Research into film noir

The Femme Fatale

How Femme Fatale's are represented in film noir:
1. The iconography is explicitly sexual with long hair (blonde or dark), make up and jewellery.
2. They usually have cigarettes which have sexual connotations of liberation and phallic power.
3. The dress they wear defines the woman.
4.Iconography of violence is a specific symbol of her unnatural phallic power.
5. A framed portrait of a woman is common.
6. They are usually the murderers which indicate narcissism or duplicity.
7. Women are generally centre frame or drawing our attention by focusing on the foreground.
8. Visual style expresses mood through darkness, both real in underlit and night-time scenes, and psychologically through shadow and claustrophobic settings which overwhelm the character.