In film noir, James Naremore argues it is often easier to identify than it is to define. Naremore discusses problem of defining film noir. For reasons specific to their own culture, the French originated the idea of American film noir in the decade after World War II. But Hollywood has also often shaped this definition even if this ended up being partially incorrect especially in the 1970s and ’80s.
The meaning of the term has changed over time, making it much simpler to identify the fascinating Hollywood’s dark films of the 1940s than to pinpoint a correct definition of the genre.