Spiski możnych i uprzywilejowanych. Cal noir i narracja konspiracyjna

One of the cinematic phenomena that laid the foundation for modern conspiracy narratives is film noir, where an outsider, not identifying with the optimistic vision of America, begins an investigation from a small case, and eventually reaches the heights of influence–into the gray areas of hidden power. In this way, noir fits into the category of conspiracy narratives, related to the plots of the powerful, now referred to as the “one percent.” A specific subgenre of film noir, in which this element is almost defining, is Cal noir where, under the scorching sun of the happiest state, Byzantine intrigues of the wealthiest unfold, and they are never punished. From Howard Hawks’ The Big Sleep to I Am the Night by Patty Jenkins and Sam Sheridan, Cal noir–sometimes based on true stories–explores, in an atmosphere of paranoia and fears related to the (conspiratorial) informal power held by elites who abuse it, corrupting both themselves and society.