he has changed and his personal views on the events.

Sherlock Jr.

First off, I thoroughly enjoyed Sherlock Jr. It was a semi-introduction into the world of slapstick comedy, as I had never seen one all the way through. But onto the actual assignment: the visual gags and stunts in Sherlock Jr. were very effective. They hold up well, despite its 1924 release date. The 13 ball that was actually a bomb came as a surprise to me actually - but in a great way. The visual stunt proved that even silent films from the 20s can get a modern viewer to laugh/respond to them. Another example from the film that held up well was when Keaton rode the barrier down and landed in the car. It showed how some things are timelessly effective, regardless of their age.

There is a clear influence that the film (and related films) had on contemporary comedy. One scene that comes to mind is the one in which Keaton follows that main villain of the narrative in his (literal) every step. There have been many modern examples that clearly mimic the scene, and a number of others that do it in a way that does not show a direct influence, but an influence that has evolved through the ages. Visual gags/stunts are still very alive today and they would not be what they are without films like Sherlock Jr.

Introduction!

I'm not really sure how to go about introducing myself via a blog, so here goes nothing. My name is Billy Menke and I'm a freshman E-Media major. I've lived in Cincinnati my whole life and movies are incredible, as everything creative is. That being said, I could never pick one type of movie to like, although I tend to lean more toward sad-ish/indie-ish movies, if I had to choose. I took this course because getting to actually study movies in-depth for a class sounded great - plus I just love film.