From noir to neo-noir

Noir fiction came into being in 1920s America as novelists sought to explore the seamy underbelly of a rapidly changing society. The genre, aimed at a broad readership, challenged social norms and developed close links with the silver screen. With the emergence of neo-noir, the genre has adapted to a post-modern world, drawing on numerous other creative forms such as comics and TV series. The lead characters, once heroes, have become the man in the street, struggling with complex reality in all its shades of grey and its shifting moral compass.
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