Film Noir. Signifier.

In Film Noir, signifiers were a big signal for the viewer. The signifier would be a range from a gun to what they are wearing. For example, when a man walks in to a diner and he hasnt taken off his coat or his hat, we immediately think that they are rude, arrogant and thug like. This has the effect that they are not the good person  in the movie. They are normally the villian who has another sidekick character who dresses in the same way but ends up doing all the work that villains conventionally do. The gun for exaple would be a massive signifier because it shows the viewer that they have a much higher status that someone who is working in the diner. A gun was usually used to set a scary atmosphere.