ABSTRACT
In the previous chapters we already talked about some of the thematic
elements within noir stories. Because the film noir movies were mostly B
pictures, they were often under less scrutiny by both the Hollywood execs
and the Production Code office – which still had plenty to say but often
didn’t follow through with the B pictures as much. The pulp stories
explored risqué themes of sexual attraction, infidelity and drug addiction,
but also – possibly even more risky to the political Production Code office
– a dissatisfaction with the status quo and a distrust of both the upper class
and the powerful. These were stories that the everyday American could
identify with. America was at war and life wasn’t all that rosy at home.
