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femme fatales in history: The Femme Fatale: Images, Histories, Contexts Helen Hanson, Catherine O'Rawe, 2010-07-20 These essays trace the femme fatale across literature, visual culture and cinema, exploring the ways in which fatal femininity has been imagined in different cultural contexts and historical epochs, and moving from mythical women such as Eve, Medusa and the Sirens via historical figures such as Mata Hari to fatal women in contemporary cinema. |
femme fatales in history: Femme Fatale James Ursini, Dominique Mainon, 2009-10-01 (Limelight). From the femme fatale of the early cinema to her post-feminist rebirth, this lavishly illustrated book and comprehensive guide traces the history of these dangerously alluring, manipulative, and desperate lethal ladies. Femme Fatale surveys the history of the femme fatale in world cinema, with more than 300 photographs testifying to the power of these mysterious women. The book begins with the silent period and its vamps, like Theda Bara, Pola Negri, Clara Bow, and Bebe Daniels, then moves on to the Pre-Code sound period of American films, which, showing liberated attitudes toward sex and women, featured actresses like Jean Harlow, Marlene Dietrich, and Greta Garbo. The story continues with the noir 1940s, when the femme fatale became truly lethal including actresses like Ava Gardner, Rita Hayworth, and Barbara Stanwyck. In the repressive 1950s, the international femme fatale took the fore Brigitte Bardot, Maria Felix, Elizabeth Taylor, Anita Ekberg, etc. Finally, the authors turn to the revolutionary post-feminist modern period, with an array of lethal ladies from all over the world, like Pam Grier, Salma Hayek, Gong Li, Angelina Jolie, and Sharon Stone. |
femme fatales in history: Femmes Fatales Mary Ann Doane, 2013-06-17 In this work of feminist film criticism, Mary Ann Doane examines questions of sexual difference and knowledge in cinematic, theoretical, and psychoanalytic discourses. Femmes Fatales examines Freud, the female spectator, the meaning of the close-up, and the nature of stardom. Doane's analyses of such figures as Pabst's Lulu and Rita Hayworth's Gilda trace the thematics and mechanics of maskes, masquerade, and veiling, with specific attention to the form and technology of the cinema. Working through and against the intellectual frameworks of post-structuralist and psychoanalytic theory, Doane interrogates cinematic and theoretical claims to truth about women which rely on judgements about vision and its stability or instability. Reflecting the shift in conceptual priorities within feminist film theory over the last decade, Femmes Fatales addresses debates over female spectatorhsip, essentialism and anti-essentialism, the tensions between psychoanalysis and history, and the relations between racial and sexual difference. Doane's nuanced and original readings of the femme fatale in cinema illustrate confrontations between feminism, film theory and psychoanalysis. This book should be of interest to students and lecturers in women's studies, communications studies and film theory. |
femme fatales in history: Vamps Pam Keesey, 1997 'A lavishly illustrated survey of screen sirens and bad girls.' - Booklist |
femme fatales in history: The Beauty Defense Laura James, 2020 Justice is blind, they say, but perhaps not to beauty. In supposedly dispassionate courts of law, attractive women have long avoided punishment, based largely on their looks, for cold-blooded crimes. The Beauty Defense: Femmes Fatales on Trial gathers the true stories of some of the most infamous femmes fatales in criminal history, collected by attorney and true crime historian Laura James. With cases from 1850 to 1997, these 32 examples span more than a century, across cultures, ethnicities, and socioeconomic status. But all were so beautiful, as James demonstrates, that they got away with murder. When Madeline Smith, a Glasgow socialite, tried to end a relationship with one man to date another, her jilted lover proved difficult to shake. She solved the problem, James writes, with arsenic-laced chocolates. And in Warrenton, Virginia, mild-mannered heiress Susan Cummings gunned down her polo-playing boyfriend, Roberto, following a disagreement. While these two women lived in different centuries and on different continents, both of their lawyers argued that they were too beautiful to be killers. And in both cases, the juries bought it. In telling the stories of Madeline Smith and Susan Cummings--and 30 others--James proves the existence of the so-called Beauty Defense and shines a spotlight on how gender bias has actually benefited femmes fatales and affected legal systems across the world. |
femme fatales in history: The Femme Fatale Julie Grossman, 2020-09-18 The femme Fatale takes a long view on the figure of the femme fatale, exploring her style, language, and stories from silent cinema to contemporary television. Author Julie Grossman provides a history of some of this dynamic figure's eruptions in film, TV, and culture generally, exploring the notions of female ambition, frustration, and intelligence that undergird the power and fascination of the femme fatale across time and media. We see how the fatal woman often mediates contradictory views on women's lives and their desire to gain fulfillment in a hostile or otherwise challenging environment. Embodied by some of the most charismatic female performers in Hollywood history, from Theda Bara and Barbara Stanwyck to Hedy Lamarr, Reese Witherspoon, and Jodie Comer and Sandra Oh, the femme fatale remains an active source of pleasure and subversion. Femmes Fatales pays particular attention to performance not only as a prominent feature of these works' production-established in part through references to studio press books and popular reviews--but also as a theme within the narrative (in, for example, the idea of the deceitful, untrustworthy, or performing woman). Focusing on expressive moments and scenes in texts that are celebrated and also those that are lesser known, this volume attends to the variety, trauma, wit, and transgressions of the femme fatale, emphasizing how this figure continually provokes us to reflect on rigid conventions and social roles. Femmes Fatales generates questions and analysis that speak to why stories about gender and criminality featuring tough and smart women are so endlessly thrilling-- |
femme fatales in history: Fatal Women of Romanticism Adriana Craciun, 2002-12-12 Incarnations of fatal women, or femmes fatales, recur throughout the works of women writers in the Romantic period. Adriana Craciun demonstrates how portrayals of femmes fatales or fatal women played an important role in the development of Romantic women's poetic identities and informed their exploration of issues surrounding the body, sexuality and politics. Craciun covers a wide range of writers and genres from the 1790s through the 1830s. She discusses the work of well-known figures including Mary Wollstonecraft, as well as lesser-known writers like Anne Bannerman. By examining women writers' fatal women in historical, political and medical contexts, Craciun uncovers a far-ranging debate on sexual difference. She also engages with current research on the history of the body and sexuality, providing an important historical precedent for modern feminist theory's ongoing dilemma regarding the status of 'woman' as a sex. |
femme fatales in history: Dangerous Women Laura Adler, Elisa Lecosse, 2010-01-05 A selection of sixty powerfully seductive women, from Biblical times to the present day, featuring mythical and real heroines. The most memorable stories throughout history feature a powerful, seductive woman who has an irresistible hold over the man in her life. The alluring Cleopatra, like Helen of Troy, inspired lovers to the battlefield in a brave display of loyalty. Eve and Pandora wreacked havoc when they tempted men to defy the laws of the day. Traitorous Dalila brought the all-powerful Samson to his knees as she divested him of his magical mane. Lovesick Juliet and Hamlet’s Ophelia chose death over life in a courageous display of honor to their forbidden passion. The enchanting Scheherazade of One Thousand and One Nights saved herself from certain death through her exceptional capacity for storytelling. Each of these women was brave and steadfast, and their stories have inspired artists throughout the history of art. In this gallery of femmes fatales, feminist historian Laure Adler guides us through the ages to rediscover incredible heroines. Their stories are illustrated with iconic works by masters such as da Vinci, Michelangelo, Botticelli, Rubens, Goya, Sargent, Picasso, Dali, Warhol, Saint Phalle, and Tracey Emin. |
femme fatales in history: Sensuous Knowledge Minna Salami, 2020-03-25 In Sensuous Knowledge, Minna Salami draws on Africa-centric, feminist-first and artistic traditions to help us rediscover inclusive and invigorating ways of experiencing the world afresh. Combining the playfulness of a storyteller with the insight of a social critic, the book pries apart the systems of power and privilege that have dominated ways of thinking for centuries – and which have led to so much division, prejudice and damage. And it puts forward a new, sensuous, approach to knowledge: one grounded in a host of global perspectives – from Black Feminism to personal narrative, pop culture to high art, Western philosophy to African mythology – together comprising a vision of hope for a fragmented world riven by crisis. Through the prism of this new knowledge, Salami offers fresh insights into the key cultural issues that affect women’s lives. How are we to view Sisterhood, Motherhood or even Womanhood itself? What is Power and why do we conceive of Beauty? How does one achieve Liberation? She asks women to break free of the prison made by ingrained male-centric biases, and build a house themselves – a home that can nurture us all. Sensuous Knowledge confirms Minna Salami as one the most important spokespeople of today, and the arrival of a blistering new literary voice. |
femme fatales in history: Reading the Pre-Raphaelites Tim Barringer, T. J. Barringer, 1999-01-01 This illustrated book focuses on the Pre-Raphaelite artists and their radical departure from artistic conventions. Barringer explores the meanings encoded in Pre-Raphaelite paintings and analyses key pictures and their significance within the complex social and cultural matrix of 19th century Britain. |
femme fatales in history: Merry Murderers Zsófia Anna Toth, 2011-07-12 This book explores the different trends and the various changes in the representational history of femmes fatales within twentieth century American culture. While providing precedents, discussing the Western cultural history of this iconic female figure, as well as presenting the cultural and theoretical debates surrounding ‘her,’ the major focus lies in Maurine Dallas Watkins’s story entitled Chicago and how its diachronic and transmedial revivals contributed to this debate and what kind of an interpretation it provided of the lethal woman. Through a cultural, historical, literary and cinematic excavation this book argues that the story of Chicago produces a unique kind of deathly woman figure: the farcical femme fatale by combining the traditionally tragic aspects with comic modes of discourse and (re)presentation. In addition to the theorization of the femme fatale within Western culture, the discussion of the comic as well as various comic genres and comic strategies of representation, Mikhail Bakhtin’s theory of the carnival and the carnivalesque is discussed in great detail – with an emphasis on scapegoating – as well as Judith Butler’s concept of gender performativity and Joan Riviere’s womanly masquerade in order to understand how the farcical femmes fatales of Chicago manage to get away with their sins and crimes. Additionally, the Vice of sixteenth century drama as well as the figure of the homme fatale are also taken under scrutiny since it is argued that, in the various versions of Chicago, we encounter farcical femmes fatales who are the minions of a modern(ized) Vice figure, and all their comic-grotesque performances and masquerades take place in the heterotopic space of the carnival. While also examining their historical and cultural contexts, the different versions of Chicago are investigated one by one starting from the original Chicago Tribune articles and ending in the 2002 film adaptation. This book reveals what strategies can be employed to justify the modification of the traditionally tragic scenario of the femme fatale. It is a scholarly work that is informative, thorough as well as entertaining. |
femme fatales in history: Iron Man: Femmes Fatales Robert Greenberger, 2009-09-29 When the anti-terror organization S.H.I.E.L.D. asks for his help in battling the forces of HYDRA, millionaire industrialist Tony Stark, a.k.a. Iron Man, falls victim to the schemes of two women who discover his fatal flaw. |
femme fatales in history: The Boleyn Women Elizabeth Norton, 2013-07-15 The family of Anne Boleyn, the infamous wife of Henry VIII, appeared from nowhere at the end of the fourteenth century and rose to prominence at the beginning of a century that would end with a Boleyn woman, Elizabeth I, on the throne. |
femme fatales in history: Idols of Perversity Bram Dijkstra, 1986 This is a book filled with the dangerous fantasies of the Beautiful People of a century ago. It contains a few scenes of exemplary virtue and many more of lurid sin. |
femme fatales in history: Femme Fatale Patrick Bade, 1979 In the striking works of pre-Raphaelite, Symbolist and Art Nouveau artists and in their literary parallels, Patrick Bade uncovers an extraordinary, disturbing world of sexual fantasy and a remarkably pervasive image of woman as destroyer, enchantress, priestess, siren, sphinx and angel of death, the femme fatale becambe the sinister new heroine of an entire generation of one of the most powerful symbols of change in late nineteenth-century society.--Back cover. |
femme fatales in history: The Contemporary Femme Fatale Katherine Farrimond, 2017-07-06 The femme fatale occupies a precarious yet highly visible space in contemporary cinema. From sci-fi alien women to teenage bad girls, filmmakers continue to draw on the notion of the sexy deadly woman in ways which traverse boundaries of genre and narrative. This book charts the articulations of the femme fatale in American cinema of the past twenty years, and contends that, despite her problematic relationship with feminism, she offers a vital means for reading the connections between mainstream cinema and representations of female agency. The films discussed raise questions about the limits and potential of positioning women who meet highly normative standards of beauty as powerful icons of female agency. They point towards the constant shifting between patriarchal appropriation and feminist recuperation that inevitably accompanies such representations within mainstream media contexts. |
femme fatales in history: Queen Isabella Alison Weir, 2006-12-26 BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from Alison Weir's Mary Boleyn. In this vibrant biography, acclaimed author Alison Weir reexamines the life of Isabella of England, one of history’s most notorious and charismatic queens. Isabella arrived in London in 1308, the spirited twelve-year-old daughter of King Philip IV of France. Her marriage to the heir to England’s throne was designed to heal old political wounds between the two countries, and in the years that followed she became an important figure, a determined and clever woman whose influence would come to last centuries. Many myths and legends have been woven around Isabella’s story, but in this first full biography in more than 150 years, Alison Weir gives a groundbreaking new perspective. |
femme fatales in history: Film Fatales Tom Lisanti, Louis Paul, 2002-04-10 Sean Connery began the sixties spy movie boom playing James Bond in Dr. No and From Russia with Love. Their success inspired every studio in Hollywood and Europe to release everything from serious knockoffs to spoofs on the genre featuring debonair men, futuristic gadgets, exotic locales, and some of the world's most beautiful actresses whose roles ranged from the innocent caught up in a nefarious plot to the femme fatale. Profiled herein are 107 dazzling women, well-known and unknown, who had film and television appearances in the spy genre. They include superstars Doris Day in Caprice, Raquel Welch in Fathom, and Ann-Margret in Murderer's Row; international sex symbols Ursula Andress in Dr. No and Casino Royale, Elke Sommer in Deadlier Than the Male, and Senta Berger in The Spy with My Face; and forgotten lovelies Greta Chi in Fathom, Alizia Gur in From Russia with Love, and Maggie Thrett in Out of Sight. Each profile includes a filmography that lists the actresses' more notable films. Some include the actresses' candid comments and anecdotes about their films and television shows, the people they worked with, and their feelings about acting in the spy genre are offered throughout. A list of websites that provide further information on women in spy films and television is also included. |
femme fatales in history: Abject Eroticism in Northern Renaissance Art Yvonne Owens, 2020-10-29 Hans Baldung Grien, the most famous apprentice and close friend of German artist Albrecht Dürer, was known for his unique and highly eroticised images of witches. In paintings and woodcut prints, he gave powerful visual expression to late medieval tropes and stereotypes, such as the poison maiden, venomous virgin, the Fall of Man, 'death and the maiden' and other motifs and eschatological themes, which mingled abject and erotic qualities in the female body. Yvonne Owens reads these images against the humanist intellectual milieu of Renaissance Germany, showing how classical and medieval medicine and natural philosophy interpreted female anatomy as toxic, defective and dangerously beguiling. She reveals how Hans Baldung exploited this radical polarity to create moralising and titillating portrayals of how monstrous female sexuality victimised men and brought them low. Furthermore, these images issued from-and contributed to-the contemporary understanding of witchcraft as a heresy that stemmed from natural 'feminine defect,' a concept derived from Aristotle. Offering new and provocative interpretations of Hans Baldung's iconic witchcraft imagery, this book is essential reading for historians of art, culture and gender relations in the late medieval and early modern periods. |
femme fatales in history: Gender Meets Genre in Postwar Cinemas Christine Gledhill, 2012-01-15 This remarkable collection uses genre as a fresh way to analyze the issues of gender representation in film theory, film production, spectatorship, and the contexts of reception. With a uniquely global perspective, these essays examine the intersection of gender and genre in not only Hollywood films but also in independent, European, Indian, and Hong Kong cinemas. Working in the area of postcolonial cinema, contributors raise issues dealing with indigenous and global cinemas and argue that contemporary genres have shifted considerably as both notions of gender and forms of genre have changed. The volume addresses topics such as the history of feminist approaches to the study of genre in film, issues of female agency in postmodernity, changes taking place in supposedly male-dominated genres, concepts of genre and its use of gender in global cinema, and the relationship between gender and sexuality in film. Contributors are Ira Bhaskar, Steven Cohan, Luke Collins, Pam Cook, Lucy Fischer, Jane Gaines, Christine Gledhill, Derek Kane-Meddock, E. Ann Kaplan, Samiha Matin, Katie Model, E. Deidre Pribram, Vicente Rodriguez Ortega, Adam Segal, Chris Straayer, Yvonne Tasker, Deborah Thomas, and Xiangyang Chen. |
femme fatales in history: The postman always rings twice James M. Cain, 1997 |
femme fatales in history: Sex, Power, and Politics Tiffiany Howard, Nerses Kopalyan, 2016-03-02 Sex, Power, and Politics is a deconstruction of the historic femme fatale that serves to highlight the women who occupied perceived subordinate roles and how they were systematically calculating and strategic in the utilization of their femininity and sexuality to engage in politics, influence powerful men, and ultimately shape history. |
femme fatales in history: The Must List The Editors of Entertainment Weekly, 2015-10-06 Get ready to obsess over the last twenty-five years of pop culture hits, misses, and cult classics. THE MUST LIST is an elegantly packaged, gift-worthy compilation of 100 illustrated top 25 lists celebrating the best in TV, movies, books, and music from the editors of Entertainment Weekly. Beginning with an introduction highlighting the 25 Things We've Forgotten About 1990, this full-color, deep-dive into the past twenty-five years of obsessive pop-culture coverage features the magazine's incisive criticism, trademark humor, and 2,500 amazing moments. Featured topics include: Greatest Villains, One-Hit Wonders, Best Superheroes, Mobsters, Zombies, Dystopias, Shocking Snubs, Unsexiest Sexy Moments, British Imports, Memorable Deaths, Late Night Comedy Wars, and many more binge-worthy lists. |
femme fatales in history: Holy Harlots Kelly E. Hayes, 2011-05-11 Holy Harlots examines the intersections of social marginality, morality, and magic in contemporary Brazil by analyzing the beliefs and religious practices related to the Afro-Brazilian spirit entity Pomba Gira. Said to be the disembodied spirit of an unruly harlot, Pomba Gira is a controversial figure in Brazil. Devotees maintain that Pomba Gira possesses an intimate knowledge of human affairs and the mystical power to intervene in the human world. Others view this entity more ambivalently. Kelly E. Hayes provides an intimate and engaging account of the intricate relationship between Pomba Gira and one of her devotees, Nazaré da Silva. Combining Nazaré’s spiritual biography with analysis of the gender politics and violence that shapes life on the periphery of Rio de Janeiro, Hayes highlights Pomba Gira’s role in the rivalries, relationships, and struggles of everyday life in urban Brazil. The accompanying film Slaves of the Saints may be viewed online at ucpress.edu/go/holyharlots. |
femme fatales in history: 19 Souls J.D. Allen, 2018-02-08 That wonderful and rare combination of high-speed suspense and complex, richly drawn characters will keep you on the edge of your seat.—Jeffery Deaver, New York Times bestselling author Her bloody finger left a translucent smear on the phone screen as she glanced through the list of private investigators in Vegas. Her stained nail came to rest on Sin City Investigations. Jim Bean would serve her well. Private investigator Jim Bean is a straightforward, to-the-point man. He likes his cases to follow suit. But when his latest client, Sophie Evers, asks him to find her brother Daniel, Jim has no idea how complicated his life is about to become. As he falls deep into a manipulative game of cat and mouse, Jim uncovers the horrible truth about Sophie. Now he must set things right before her plan leads to the loss of innocent souls . . . even more than it already has. Praise: 19 Souls is one terrific read. With a great plot, engaging characters, and a crackling voice, this book has everything. I dare you to put it down after you start reading.—John Gilstrap, New York Times bestselling author The setup is so good, and the characters so hard to look away from...All in all, a fine thriller.—Booklist Twisty, authentic, and constantly surprising! JD Allen nails her debut with this top-notch thriller—it's gritty, smart and irresistible.—Hank Phillippi Ryan, nationally bestselling author Overall, a must read for thriller fans and perhaps the best PI story we have read this year so far.—Mystery Tribune Her plotting and pacing will keep you up long after Proust and Henry James have rocked you to sleep. Stay tuned for a series that promises many, many more troubled dreams.—Kirkus Reviews Bean's inner and outer dialogue is quick, snappy, and authentic to the profession. The pace is earnest, as leads, tips, and information eventually congeal into answers; final pages are highly suspenseful and dramatic. 19 Souls introduces a memorable PI, grappling with a past he's not reconciled to.—Foreword Reviews This is an unflinchingly gritty tale, wonderfully written and wholly satisfying.—Bolo Books |
femme fatales in history: Cultural Constructions of the Femme Fatale S. Simkin, 2014-10-28 The figure of the beautiful but lethal woman has haunted the Western imagination from ancient myth to contemporary film. Looking at news media, cinema, drama and other cultural forms, this study considers the interaction between representations of 'real life' 'femmes fatales' and their fictional counterparts. |
femme fatales in history: Femmes Fatales of the 1950s Bunny Yeager, 2008 Look out! Here come sixty sultry femmes fatales captured at their most alluring by world famous photographer Bunny Yeager. Each image was hand-picked by Yeager herself from her vast photo archives of seductive, flirtatious, beautiful women. These images are sure to hold every reader's attention and heighten an appreciation for the artistry portrayed on every page. Photo locations range from the familiar and intimate to the wild and exotic, yet all the while maintaining a certain 1950s style and flair. Here are the girls you wished had lived next door, including actress Allison Hayes, ready to capture you with the very first glance. |
femme fatales in history: Women's Barracks Tereska Torres, 2011-01-01 First Digital Edition; Grier Rating: A*** This is the true-life story of what happens when scores of young girls live intimately together in a French military barracks. Many of these girls, utterly innocent and inexperienced, meet other women who have lived every type of existence. Their problems, their temptations, their fights and failures are those faced by all women who are forced to live together during dangerous and stressful times. The girls who chose Tereska Torres, the author, as their confidante poured out to her their most intimate feelings, their secret thoughts. With all of its revelations and tenderness, Women’s Barracks is an important book because it tells a story that had never been truly told before--the story of women in war. It also has the special distinction of being the first “lesbian pulp” novel ever published and became a record-breaking bestseller. This autobiographical novel takes place in London, England during World War II. The terror of the V-1 and V-2 rocket bombings, and the resulting fires and destruction, are an unknown experience to most readers. The women enduring these events were not even 20 years old when they first arrived. Many volunteered to be there. They were French, or of French heritage, and wanted to be part of the effort to help protect France from invasion by the Nazis. Throughout it all, passions flare, long-standing taboos are tossed to the wind, and passionate relationships are begun between older, more experienced butch officers and the young, inexperienced femme girls under their charge. In her telling of these women’s stories, Torres remains nonjudgmental of the lesbian relationships these women explored. Perhaps as a result, Women’s Barracks was banned in several states for being obscene. The House Select Committee on Current Pornographic Materials denounced the book in 1952 as an illustration of how the newly emerging paperback industry was breeding and promoting moral depravity. By today’s standards, of course, the book is somewhat tame; however, the eroticism and honesty with which Torres writes immerses the reader in the love, tenderness, loyalty and passion that women share with each other. |
femme fatales in history: Dangerous Women Jim Butcher, Diana Gabaldon, 2013-12-03 The World Fantasy Award–winning anthology featuring an original Game of Thrones novella and new stories from Diana Gabaldon, Jim Butcher, and many more. The twenty-one stories in Dangerous Women showcase some of the best and bravest female characters from across genre fiction—from women warriors and fighter pilots to female serial killers, superheroes, wizards, and bandits. With work from twelve New York Times bestsellers, readers will discover a new Outlander story by Diana Gabaldon, a tale of Harry Dresden’s world by Jim Butcher, a story from Lev Grossman set in the world of The Magicians, and an original novella by George R. R. Martin about the Dance of the Dragons, the vast civil war that tore Westeros apart nearly two centuries before the events of A Game of Thrones. Also included are original stories of dangerous women—heroines and villains alike—by Brandon Sanderson, Joe Abercrombie, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Lawrence Block, Carrie Vaughn, S. M. Stirling, Sharon Kay Penman, and many others. |
femme fatales in history: The Femme Fatale in Victorian Literature Jennifer Hedgecock, 2008 examines the changing social and economic status of women from the 1860s through the 1880s, and rejects the stereotypical mid-Victorian femme fatale portrayed by conservative ideologues critiquing popular fiction by Wilkie Collins, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Honore de Balzac, and William Makepeace Thackeray. In these book reviews, the female protagonist is simply minimized to a dangerous woman. Refuting this one-dimensional characterization, this book argues that the femme fatale comes to represent the real-life struggles of the middle-class Victorian woman who overcomes major adversities such as poverty, abusive husbands, abandonment, single parenthood, limited job opportunities, the criminal underworld, and Victorian society's harsh invective against her. --publisher description. |
femme fatales in history: Rethinking the Femme Fatale in Film Noir J. Grossman, 2009-10-21 In the context of nineteenth-century Victorinoir and close readings of original-cycle film noir, Julie Grossman argues that the presence of the femme fatale figure, as she is understood in film criticism and popular culture, is drastically over-emphasized and has helped to sustain cultural obsessions with bad women. |
femme fatales in history: Dames in the Driver's Seat Jans B. Wager, 2009-03-06 With its focus on dangerous, determined femmes fatales, hardboiled detectives, and crimes that almost-but-never-quite succeed, film noir has long been popular with moviegoers and film critics alike. Film noir was a staple of classical Hollywood filmmaking during the years 1941-1958 and has enjoyed a resurgence in popularity since the 1990s. Dames in the Driver's Seat offers new views of both classical-era and contemporary noirs through the lenses of gender, class, and race. Jans Wager analyzes how changes in film noir's representation of women's and men's roles, class status, and racial identities mirror changes in a culture that is now often referred to as postmodern and postfeminist. Following introductory chapters that establish the theoretical basis of her arguments, Wager engages in close readings of the classic noirs The Killers, Out of the Past, and Kiss Me Deadly and the contemporary noirs L. A. Confidential, Mulholland Falls, Fight Club, Twilight, Fargo, and Jackie Brown. Wager divides recent films into retro-noirs (made in the present, but set in the 1940s and 1950s) and neo-noirs (made and set in the present but referring to classic noir narratively or stylistically). Going beyond previous studies of noir, her perceptive readings of these films reveal that retro-noirs fulfill a reactionary social function, looking back nostalgically to outdated gender roles and racial relations, while neo-noirs often offer more revisionary representations of women, though not necessarily of people of color. |
femme fatales in history: Femme Fatale Nerida Campbell, 2008 Contrasts the glamour of the noir seductress and pulp novel siren with the reality experienced by actual female criminals in Australia. |
femme fatales in history: The Desire to Desire Mary Ann Doane, 1987-06-22 Brilliantly argued and lucidly written . . . the definitive psychoanalytic account of the repression of woman in Hollywood cinema. —Tania Modleski . . . complex and challenging . . . —The Womens Review of Books . . . magnificently ambitious . . . some of the most original and intelligent essays in film theory today. —Journal of Modern Literature . . . deeply commited to the psychoanalytic approach . . . —Contemporary Sociology The Desire to Desire traces the way in which female spectatorship is specified primarily by its lapses or failures, arguing that the women's film simultaneously asserts and denies female desire, attributing to the woman only an impossible gaze. |
femme fatales in history: Femmes Fatales Mary Ann Doane, 2013-06-17 In this work of feminist film criticism, Mary Ann Doane examines questions of sexual difference and knowledge in cinematic, theoretical, and psychoanalytic discourses. Femmes Fatales examines Freud, the female spectator, the meaning of the close-up, and the nature of stardom. Doane's analyses of such figures as Pabst's Lulu and Rita Hayworth's Gilda trace the thematics and mechanics of maskes, masquerade, and veiling, with specific attention to the form and technology of the cinema. Working through and against the intellectual frameworks of post-structuralist and psychoanalytic theory, Doane interrogates cinematic and theoretical claims to truth about women which rely on judgements about vision and its stability or instability. Reflecting the shift in conceptual priorities within feminist film theory over the last decade, Femmes Fatales addresses debates over female spectatorhsip, essentialism and anti-essentialism, the tensions between psychoanalysis and history, and the relations between racial and sexual difference. Doane's nuanced and original readings of the femme fatale in cinema illustrate confrontations between feminism, film theory and psychoanalysis. This book should be of interest to students and lecturers in women's studies, communications studies and film theory. |
femme fatales in history: The Spirit Will Eisner, 2008 Written by Will Eisner Art and cover by Will Eisner With Frank Miller's movie version of Will Eisner's THE SPIRIT set to hit theatres in December, DC Comics collects some of the most memorable stories pitting The Spirit against his most sultry opponents! Featuring 23 selected tales of mystery originally published between 1940 and 1949, these stories star P'Gell, Sand Saref, Saree, Silk Satin, Thorne Strand, Autumn Mews and many others. Advance-solicited; on sale October 15 - 192 pg, FC, $19.99 US |
femme fatales in history: Hunt for Wolverine Charles Soule, 2024 Collects Hunt for Wolverine #1 and Hunt for Wolverine: Weapon Lost #1-4. Where's Wolverine? That's what Daredevil wants to know! Logan may be the best there is at what he does -- but so is the Man Without Fear! And as one of the biggest mysteries in the Marvel Universe unfolds, DD assembles a squad of uncanny detectives to track down Logan: Misty Knight, the Inhuman Frank McGee and the mutant known as Cypher! Investigating recent sightings across the globe of the X-Man they thought dead, the squad uncovers a deep conspiracy with huge ramifications for Wolverine's return! But what happens when they follow the clues all the way to a very familiar -- and very bloody -- set of claws? A weapon lost is about to be found -- and the Man Without Fear's nickname will be put to the test! |
femme fatales in history: Femme Fatale Pat Shipman, 2011-06-16 Biography of the most infamous woman of the early 20th century, the Dutch courtesan and alleged spy Margaretha Zelle (1876-1917), - Mata Hari Mata Hari was the prototype of the beautiful but unscrupulous female agent who used sexual allure to gain access to secrets, if she was indeed a spy. In 1917, the notorious dancer Mata Hari was arrested, tried, and executed for espionage. It was charged at her trial that the dark-eyed siren was responsible for the deaths of at least 50,000 gallant French soldiers. Irrefutably, she had been the mistress of many senior Allied officers and government officials, even the French Minister of War: a point viewed as highly suspicious. Worse yet, she spoke several European languages fluently and travelled widely in wartime Europe. But was she guilty of espionage? For all the publicity Mata Hari and her trial received, key questions remain unanswered. These questions concern not only her inadequate trial and her unproven guilt, but also the events in her personal life. What propelled Margaretha Zelle, destined to be a Dutch schoolteacher, to transform herself into Mata Hari, the most desirable woman in early 20th-century Paris? She danced before enthusiastic crowds in Paris, Berlin, Vienna, Madrid, Monte Carlo, Milan and Rome, inspiring admiration, jealousy, and bitter condemnation. Pat Shipman's brilliant biography pinpoints the powerful yet dangerous attributes that evoked such strong emotions in those who met Mata Hari, for hitherto the focus has been on espionage, not on exploring the events that shaped her life and caused her to transform herself from rural Dutch girl to international femme fatale. |
femme fatales in history: Kiss the Blood Off My Hands Robert Miklitsch, 2014-09-08 Consider the usual view of film noir: endless rainy nights populated by down-at-the-heel boxers, writers, and private eyes stumbling toward inescapable doom while stalked by crooked cops and cheating wives in a neon-lit urban jungle. But a new generation of writers is pushing aside the fog of cigarette smoke surrounding classic noir scholarship. In Kiss the Blood Off My Hands: On Classic Film Noir, Robert Miklitsch curates a bold collection of essays that reassesses the genre's iconic style, history, and themes. Contributors analyze the oft-overlooked female detective and little-examined aspects of filmmaking like love songs and radio aesthetics, discuss the significance of the producer and women's pulp fiction, as well as investigate Disney noir and the Fifties heist film, B-movie back projection and blacklisted British directors. At the same time the writers' collective reconsideration unwinds the impact of hot-button topics like race and gender, history and sexuality, technology and transnationality. As bracing as a stiff drink, Kiss the Blood Off My Hands writes the future of noir scholarship in lipstick and chalk lines for film fans and scholars alike. |
femme fatales in history: Hunt for Wolverine: Mystery in Madripoor , 2018-12-18 Where's Wolverine? When Wolverine's former alter ego Patch is sighted on the streets of Madripoor, the infamous island of ill repute, Kitty Pryde pulls together a group of Logan's closest friends to try and find him: Storm, Rogue, Psylocke, Domino and Jubilee. What they discover is a twisted cabal of crime and dark mysteries that will take these X-Men from the depths of Lowtown to the stars circling overhead in the Hunt For Wolverine. COLLECTING: HUNT FOR WOLVERINE 1, HUNT FOR WOLVERINE: MYSTERY IN MADRIPOOR 1-4 |
Femme — Wikipédia
Une femme est un être humain de sexe ou de genre féminin. Avant l'âge adulte, au stade infantile, on parle de fille. Il arrive cependant que le mot s'utilise indépendamment de l’âge.
Femme - Wikipedia
Femme (/ f ɛ m / pronunciation ⓘ; [1] French:, literally meaning ' woman ') is a term traditionally used to describe a lesbian woman who exhibits a feminine identity or gender presentation.
Définition de femme | Dictionnaire français - La langue française
Feb 26, 2024 · Définition de femme : dictionnaire, étymologie, phonétique, citations littéraires, synonymes et antonymes de « femme »
Définitions : femme - Dictionnaire de français Larousse
1. Être humain du sexe féminin. 2. Adulte de sexe féminin, par opposition à fille, jeune fille : La voilà une femme maintenant. 3. Épouse : Il nous a présenté sa femme. 4. Adulte de sexe …
femme - Définitions, synonymes, prononciation, exemples | Dico …
déf. syn. ex. 17e s. Être humain du sexe féminin. Adulte de sexe féminin. aussi fille, fillette, jeune fille. Les hommes, les femmes et les enfants. Une jeune femme. (profession) Femme d'État, …
femme - LAROUSSE
La femme est une victime « privilégiée » lors des conflits armés comme dans le huis clos de la sphère domestique. Est-ce qu'on naît femme ou est-ce qu'on le devient ? En un siècle, le …
FEMME : Définition de FEMME - Centre National de Ressources …
FEMME, subst. fém. I.− Être humain de sexe féminin. 1. Selon Adler, l'enfant se représente ce rapport d'infériorité à supériorité selon le double schéma : faiblesse, infériorité, petitesse, bas …
Femme : Définition simple et facile du dictionnaire - L'Internaute
Femme désigne l' être humain de sexe féminin ; le terme s' emploie généralement quand il s'agit d'une adulte. Exemple : La femme est réputée pour être plus sensible et plus pacifique que l' …
Femme : définition, signification et usage du mot - Dictionnaire ...
Femme : découvrez la définition complète, claire et précise du mot “Femme”. Apprenez sa signification et son usage dans le langage courant.
Femme : définition et synonyme de femme en français
La définition de Femme dans le dictionnaire français de TV5MONDE. Découvrez également les synonymes de femme sur TV5MONDE.
Femme — Wikipédia
Une femme est un être humain de sexe ou de genre féminin. Avant l'âge adulte, au stade infantile, on parle de fille. Il arrive cependant que le mot s'utilise indépendamment de l’âge.
Femme - Wikipedia
Femme (/ f ɛ m / pronunciation ⓘ; [1] French:, literally meaning ' woman ') is a term traditionally used to describe a lesbian woman who exhibits a feminine identity or gender presentation.
Définition de femme | Dictionnaire français - La langue française
Feb 26, 2024 · Définition de femme : dictionnaire, étymologie, phonétique, citations littéraires, synonymes et antonymes de « femme »
Définitions : femme - Dictionnaire de français Larousse
1. Être humain du sexe féminin. 2. Adulte de sexe féminin, par opposition à fille, jeune fille : La voilà une femme maintenant. 3. Épouse : Il nous a présenté sa femme. 4. Adulte de sexe …
femme - Définitions, synonymes, prononciation, exemples | Dico …
déf. syn. ex. 17e s. Être humain du sexe féminin. Adulte de sexe féminin. aussi fille, fillette, jeune fille. Les hommes, les femmes et les enfants. Une jeune femme. (profession) Femme d'État, …
femme - LAROUSSE
La femme est une victime « privilégiée » lors des conflits armés comme dans le huis clos de la sphère domestique. Est-ce qu'on naît femme ou est-ce qu'on le devient ? En un siècle, le …
FEMME : Définition de FEMME - Centre National de Ressources …
FEMME, subst. fém. I.− Être humain de sexe féminin. 1. Selon Adler, l'enfant se représente ce rapport d'infériorité à supériorité selon le double schéma : faiblesse, infériorité, petitesse, bas …
Femme : Définition simple et facile du dictionnaire - L'Internaute
Femme désigne l' être humain de sexe féminin ; le terme s' emploie généralement quand il s'agit d'une adulte. Exemple : La femme est réputée pour être plus sensible et plus pacifique que l' …
Femme : définition, signification et usage du mot - Dictionnaire ...
Femme : découvrez la définition complète, claire et précise du mot “Femme”. Apprenez sa signification et son usage dans le langage courant.
Femme : définition et synonyme de femme en français
La définition de Femme dans le dictionnaire français de TV5MONDE. Découvrez également les synonymes de femme sur TV5MONDE.