MM.XXVI

Meta noir.

German Expressionism of the 1920s prioritised the artist's inner emotional landscape over any attempt to replicate reality. This avant-garde movement with its oneiric elements and chiaroscuro lighting would go on to influence Hollywood’s film noir. Since then the noir genre has continually reinvented itself, from neo and neon, to cyber and urban noir. Yet at its heart, it continues to grapple with the existential human condition when confronted by adversity and the threat of annihilation.

Over the past decades, Metamodernism has become one of the more compelling concepts trying to define today’s paradox of shared experience—a world caught between digital revolution and collective global responsibility in the face of climate change. Swinging like a pendulum “between a modern enthusiasm and a postmodern irony”, it may also represent the natural next step in the evolution of noir. This is film noir reframed: meta noir.

A person walking on a dark pavement, with one foot in the air and the shadow cast on the ground.
Black and white photo of a woman in a white dress walking through a PVC strip curtain, one hand pushing one of the strips out of her way.
Broken mirror shards scattered on dark dirt ground, with a cigarette pack labeled 'Smoking kills' nearby.
Street art stencil graffiti of two human profiles with ponytails, against a textured window, with spray paint markings.
Two women walking over a foot bridge with an arrow attached to the railing pointing in the opposite direction.
An anti-collision window decal of bird attached to a glass pane at a beach promenade. The ocean can be seen in the background.
Silhouettes of two adults and a child holding hands and walking on a paved surface. Shadows are cast on the ground in front of them.
Reflection of two men in a glass window of a building at night, with signs and lights visible in the background.
Black and white photo of large industrial cooling or heating units with vents and fans, viewed through a window.
Light shining through a crack on wall near the floor, creating the shape of a bird mid-flight.
A black and white photo of a speaker cone inside an electronic device, with light reflecting off its surface.
Industrial ceiling with metal beams, hanging lights, and a suspended grated platform in a building or warehouse.
Black and white photo of intricately carved stone sculptures depicting figures.
A plastic water bottle with the cap placed on top, positioned on a sidewalk with a shadow cast beneath it. The ground is textured with small gravel and cracks, and there's a dark banana peel on the sidewalk next to the bottle.
A disorganized pile of magazines and books spilled onto a pavement, with some pages scattered and an overturned wooden chair nearby.
Two people standing in front of a large sign with large text, both looking at their phones.
Black and white scene of two women standing on a concrete ledge beside a brick wall, looking up and taking photos with their smartphones.
A glass vase with dead roses on a white table, with shadows cast by the early morning sun.
Paper notes taped to a frosted glass pane, lit from behind.
Distorted reflection of a cathedral shot from below.
Nighttime cityscape with a modern multi-story building illuminated by lights against dark cloudy sky
“We carry with us the dwelling place of our soul, like the turtle carries its shell. A journey through all the countries of the world would be a mere symbolic journey. Whatever place one arrives at, it is still one’s own soul that one is searching for.”
— Andrei Tarkovsky

DISSOCIATION \\

// ENTROPY