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The combination of German expressionism, the gender roles of the time, stereotypes created by films, and expectations for women during the 40s-50s created the femme fatale. This character image, over time, has evolved to where there is now a definition and somewhat understanding of the femme fatale of film noir. This character is truly one of the greatest examples of female perseverance along with both societal conforming and breaking of the ‘norm.’ So, what relevance does this character have in today’s realm?

A plethora of characters spans across a timeline of the ages to prove true the prior statements. From The Maltese Falcon (1941) to The Last of Us (2023), a focal figure is the feminine presence – the main character, really. So many personalities that all contribute to the expansion, the explosion, of females in the media industry..

Thinking of the tatted, trauma ridden, but genius Girl with the Dragon Tattoo to the…

powerful child figure Eleven in Stranger Things. Both are seemingly opposites – but what they have in common, and where they come from, is duly and worthy of notice.

One of the biggest character tropes in film noir and all other sub genres of the already arguable genre is the femme fatale. I referenced that she is the main character because without her, the movies would be missing an integral part of what makes it whatever categorization it wrangles.

Love, lust, money, sex, power; all characteristics that enrapture our femme fatale.

Because to understand how this character is seen more often than not, how she is an icon of divergence, the origins of her must first be understood.

* slow scrolling of document with video highlighting parts used as seen in right column

In “Women As Seen in the Film Noir” by Andrew Dickos, which, can I just say, how can women be explained by how they are seen by a man? Why is there not a “Women As Seen in the Film Noir by Women” explanation – but anyways…a checklist is offered, descriptions that according to Dickos are “indisputable.” The creation of sexual tensionIndependent or rebellious willThe ingenious and clever conservative wife/girlfriendThe golden trio of motivations:Lust for exciting sexDesire for wealth and power it bringsNeed to control everything/everyone around herOpacity of her is a projection of “the male desire to retain her in the role of the mystery woman…”Must inevitably die – “or, at the very least, be mortally injured or be arrested for her crimes

At the time that film noir became prominent, after World War II, women in the 40s “filled the roles of housewife, mother and homemaker, or they were single but always on the lookout for a good husband,” as Mel Bondfield puts it in “Gender Roles in 1940s Ads” from National Film and Sound Archive.

So, for these films to offer the opposite of an ideal woman in the time, enticement was at large – the thrill was almost devastating. Yet WWII also empowered women, because as the men were off at war, it was the women that stepped up to serve their country.

And how were they rewarded, through film? By a violent, condescending portrayal that almost deteriorates any opposition. The whole dynamic is befuddled based on perspective and the discourse of the age.

Was the femme fatale an “inspiration for female liberation,” or a ball and chain on how women, when perceived through the male gaze, must exist as?

We now look at more modern examples of our femme fatale. Winter’s Bone (2010) stars a young Jennifer Lawrence who plays Ree Dolly, with the focus to find her father in order to keep the house that her mentally lost mother and two very young siblings live in – she is going through a war herself in a sense, having to step up with the ‘man’ of the house gone.

It’s also interesting to note that Ree wants to join the army…her situation is fatale, she checks having an ‘independent’ and ‘rebellious’ will, and she is, of course, female, and a liability for several male characters. Does Ree represent this female liberation?

Reminds me of The Nightingale (2018). Much more explicit showings of violence. Female lead with male counterparts. One of the most disturbing depictions of being a woman in the time period of the 1800s.

This conversation may seem back and forth, a bit all over the place, perhaps, but that is entirely a point within itself – the portrayal of women is constantly pulled and strained to be understood despite the complexity of a female character, and so by so many viewings being put on screen, we further understand that “The arousal of the femme fatale in the film noir was a radical departure from the suffering or glorification of women traditionally seen in screen melodrama” as written by Dickos in “Comments on the Classic Film Noir and the Neo-Noir” (238).

Referencing Dickos again, he writes in “Comments on the Classic FIlm Noir and the Neo-Noir” that the “neo-noir is generally more violent, and more graphically violent at that, than the classic film noir ever was.”

So, we see femme fatales in regards to film today more graphically, more violently, and does this perhaps contribute to the rise of violence against women today? Especially with a pandemic in place – in fact, according to UN Women “Facts and figures: Ending violence against women,” it is stated that “the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has increased risk factors for violence against women.”

Back to the past examples. Out of the Past (1947) follows Jeff and Kathie, with Kathie being a woman Jeff is going to the ends for, even with the end resulting in her causing his death. Scarlet Street (1945) shows a manipulated Kitty manipulating old artist Christopher Cross. Sunset Boulevard (1950) includes a mentally deranged, retired actress as she controls screenwriter Joe Gillis. What do these have in common?

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Well, with reference to the portrayals of femme fatales we see today, that perhaps the femme fatale has not exactly evolved, but more has been embraced, and taken from being a weakness and instead being used as a weapon. Cinematography in general has helped change the viewpoint.

Back to figures like The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and Eleven from Stranger Things and Ellie from The Last of Us, it is recognized that the power of being the lead female characters came from a long line of women being exploited so that they may now shine.

Yet, we cannot forget – a cigarette smoking blonde, a bad brunette, a ravishing redhead…put in positions of power not as an insult, but a reminder of the possibilities we possess in so many different aspects. To not recognize it is to fall in the category that is being left behind with societal rising of the female sex.

The Femme Fatale Trope, ExplainedA side by side clip of this YouTube video with text beside it in bold of the selected quote…

The way that viewers react to this character trope is a reflection of how society is constantly changing.
For me, as a young woman, viewing these depictions sometimes leaves me angry, passionate, jealous, proud.
In the video essay “The Femme Fatale Trope, Explained,” there is two lines that say “One way of viewing this trope, especially when we look back on older films, is that it allowed writers to create strong female characters who are smarter than everyone else around them while also owning their own sexuality and womanhood.”
The femme fatale in film noir was a portal, a door, a window, an opportunity for the creation of a character that was seized upon and has been run with. It is a trope that deserves utmost recognition in studying film noir because it so vitally offers understanding for women in today’s society.

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