African American Film Noir and Philosophy

Racing Shadow and Light

Professor Dan Flory (Montana State University, USA)

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English

Bloomsbury Academic
13 November 2025

Film & movie: styles & genres; Philosophy: aesthetics

How have feelings, presumptions, and preconceptions concerning racialized Blackness intersected with film noir? Dan Flory relies on recent advances in philosophy of film, philosophy of emotion, cognitive film theory, and critical philosophy of race to guide his analyses of this well-known film genre. Making sense of techniques, themes, and characterizations filmmakers have used in order to structure movies into film noirs, Flory focuses on those viewer responses that are not consciously registered by higher-level forms of cognition. He argues that embodied, affective, and implicit reactions are key to understanding how film noir typically conveys ideas, feelings, and perspectives concerning race. Noir films by African American and other artists have frequently sought to elicit such embodied responses, rendering their investigation vital. In many cases, these artists have created works that aim, either explicitly or implicitly, to be filmed in the guise of philosophy by generating serious thoughtful reflection. By using advances from these theoretical subfields in conjunction with developments in mainstream, African American, and other kinds of filmmaking, Flory elucidates many under-analyzed dimensions of noir films and their intersection with racialized Blackness. Aiming to both diagnose as well as seek ways to overcome socio-political problems concerning anti-Blackness, Black invisibility, and the epistemic injustices they generate, Flory paves the way for revolutionary moral change.

By: Professor Dan Flory (Montana State University USA)
Imprint: Bloomsbury Academic
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm,
ISBN: 9781350496828
ISBN 10: 1350496820
Pages: 240
Publication Date: 13 November 2025
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Dan Flory is Professor of Philosophy at Montana State University. He is author of Philosophy, Black Film, Film Noir (2008) and co-editor of Race, Philosophy, and Film (2013).

Reviews for African American Film Noir and Philosophy: Racing Shadow and Light

African-American Film Noir and Philosophy argues forcefully that African-American filmmakers have expanded film noire so that it can afford potentially emancipatory resources for challenging anti-black prejudice by provoking troubling responses in White audiences that can engender philosophical reflection upon what it means to be a racist. * Submitted by Noel Carroll Philosophy Program The Graduate Center, CUNY * Flory’s masterful study of film noir’s racial dimensions brilliantly illuminates the racial politics of this important genre. Readers—both academics and the general public—will gain a new appreciation of how films can be socially critical while also encouraging philosophical reflection. A must read for anyone interested in film, race and racism, philosophy or all of the above. * Professor Thomas Wartenberg - twartenb@mtholyoke.edu *