in defense of the femme fatale 🚬

Summary by Krater

This video examines the history and evolution of the femme fatale archetype in literature and classic film noir, analyzing how changing societal attitudes, post-war anxieties, and female spectating shaped this trope.

From the video

Answers: What is the history and cultural impact of the femme fatale archetype in film noir?

• femme fatale archetype
• history of film noir
• female representation in cinema
• psychoanalysis in film
• female spectatorship and male gaze

What it concludes

• The femme fatale archetype did not emerge from 1940s and 50s film noir, but has much older roots in mythology, religion, and 19th-century literature.
• The 19th-century emergence of the femme fatale was influenced by male anxieties around rising lower classes, foreign invasion, and early feminism.
• Film noir femme fatales often reflect post-war depression and anxieties surrounding the reorganization of the American economy and women entering the workforce.
• Many femme fatales in classic noir were not working women, but greedy figures using men for quick and easy wealth.
• The femme fatale offers a complex role model for women that combines freedom with fascination and erotic intrigue, serving as an empowering figure for female spectators.