Southern noir is a genre of crime fiction set in the

American South The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is census regions United States Census Bureau. It is between the Atlantic Ocean and the ...

. It is considered a subgenre of

noir fiction Noir fiction (or roman noir) is a subgenre of crime fiction. Definition Noir denotes a marked darkness in theme and subject matter, generally featuring a disturbing mixture of sex and violence. While related to and frequently confused with ...

and often deals with themes related to poverty, racism, and violence.

Terminology

Southern noir is sometimes also called "rural noir", "country noir", or "grit lit".

Characteristics

Southern noir is a subgenre of crime fiction, specifically

. It is typically written from the point of view of a character who is a perpetrator, victim, or investigator of a crime. It is characterized by its focus on the setting of the American South, but can more broadly include the South, the

Ozarks The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, as well as a small area in the southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover ...

Appalachia Appalachia ( ) is a geographic region located in the Appalachian Mountains#Regions, central and southern sections of the Appalachian Mountains in the east of North America. In the north, its boundaries stretch from the western Catskill Mountai ...

, the

Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

and the

Southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural list of regions of the United States, region of the United States that includes Arizona and New Mexico, along with adjacen ...

. It typically takes place in rural settings, with vivid, poetic descriptions of landscape and place. These settings typically incorporate

Southern Gothic Southern Gothic is an artistic subgenre of Gothic fiction, fiction, Popular music, music, Gothic film, film, theatre, and television that are heavily influenced by Gothic fiction, Gothic elements and the Southern United States, American South. ...

aesthetics, and explore elements of religion and the supernatural. Southern noir stories can take place in the present day or in the past. The narratives and characters of Southern law are deeply affected by the socioeconomic issues facing the American South in the modern day, including the loss of family farms and factory jobs. The failure of the

American Dream The "American Dream" is a phrase referring to a purported national ethos of the United States: that every person has the freedom and opportunity to succeed and attain a better life. The phrase was popularized by James Truslow Adams during the ...

in Southern noir leaves rural communities without outside assistance or hope. Poverty, racism, alcoholism, drug addiction, intergenerational conflict, misogyny, sexual violence, and inequality are frequently explored. Law enforcement are typically complicit in racist violence and Black characters face difficulty receiving justice. Protagonists in Southern noir fiction are often outsiders in their communities. Characters are typically forced into situations that require them to navigate brutal violence and gray morality.

History

Early examples of Southern noir include ''The Postman Always Rings Twice'' (1934) by James M. Cain, ''Intruder in the Dust'' (1948) by

William Faulkner William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer. He is best known for William Faulkner bibliography, his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi, a stand-in fo ...

, and ''Deliverance'' (1970) by

James Dickey James Lafayette Dickey (February 2, 1923 January 19, 1997) was an American poet, novelist, critic, and lecturer. He was appointed the 18th United States Poet Laureate in 1966. His other accolades included the National Book Award for Poetry a ...

, each of which has been retroactively described as having characteristics common to the genre. One of the first authors to use the term "country noir" was

Daniel Woodrell Daniel Woodrell (born March 4, 1953) is an American novelist and short story writer, who has written nine novels, most of them set in the Missouri Ozarks, and one collection of short stories. Woodrell coined the phrase " country noir" to describ ...

, whose novel '' Give Us a Kiss'' was originally titled ''Give Us A Kiss: A Country Noir''. Woodrell later distanced himself from the term, saying that "The use of the term noir is too limiting. I didn’t realize that when I used Country Noir to describe my work, but the word noir is defined by so many ways by so many people that it is essentially useless as a descriptive terms". Other authors known for writing Southern noir literature include

Brian Panowich Brian Panowich is an American author and journalist. Biography Panowich grew up an "Army brat" in Europe before moving to East Georgia. Before becoming a writer he was a firefighter in Augusta, Georgia. He is known for the novels ''Bull Mountai ...

, S. A. Cosby,

James Lee Burke James Lee Burke (born December 5, 1936) is an American author, best known for his Dave Robicheaux series. He has won Edgar Awards for his novels ''Black Cherry Blues'' (1990), ''Cimarron Rose'' (1998), and ''Flags on the Bayou'' (2024). He has ...

Tayari Jones Tayari Jones (born November 30, 1970) is an American author and academic known for '' An American Marriage'', which was a 2018 Oprah's Book Club Selection and won the 2019 Women's Prize for Fiction. Jones is a graduate of Spelman College, the Un ...

, William Gay, Attica Locke, David Joy,

Jesmyn Ward Jesmyn Ward (born April 1, 1977) is an American novelist and a professor of English at Tulane University, where she holds the Andrew W. Mellon Professorship in the Humanities. She won the 2011 National Book Award for Fiction for her second novel ...

, Eli Cranor, and Kelly J. Ford. Many Southern noir writers come from rural regions, and in recent years many African-American authors have become prominent in the genre. The ''Lonesome Dove'' series by

Larry McMurtry Larry Jeff McMurtry (June 3, 1936March 25, 2021) was an American novelist, essayist, and screenwriter whose work was predominantly set in either the Old West or contemporary Texas.

, ''Cold in July'' by Joe R. Lansdale, and ''No Country for Old Men'' by

Cormac McCarthy Cormac McCarthy (born Charles Joseph McCarthy Jr.; July 20, 1933 – June 13, 2023) was an American author who wrote twelve novels, two plays, five screenplays, and three short stories, spanning the Western, post-apocalyptic, and Southern Got ...

, along with its 2007 film adaptation, have been called "Texas noir". Television series like ''Quarry'', ''True Detective'', ''Bloodline'', and ''Ozark'' are also considered developments in the Southern noir genre.

Media

A number of works have been described as being a part of the Southern noir genre.

Literature

* '' The Postman Always Rings Twice'' (1934) * '' They Don't Dance Much'' (1940) * '' Intruder in the Dust'' (1948) * '' The Executioners'' (1957) * ''

The Violent Bear It Away ''The Violent Bear It Away'' is a 1960 Southern Gothic novel by American author Flannery O'Connor. It is the second and final novel that she published. The first chapter was originally published as the story "You Can't Be Any Poorer Than Dead" ...

'' (1960) * '' Pop. 1280'' (1964) * ''

Outer Dark ''Outer Dark'' is the second novel by American writer Cormac McCarthy and was published in 1968. The time and setting are nebulous, but it can be assumed to take place sometime around the turn of the twentieth century somewhere in Appalachia. T ...

'' (1968) * ''

Deliverance ''Deliverance'' is a 1972 American thriller film directed and produced by John Boorman from a screenplay by James Dickey, who adapted it from his own Deliverance (novel), 1970 novel. It follows four businessmen from Atlanta who venture into th ...

'' (1970) * ''

Lonesome Dove ''Lonesome Dove'' is a 1985 Western novel by American writer Larry McMurtry. It is the first published book of the ''Lonesome Dove'' series and the third installment in the series chronologically. It was a bestseller and won the 1986 Pulit ...

'' (1985) * '' The Neon Rain'' (1987) * '' Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe'' (1987) * '' Cold in July'' (1989) * '' A Time to Kill'' (1989) * '' Give Us A Kiss'' (1996) * ''

No Country for Old Men ''No Country for Old Men'' is a 2007 American neo-Western crime thriller film written, directed, produced and edited by Joel and Ethan Coen, based on Cormac McCarthy's 2005 novel. Starring Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, and Josh Brolin ...

'' (2005) * '' The World Made Straight'' (2006) * '' Sharp Objects'' (2006) * '' The Devil All the Time'' (2011) * '' Bluebird, Bluebird'' (2017) * '' Dear Martin'' (2018) * '' My Darkest Prayer'' (2018) * ''

Blacktop Wasteland ''Blacktop Wasteland'' is a noir mystery novel written by S.A. Cosby and published in July 2020 by Flatiron Books. Plot Beauregard "Bug" Montage is a hardworking black mechanic with a remarkable talent for driving. He has a checkered past, but ...

'' (2020) * '' When These Mountains Burn'' (2020) * ''

Razorblade Tears ''Razorblade Tears: A Novel'' is a crime novel by S. A. Cosby, published in July 2021 by Flatiron Books. This novel debuted at number 10 on the ''New York Times'' bestseller list. Jerry Bruckheimer's company has "optioned the story for Par ...

'' (2021) * '' All the Sinners Bleed'' (2023)

Films

* '' The Postman Always Rings Twice'' (1946) * ''

Moonrise Moonrise and moonset are times when the upper limb of the Moon appears above the horizon and disappears below it, respectively. The exact times depend on the lunar phase and declination, as well as the observer's location. As viewed from outside ...

'' (1948) * ''

Key Largo Key Largo () is an island in the upper Florida Keys archipelago and is the largest section of the keys, at long. It is one of the northernmost of the Florida Keys in Monroe County, and the northernmost of the keys connected by U.S. Highway ...

'' (1948) * '' Cape Fear'' (1962) * ''

'' (1972) * '' The Postman Always Rings Twice'' (1981) * ''

Body Heat Thermoregulation is the ability of an organism to keep its body temperature within certain boundaries, even when the surrounding temperature is very different. A thermoconforming organism, by contrast, simply adopts the surrounding temperature ...

'' (1981) * ''

Blood Simple ''Blood Simple'' is a 1984 American independent neo-noir crime film written, edited, produced and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, and starring John Getz, Frances McDormand, Dan Hedaya and M. Emmet Walsh. Its plot follows a Texas bartender ...

'' (1984) * '' Cape Fear'' (1991) * ''

Fried Green Tomatoes ''Fried Green Tomatoes'' is a 1991 American comedy-drama film directed by Jon Avnet and based on Fannie Flagg's 1987 novel '' Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe''. Written by Flagg and Carol Sobieski, and starring Kathy Bates, J ...

'' (1991) * ''

One False Move ''One False Move'' is a 1992 American crime thriller film directed by Carl Franklin and written by Billy Bob Thornton and Tom Epperson. The film stars Thornton alongside Bill Paxton and Cynda Williams. The low-budget production was about to ...

'' (1992) * '' Heaven's Prisoners'' (1996) * '' A Time to Kill'' (1996) * ''

'' (2007) * ''

Winter's Bone ''Winter's Bone'' is a 2010 American coming-of-age drama film directed by Debra Granik. It was adapted by Granik and Anne Rosellini from the 2006 novel by Daniel Woodrell. The film stars Jennifer Lawrence as a poverty-stricken teenage girl na ...

'' (2010) * ''

Mud Mud (, or Middle Dutch) is loam, silt or clay mixed with water. Mud is usually formed after rainfall or near water sources. Ancient mud deposits hardened over geological time to form sedimentary rock such as shale or mudstone (generally cal ...

'' (2012) * ''

Out of the Furnace ''Out of the Furnace'' is a 2013 American crime drama thriller film directed by Scott Cooper, from a screenplay by Cooper and Brad Ingelsby. Starring Christian Bale, Woody Harrelson, Casey Affleck, Forest Whitaker, Willem Dafoe, Zoë Sal ...

'' (2013) * '' Cold in July'' (2014) * ''

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri ''Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri'' is a 2017 crime drama film written, directed, and produced by Martin McDonagh. It stars Frances McDormand as Mildred Hayes, a Missouri woman who rents three roadside billboards to draw attention to ...

'' (2017) * ''

Tomato Red ''Tomato Red'' (also known as ''Tomato Red: Blood Money'') is a 2017 Irish-Canadian crime film written and directed by Juanita Wilson and starring Jake Weary and Julia Garner. It is based on the novel of the same name by Daniel Woodrell. Plot ...

'' (2017) * ''

Galveston Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...

'' (2018) * '' Donnybrook'' (2018) * '' The Devil All the Time'' (2020) * '' Desperation Road'' (2023)

Television

* ''

'' (1989) * ''

Return to Lonesome Dove ''Return to Lonesome Dove'' is a 1993 American four part television miniseries, written by John Wilder involving characters created in Larry McMurtry's Western novel ''Lonesome Dove'' which was broadcast by CBS and first aired on November 14– ...

'' (1993) * '' Lonesome Dove: The Series'' (1994-1996) * '' Justified'' (2010-2015) * ''

True Detective ''True Detective'' is an American Anthology series, anthology Crime fiction, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series created by Nic Pizzolatto for the premium cable network HBO. The series premiered on January 12, 2014, and ...

'' (2014-present) * ''

Quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mining, open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock (geology), rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some juri ...

'' (2015-2016) * ''

Bloodline Heredity, also called inheritance or biological inheritance, is the passing on of traits from parents to their offspring; either through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction, the offspring cells or organisms acquire the genetic infor ...

'' (2015-2017) * ''

Ozark The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, as well as a small area in the southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cov ...

'' (2017-2020) * '' Sharp Objects'' (2018)