The Femme Fatale

The Femme Fatale

The femme fatale is an interesting character to analyse in terms of representation of gender because of the way she presented as a female character. She defies conventions, twisting men around her little finger, all she cares about is the power and money she gains from her actions. She is a problematic character because she does not fit the stereotypical women who do domestic chores and are housewives, she goes out and manipulates people with her power. The femme fatale is the spider, using her persuasion and intelligence to build a web, she catches the fly (this being the male character) and uses him to get what she wants. When first featured she is presented completely different, she is crying out for help, in detective films the main story line used is that someone that she loves has gone missing, this story starts a recipe for disaster. The detective who is presented patronizing

She is a single minded, independent woman who lures people in due to her alluring, desirable characteristics. She is cold and has no feelings, she doesn't understand love and because her aim is to manipulate people, her purpose is to gain money, power instead of a typical woman who's main purpose is to fall in love and proceed to have a happy fulfilled future with a big family. At the end of a film the femme fatale using is involves in an accident or sent to prison. These types of endings happen to cause drama, to show that the one he adored has been taken away from this and a lot of the time this is because of a good reason. She has been persuasive, cold, and seductive towards him when the only thing she really wanted was the dominance. She did not considered the feelings and emotions of the male, this was not something that was important to her.

The femme fatale wears a particular costumes. She is represented as a beautiful woman dressed in expensive clothes, she looks the part and acts the part with usually a strong British accent. The British accent usually associated with upper class people

In many Film Noir's a femme fatale is a significant character, as my opening sequence is following the conventions of a Film Noir is it important that the key features are used. My opening sequence is a detective Film Noir, so using a femme fatale was important thing to do.