Assignment #4, Blog #2

Devil in a Blue Dress displays multiple, classic conventions of film noir, most prominently the city of Los Angeles acting as an inescapable labyrinth and the portrayal of social anxieties at the time of its release.  In the film, LA becomes a sort of maze that Easy Rawlins cannot escape.  He is constantly trapped by the city and the people who run it, illustrating the lack of control Easy has over his situation, a theme consistent with the film noir genre.  Devil in a Blue Dress also demonstrates the social anxieties during the time of its release in 1995, an aspect of the film noir genre. Three years before its release, the Rodney King race riots in Los Angeles captivated the nation and demonstrated the tension between races in America.  Devil in a Blue Dress emphasizes race relations throughout the film, highlighting the dysfunction and cruelty of racism in the urban setting.  Easy Rawlins and other African-American characters in the film are placed in inescapable situations due to race and the fear of what not cooperating with powerful, white men might bring.  This echoes anxieties of many Americans during the 1990s, a time in which tensions between races were running high.  Devil in a Blue Dress displays the classic conventions of the film noir genre, emphasizing the role of race and the city of Los Angeles in the film.