Contemporary films that follow the same formula, or pay homage to the classic Film Noir structure are called Neo-Noir films. One of the most common character archetypes within Film Noir is the “fatal female”, more commonly known as the femme fatale. The femme fatale was usually a seductive woman with seemingly malicious intentions, yet her motives may not have been clear. The femme fatale would use her ambiguous charm to influence the male protagonist, and this influence would often lead him into deadly, and compromising situations. Lesser-known female actresses at the time were commonly casted to play the role of the femme fatale, because this way the audience would not judge her character based on her past work.
V.I. Warshawski herself, as a woman, although is a perfect example of the hardboiled detective, she also shares some frail and sensitive qualities of females. There are many women characters in Killing Orders, but none of them act as femme fatale, or act as a threat to the detective as they did in the traditional noir detective fiction. They are more independent in Killing Orders. Similar to traditional noir detective fiction, there are many social reference in the book revealed the corruption of the society.
In the majority of noir films, the femme fatale remains committed to her independence, rarely allowing herself to be converted by the hero or captured by the police (Blaser). In Double Indemnity, Walter Neff wants to opt out of the plan since he is afraid that the police will find out that he was
Therefore, in recent films, female roles have comes to include the traditional household, motherly role. Yet this is mainly in contemporary films about periods in the past, in the modernistic films out at the moment women's roles in the films were more dominant and masculine and all the while maintaining there feminine qualities that have always been represented in films. The genre can affect the role of the female character as for example in film noir there is always a femme fatal get in a science fiction there maybe no femme fatal iconology get there maybe a sci-fi connection to a femme fatal yet the genre of it alters it completely. This can be seen in the modern film, Kill Bill, where the lead was an aggressive, strong and powerful character and yet this aggression and revenge was steaming from the lose of her child thus the feminine mother aspect can be seen clearly in comparison to a film from the 1980's such as Little Shop of Horrors in which the leading lady was
Film Noir - Double Indemnity Billy Wilder’s Double Indemnity is almost like a basic outline for the Film Noir genre. Film noir settings normally take place in city streets, railway stations, the underground, warehouses or even bars. These atmospheres create a scary feeling and with the big amount of space, it leaves many hidden mysteries or secrets. Other genres can be based nearly anywhere and still create the same impression, but with the use of equal lighting on the setting and characters the impression of Film Noir is made. The many Film Noir conventions through characters is seen in Double Indemnity.
The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, depicts women as weak persons, who are expected to submit to men, and whose only access to power is through dishonest means. None of the females in The Crucible possess extreme power, but the truthful, pure-hearted, and family oriented women seem to be even less powerful than the others. Elizabeth Proctor and Rebecca Nurse are two of the less powerful women in The Crucible. Both of their lives are led by an instinct to serve their families and communities . Elizabeth Proctor is convicted in participating in witchcraft even when it seems obvious to her loved ones and most others around her that she had never involved herself with demonic forces .
Female Chauvinist Pigs are women who sexually only objectify other women and themselves. Some women gain empowerment by disciplining oneself from women who are “girly girls”, while simultaneously objectifying such women like going to strip clubs and reading Playboy. Others gain empowerment by objectifying themselves through sexual appeal. Both are an attempt to gain status whether being through the attempt of acting like a male chauvinist or through embodying what society portrays as the ideal object of male desire. As an example, Camille Paglia, in an interview with spin magazine expresses “The people who criticize me, these
Then the quote continues and states: “You will find them, [women] a set of harpies, absurd, treacherous, and deceitful—regardless of strong obligations, and mindful of slight injuries…” (86). The bluntness of this statement about women would not have come from a man seeking a wife during this time. The female villain of the novel, Mrs. Hammond exemplified these awful characteristics throughout the story. The author, Rebecca Rush was probably surrounded by women, during this time, willing to stop at nothing to secure their future. As the quote continues, “and when your integrity has been
Their purpose was to escape punishment, or work, or responsibility, and they were used for profit” (Steinbeck 74). At the beginning of the novel she is portrayed as a wicked person who’s evilness comes from nowhere but her own empty heart. Towards the end, she appears weak and afraid of people, mostly the ones that do not fall for her trickery. These are the moments in the novel that may give the impression that Cathy is not evil after all, but is merely an impatient, self-centered person. Cathy’s upbringing did not seem to be a likely place to develop hatred or any reason for rebellion in the young girl.
Curley’s wife explained to Lennie about being lonely and how difficult it is on her. “’I get lonely… You can talk to people, but I talk to nobody but Curley. Else he gets mad’” [Steinbeck 78]. Curley’s wife never has anyone to talk to; when she gets the chance she often ruins the mood. She did not want Lennie to hurt her, but Lennie is very unpredictable.