Film-Noir Misconception (Among Francophones)

In French, the word "Film-Noir" has become almost unusable.

That is because the average joe doesn't make the difference between Film-Noir and "Film Black".

Just today, when I was using "Film-Noir" in a regular conversation with my friends, I had to explain myself for the use of the word.

It would be great to educate people about it. I suggest that IMDb put a note in french on the page of every film-noir to debunk that misbelief.

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Peter_pbn

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4 years ago

What does "Film Black" mean here?

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Maxence_G

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https://www.google.com/search?q=film+black&rlz=1C1CHBF_enCA857CA857&oq=film+black&aqs=chrome.0.69i59j0i457j46l3j69i60l3.2492j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

MIBFF: https://montrealblackfilm.com/en/

You see, the problem is that we often use "film black" to describe films made by a black crew. but in French, the translation of "film black" is "film noir".

Basically, in French, if you say: "Je n'aime pas les films-noirs" which means "I don't like film-noirs", you could be labeled as racist. In French, to describe the black community we also use the word "noir.e.s".

I'm gonna put it in context,

In English:

Interviewer: What is your favorite film-noir?

Average Joe: What are film-noirs?

Moviebuff: My favorite film-noir is Touch of Evil

In French:

Interviewer: Quel est ton film-noir préféré?

Average Joe: Black Panther

Moviebuff: Mon film-noir favori est La soif du mal.

PS: I know that this is probably very confusing to non-francophone, our grammar is way more complicated to explain than English's.

(edited)

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4 years ago

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Maxence_G

Film-Noir Misconception (Among Francophones)

Peter_pbn

Maxence_G

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