Women in Film Noir: A Reflection of Postwar Society's Evolving Gender Roles
Datum
2021
Autor:innen
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Verlag
University of Oregon
Zusammenfassung
During WWII, American society experienced a momentous shift in gender roles as women stepped out of the traditional domestic sphere and transitioned into the wartime economy. Following the war’s resolution, the government and sects of society alike pushed for a return to conventional gendered spaces. Within this period of widespread societal contention and postwar disillusionment, the dark and fatalistic genre of film noir grew in popularity. My research analyzes noir films using cinema and cultural studies lenses to explore how postwar society viewed ideal gender roles and the evolving place of women. Close examinations of Gun Crazy, Out of the Past, and The Reckless Moment reveal that female characters’ interactions with narratives of crime, love and family reflect contemporaneous societal concerns about gender roles. The tradition defying archetypal noir character, the femme fatale, mirrors postwar women engaging in the workforce. The manner in which femme fatales are punished in noir is reminiscent of societal backlash against the progressive shift of gender roles. In contrast, the femme attrapeés are engrossed in their familial duties, therefore reflecting the reversion to tradition desired by society. Even though noir films allow femme attrapeés to survive the films’ finales, the genre offers a denigrated depiction of this idealized lifestyle. Noir was originally popular in the mid 1900s, but its ability to capture and reflect on societal occurrences through the art of film remains critical today as society continues to evolve.
Beschreibung
1 page.
Schlagwörter
Film Noir, Cinema studies, Cultural studies, gender roles