The Fall and Television Noir

Abstract

This article analyzes the Belfast-set BBC series The Fall (2013–) as an illustrative example of television noir. It aims to use noir scholarship to investigate The Fall’s complex gender politics and genre position, and, more significantly, to use The Fall to illuminate the complex ways in which noir currently operates across Anglo-American television and culture. The Fall is self-conscious, if not self-reflexive, in its mobilization of noir to aspire to the cinematic. This article argues that the series, and others like it, use noir as a legitimation strategy, often to excuse prurient stories of sexualized violence. The act of labeling something noir, particularly a visual fiction, is a way of insisting on its status as art. I conclude that the system of noir (and its associations with art and authenticity) is unable to contain the excesses of the serial killer mythology and Gothic inflection of its postfeminist investigator.

Trauma, Motive and the Post-Troubles Psychopath in The Fall

“…Both Klinger (2018) and Steenberg (2017) discuss the Gothic quality of many of these productions evident in the dark, gloomy spaces their protagonists inhabit, and the centrality of the family melodrama, often played out by victim, perpetrator, and investigator alike. As Klinger (2018) has argued, these series return over and over again to the white, female victim, whose death invokes feelings of horror similar to that of the horror movie.…”

“…As Klinger (2018) has argued, these series return over and over again to the white, female victim, whose death invokes feelings of horror similar to that of the horror movie. Steenberg (2017) by contrast associates the series’ Gothic qualities with Film Noir, arguing that this generic intersection allows for the films to cloak their sensationalist undercurrents in an artistic guise. The associations between a troubled present and a traumatic past event drive many of these narratives, including The Fall and Steenberg also notes that Spector’s depiction as “homme fatal” allows for his actions to be situated within a narrative arc of the “tortured torturer” (Steenberg 2017, 65).…”

“…Steenberg (2017) by contrast associates the series’ Gothic qualities with Film Noir, arguing that this generic intersection allows for the films to cloak their sensationalist undercurrents in an artistic guise. The associations between a troubled present and a traumatic past event drive many of these narratives, including The Fall and Steenberg also notes that Spector’s depiction as “homme fatal” allows for his actions to be situated within a narrative arc of the “tortured torturer” (Steenberg 2017, 65). Similarly, Murphy (2019, 121) writes of The Fall that “it represents a particularly resonant example of the continuation of classic ‘male gothic’ themes of male transgression and female victimisation.” The explanations for these killers’ misdeeds “almost always involve past abuse (physical or psychological).…”

“…Similarly, Murphy (2019, 121) writes of The Fall that “it represents a particularly resonant example of the continuation of classic ‘male gothic’ themes of male transgression and female victimisation.” The explanations for these killers’ misdeeds “almost always involve past abuse (physical or psychological). Layered onto this past of abuse are the deep reservations held by the tortured torturer about his performance of violence” (Steenberg 2017, 65). At the same time, Spector exhibits all the outward appearances of normalcy, a common feature of fictional serial killers.…”

“…Scholarly attention has also reflected these concerns, commonly focusing on the role of the central female detective, Stella Gibson played by Gillian Anderson (Horeck 2018; Jermyn 2016; Magennis 2016). The Fall , which played in multiple territories across the globe and on Netflix, has also been identified as part of a global network of contemporary thrillers, many inspired by the success of Scandi Noir (Coulthard et al 2018; Steenberg 2017). As others have argued, these dramas routinely feature female investigators in lead roles and offer opportunities to consider alternative depictions of femininity on screen (McCabe 2015).…”