WHAT IS FILM NOIR?

Film Noir refers to a genre of film that spawned in the 1940's. The term "Film Noir" simply means black film and refers to the experimentation with lighting (or chiaroscuro). The Films will usually feature guns, smoke, and overly sexual women for the time. The owner of filmsnoir.net described the genre in a way I completely agree with: "I consider a movie a film noir if it has a “noir sensibility”. This sensibility must have a redemptive focus for me to value a film, whether redemption is achieved or not. This is what the great films noir have in common: a profoundly and deeply human response to the chaos and random contingency at the edge of existence." The theme of redempion is a common factor in many of the most critically acclaimed films of the genre and in a way, this theme is what draws many people to the films.

The target audience for film noir  titles is discussed in the slideshare below. I agree with the presentation to an extent. I do think the genre is aimed at males with the violence, crime, and women. I believe that the target audience has greatly changed since the genre has been established. At this point in time, the audience varies way too much to distinguish a certain demographic. Back in the time these films were made, they were rather explicit for the time and likely not made for a young audience. I would therefore say that these films were aimed at men between the ages of 20-40.
  

Film Noir target audience from SFDobson94