- Title Pages
- Frontispiece
- Dedication
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 The Wedding Party (1964–65)
- Chapter 2 Murder à la Mod (1966)
- Chapter 3 Greetings (1968)
- Chapter 4 Dionysus in ’69 (1970)
- Chapter 5 Hi, Mom! (1970)
- Chapter 6 Get to Know Your Rabbit (1972)
- Chapter 7 Sisters (1973)
- Chapter 8 Phantom of the Paradise (1974)
- Chapter 9 Obsession (1976)
- Chapter 10 Carrie (1976)
- Chapter 11 The Fury (1978)
- Chapter 12 Home Movies (1980)
- Chapter 13 Dressed to Kill (1980)
- Chapter 14 Blow Out (1981)
- Chapter 15 Scarface (1983)
- Chapter 16 Body Double (1984)
- Chapter 17 Wise Guys (1986)
- Chapter 18 The Untouchables (1987)
- Chapter 19 Casualties of War (1989)
- Chapter 20 The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990)
- Chapter 21 Raising Cain (1992)
- Chapter 22 Carlito’s Way (1993)
- Chapter 23 Mission: Impossible (1996)
- Chapter 24 Snake Eyes (1998)
- Chapter 25 Mission to Mars (2000)
- Chapter 26 Femme Fatale (2002)
- Chapter 27 The Black Dahlia (2006)
- Chapter 28 Redacted (2007)
- Chapter 29 Passion (2012)
- Afterword
- Acknowledgments
- Bibliography
- Index
- Plates
The Black Dahlia (2006)
The Black Dahlia (2006)
- Chapter:
- (p.270) Chapter 27 The Black Dahlia (2006)
- Source:
- Brian De Palma's Split-Screen
- Author(s):
Douglas Keesey
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
This chapter depicts a plunge back into the nightmarish world of film noir with The Black Dahlia (2006). The story pivots around the lust-murder of Elizabeth Short (Mia Kirshner), dubbed the “Black Dahlia,” the wannabe starlet who ended up in stag films before having her face slashed from ear to ear and her body cut in half. Elizabeth herself becomes the object of obsession for key male characters in the film. The Black Dahlia, the chapter argues, presented the image of Elizabeth's severed corpse as a way to call attention to the sexploitation and victimization of women. Moreover, the chapter searches for an autobiographical resonance in the film's male characters, particularly in the form of the lead character Bucky's (Josh Hartnett) troubled family memories and fraternal rivalry with his partner Lee (Aaron Eckhart).
Keywords: The Black Dahlia, film noir, lust-murder, Elizabeth Short, sexploitation, victimization, women, troubled family, fraternal rivalry
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- Title Pages
- Frontispiece
- Dedication
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 The Wedding Party (1964–65)
- Chapter 2 Murder à la Mod (1966)
- Chapter 3 Greetings (1968)
- Chapter 4 Dionysus in ’69 (1970)
- Chapter 5 Hi, Mom! (1970)
- Chapter 6 Get to Know Your Rabbit (1972)
- Chapter 7 Sisters (1973)
- Chapter 8 Phantom of the Paradise (1974)
- Chapter 9 Obsession (1976)
- Chapter 10 Carrie (1976)
- Chapter 11 The Fury (1978)
- Chapter 12 Home Movies (1980)
- Chapter 13 Dressed to Kill (1980)
- Chapter 14 Blow Out (1981)
- Chapter 15 Scarface (1983)
- Chapter 16 Body Double (1984)
- Chapter 17 Wise Guys (1986)
- Chapter 18 The Untouchables (1987)
- Chapter 19 Casualties of War (1989)
- Chapter 20 The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990)
- Chapter 21 Raising Cain (1992)
- Chapter 22 Carlito’s Way (1993)
- Chapter 23 Mission: Impossible (1996)
- Chapter 24 Snake Eyes (1998)
- Chapter 25 Mission to Mars (2000)
- Chapter 26 Femme Fatale (2002)
- Chapter 27 The Black Dahlia (2006)
- Chapter 28 Redacted (2007)
- Chapter 29 Passion (2012)
- Afterword
- Acknowledgments
- Bibliography
- Index
- Plates