fact that the degree of success of the femme fatale in both classic and modern film noir is directly proportional to the degree of weakness in the male victim. Various elements of film noir are addressed and many similarities of classic film noir fatales and modern film noir fatales are analyzed. Further, there is a distinction made between two types of femme fatales that actually exist in both classic and modern film noir. The conclusion contends that the role of the femme fatale is to take advantage of the male because of his need for the necessary truth dilution labeled by Nietzsche as common among the rabble.
- The Classic and Modern Femme Fatale –
Film noir is a genre of cinema comprised of elements of various other genres, to the degree whereby an exact list of films that fit in this category is impossible to define absolutely, “Unlike other forms of cinema, the film noir has no paraphernalia that it can truly call its own. Unlike the western, with cattle drives, lonely towns on the prairie, homesteading farmers, Winchester rifles, and Colt 45s, the film noir borrows its paraphernalia from other forms, usually from the crime and detective genres, but often overlapping into thrillers, horror, and even science fiction,” (An Introduction 1). Film noir literally means “black film” and the general atmosphere and mood in a noir film is indeed dark. American film noir was greatly influenced by German expressionism and an influx of German-American filmmakers like Billy Wilder, Otto Preminger and Michael Curtiz. Noir films contain elements from the mystery and hard-boiled detective genres. They also have elements of the gothic in them, especially from the use of shadows and light another influence of German expressionism. Another point of debate among scholars is the exact dates during which the classic film noir period occurred. The traditionally accepted dates are usually from 1940-1959, however many film ...