My choice: #3.
I plan to address the issues raised in the third prompt, which asks how war and postwar disillusionment might have contributed to the construction/image of femme fatales in film noir.
I’m selecting this prompt because I’m intrigued by the possibilities of the femme fatal as an empowered woman resisting the norms society.
My argument will draw on the cynicism of gender norms involved and represented. I will show example of how femme fatal rebel against. gender role.
A preliminary thesis will discuss how sexuality is used in the modern world and a femme fatale’s may have been the trailblazer in negative depiction women sexuality.
I will use selection provided to support my argument and will implement current events to show how femme fatal story is still relative today.
I will use the close reading and select two scene to analyze per movie.(subject to change with additional sources)
I’ll look at each scene as the totality of some if not all of the following mise-en-scene
Tentative outline:
Introduction and thesis
2nd paragraph
Description of the disappointment of postwar disillusionment influence the image of the femme fatal
in film.
World War II had a devastating impact on the United States economy but it was the landscape of the workforce that would experience the greatest change. As a result, women became not only caretakers of the home, but would have to step in and take over the role of their men in the workforce. Women went from the kitchen to frontlines of the American economy taking on roles previously only available to men.
What was believed to be in a WWII lasted 6 years
Film noir was the manifestation of the fantasy that women did not want to revert to life after WWII
Defined. refers to the pain of readjusting to life after war 11
Your perspective
comparison of pre and postwar gender roles:
Answer this…How did post war disillusionment contribute to the creation of the Female Fatale?
Overview of the characteristics of the femme fatale in film noir
Seductive, uses her sexuality to her gain, morally comprised, ambitious,
Begin post was disillusionment
components: pages 2, 3 and 4
• Composition
• Production Design
• Lighting
• Wardrobe (fit and style)
• Hair and Makeup
Close reading: The Maltese Falcon movie, Gilda
Close reading: TBT
Close reading: TBT
Close reading: Pre-post war. Women of influence
Conclude comparison :
Conclusion
I would like to explore the femme fatale in film noir and show how she has been around from the time of Eve (biblical) to present day. What are the assigned reading sources and film I should be using? And what other sources should I explore?
Notes: Feedback to Learner
Iris,
I’m excited to see you develop your points. In particular, your focus on the “cynicism of gender norms” allows you to explore femme fatales as rebels who subvert the dominant paradigm–with ardor and style. This is a wonderful premise leading into your thesis on the influence of film noir on contemporary notions of sexuality. (In this regard, you might want to check out Gilda, which is now uploaded on Blackboard.) Of course, I’ll also look forward to your treatment of hair and makeup and costumes.
Additional materials to use as sources:
Femme Fatales to research:
Helen of Troy
Eve (from the bible)
Works Cited
Movie: Gilda – 1946, Director: Charles Vidor
Gilda Mundson Farrell, Johnny Farrell, Ballin Mundson
Anneke Smelik, Feminist Film Theory Women in Film Noir
Yvonne Tasker Women in Film Noir