True Crime: Detective Fiction and the Film Noir Myth of Los Angeles

In film noir and mystery fiction, detectives inhabit a troubled moral universe that refuses easy distinctions between police, criminals, and everyone else. In fiction and real life, detectives enter the minds of criminals while retracing their motives and emotional states. They also make use of surveillance, wiretapping, and criminal informants—practices that pose moral quandaries about the boundaries between justice and legality.

Join us for a conversation about the crafts of crime writing and crime solving, as well as the noir myth of Los Angeles, with crime novelist Walter Mosley; Andrew Marlowe, creator of the acclaimed TV series Castle; and retired LAPD detective Glynn Martin. Screenwriter and USC School of Cinematic Arts professor Howard Rodman will moderate.

In conjunction, the USC Libraries will present an exhibition in Doheny Memorial Library tracing the history of detectives in the popular imagination and offer an interactive, mixed-reality game that will engage students in the practice of detective work. The exhibition opening reception immediately follows the panel discussion, downstairs on Doheny Library's first floor.

Presented by USC Visions & Voices.