Darkness as a Metaphor in Film Noir

The thesis Darkness as a Metaphor in Film Noir explores the theme of darkness in film noir. Darkness is not merely formal, but also metaphorical communication vehicle, which works as a semantic framework and therefore when "reading" interpretive efforts have to be expended. In question of theory the thesis is based on Paul Ricoeur's living metaphor that transmute existing meanings and causes interpretive activities, as well as on conceptualization of the text openness towards the recipient, which is represented by theories of Roman Ingarden's places of indeterminacy, Wolfgang Iser's gaps, and Umberto Eco's open work. The hypothesis is the presumption that film noir can be understood in a way that it brings to viewers a change of perception, or a new visual experience, which was not present in cinema until then and which leads to the perception of "third sense". The thesis provides analyses of film noir movies and highlights their specific narrative and stylistic elements. The research also refers to the history of darkness in visual culture, while asking whether the traditional stereotypes can be separated from the inevitable sensual experience