Femme Noir: Disturbing the Social Order

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Femme Noir Disturbing the Social Order
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• Double Indemnity, as one of the group of films
  that led to coining of "film noir," serves as
  summary of first segment of this class, in which
  we looked at what noir is.
• Perfect combination of idea of noir and noir
  style.
• But also serves as entry point for next segment
  of the course.

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The Basic Idea of Noir

• Film Noir always involves a disturbance of
  "normal" social order and values, which is
  conveyed/matched by the "disorienting" style of
  the films.
• This is why noir shares something with modernist
  art/literature in both, the existing social
  order is questioned or criticized.
• In the next segment of the course, we'll look at
  some of the specific issues or areas in film noir
  where "normal" social order is disturbed.

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Disturbance

• One of the most prominent areas of disturbance
  revolves around
• Gender and Sexuality
• Although film noir is in many ways a "male
  genre," the place or role of women, in
  particular, is often central to film noir.
• The femme fatale as threat to social order the
  Law.

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Disturbance

• But why this frequent portrayal of women as
  dangerous?
• What makes them threatening?
• What do they threaten what aspects of social
  order do they disturb?
• To answer these questions, compare portrayal of
  femme fatale to non-threatening female
  characters in Double Indemnity, Phyllis and
  Lola.

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Disturbance

• In film noir, this gender disturbance also
  involves, as Sylvia Harvey notes, a disruption of
  the traditional family, headed by Father.
• Linked, in part, to socio-economic conditions
  during/after WWII
• Introduction of women to labor force during WWII
  disrupts traditional family roles.
• In films such as Mildred Pierce, attempt to put
  "working women" back into "proper" place, restore
  traditional family.

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Disturbance

• But Double Indemnity (1944) focuses more on
  woman's "proper" role ( as "property") within
  suburban, bourgeois family.
• Sexuality marriage/family are at odds here.
• As Claire Johnson notes, this sexual disruption
  of the family has a symbolic dimension it plays
  out an Oedipal scenario.
• The killing of the husband/ father breaks the
  Law, disrupts family male social order.
• Look also at the role of Fathers (
  father-figures).

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The Threat of the Woman

• Why is the femme fatale a threat?
• Doesn't play typical role of good mother/wife.
• Good vs. Bad Motherly vs. Sexual
• Sexual, not subservient (has her own desires
  does not serve others)
• Threat to Male's/Father's position in family,
  society (symbolically castration threat)
• Equals threat to Law, Social Order
• Must ultimately be punished
• Male control/Law reestablished (symbolically,
  phallic order restored to power)

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The Oedipal Family

• Plot to kill Father/Husband (and defraud
  Legal/Financial Order represented by Insurance
  Company). Law Father (Social/Family) linked.
• Keyes also Father-figure, representative of Law
  (patriarchal order legal/financial order).
• Worth noting the distaste that Keyes has for most
  women. Should be "investigated."
• Instead of upholding Law of the Father, Neff
  defies it. Symbolically, breaks Oedipal
  taboo/Law
• He tries to usurp the place of the legitimate
  husband/father to possess the woman/mother (and
  to defraud the Law, represented by Keyes).

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• Woman and money symbolically linked--as
  "property" of the Father.
• But, Walter's "fatherly" interaction with
  daughter Lola (the good girl who accepts
  traditional female role) convinces him that
  Phyllis is a threat and must be killed/punished.
  
• So, in the end, he upholds male order/Law, tries
  to restore "proper" relations between Lola
  Nino, and confesses to his Father-figure.
• But despite this restoration of male order/Law,
  film noir points to a dissatisfaction with
  existing bourgeois social order and family/gender
  roles.
• Also attraction to something outside that order
  dangerous but exciting. The femme fatale
  represents this more exciting other possibility.

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Force of Evil Capitalism Under Critique

• Next, turn to another specific area where noir
  gives a disturbing portrait or critique of the
  existing social order economic/political order.
• Example here is Abraham Polonsky's Force of Evil
  (1948), starring John Garfield.