Representation: The Femme Fatale

Representation

Femme Fatale

 

The femme fatale is a very unique and classic character in the Film Noir film genre, nearly always one of the main characters and sometimes revealed to be the primary or secondary antagonist towards the end, deciphered throughout the story. The femme fatale is usually depicted opposite the main protagonist, commonly the detective, presented as a love interest towards him after she involves herself with the main story and becomes entangled within the protagonist’s priorities.

 

The femme fatale is introduced to the film noir genre in many different ways, as there is an enormous field of traits that can be given to the femme fatale which are dependent on the specific character portrayed through the convention. Commonly the femme fatale is introduced as a very independent, enticing woman who is more outgoing and assertive than the other women around her, these unique qualities attracting the antagonist’s attention. As the story progresses the femme fatale proves to be a dangerous individual who is revealed to have malevolent, selfish motives and a manipulative quality over men. The femme fatale brings new traits to the female gender, as it was introduced as a brand new turn for the gender, breaking from the generic roles women were given at the time and presenting them as a more independent group who are more liberated and intelligent than they are given credit for. The femme fatale finds confidence in their gender and doesn’t let it hinder them, something which men have attempted to do to women for countless generations. Because of this the femme fatale commonly defies the control of men and rejects the idea of a nuclear family and marriage, as they find it confining, dull and demeaning. The femme fatale uses her feminine qualities to her advantage, such as working woman stereotypes to her advantage, playing innocent and timid, while simultaneously playing on male weaknesses by exploiting their sexual vulnerability and helpless desire for women. Despite the femme fatale’s evident independence and strength they are still commonly seen as objects to possess by men in the film noir genre, the males in the movie commonly becoming ensnared by the woman’s glamorous persona but then attempting to control the woman and solely make her theirs. This is where the femme fatale is unafraid to murder, the femme fatale commonly poisons men with her desirability, and manipulates them to do the dirty work for her, however she is also very vindictive and is not afraid to cut all ties to a man and effectively end them if she feels suffocated or controlled like a piece of property. When the femme fatale’s are introduced they are often given English accents and desirable outfits, to give them an image of authority and wealth, as American audiences see English accents as high class and immediately dub the femme fatale as a very important person just from this simple first impression.

 

The femme fatale character type has paved a new medium for female independence and empowerment, however despite the fact that the women are portrayed as very powerful and wealthy they are also portrayed as the antagonist, being shown as devilish and evil. The femme fatale simultaneously gives a positive role for women and also a negative role, despite the fact that she is given power, assertiveness and a new sense of confidence which was previously unavailable to women it also personifies women themselves as very vindictive, single-minded individuals with very shallow perceptions and untrustworthy intentions. The femme fatale, after all is an antagonist so despite her seemingly empowering attributes she is still the villain in the story and so is antagonized thoroughly throughout the course of the film, making the audience slowly resent her. Conservative, old fashioned audiences may grow to resent the femme fatale even before her role as a vindictive villain is evident, some audiences may see her eccentric and independent nature as threatening. During certain film noirs the femme fatale becomes strikingly defensive, protecting her status as a woman while still trying to seem respectable, often using her manipulative abilities on the defense rather than the offense to try and sway the blame to other people or even the person accusing her if she is nearly caught in her actions.

 

Sadly, the femme fatale’s independent and empowering persona isn’t always one to be looked up to, as stated before she is technically a bad role model in several aspects due to her villainous and poisonous nature. On top of this the femme fatale is nearly always victim to “The Hays Code”, which is a code that states that justice must be served in the end and the villain must get their comeuppance. Audiences do not like to be left unknowing of the fate of very important characters, so there must be no doubts about the fates of our antagonist, this case being the femme fatale, who from the very start of the film is regrettably fated to lose or die in the end. This provides a sense of justice for the viewers, as up until this point it may have tried to empathise the detective to a male audience, and so when the femme fatale lures him in and takes advantage of him, the entire male audience feels betrayed and vulnerable just like the protagonist. This fact makes the femme fatale’s fated demise in the end all that much more satisfying to the male audience and even the female audience who did not enjoy the femme fatale’s interpretation of women from the start.