The Duality of Man
Film Noir showcases the duality of man like no other genre. As I write this post the whole Harvey Weinstein scandal has broken out. The film producer, Hollywood mogul, husband, father and philanthropist is on his knees. The exact same position he forced onto so many of his victims. He's done tremendous evil. He's done tremendous good. He's an angel to some. The devil himself to others. The most interesting fictional characters are complex. Multi-dimensional. Unconventional. We like it when, good or bad, they surprise us. There's two qualities that define our interest in the characters we see on screen: motivation and action. When we see Superman save the cat from the tree we know he's a good guy. But what if he still saved the cat but at the expense of killing a puppy? What would we think of him then? Would his likeability be driven solely based on the audience's love or contempt towards either animal species? And who is more real, Superman or Clark ...