Femme fatale is a classic Hollywood genre of film noir wrought with crime, drama, seedy characters, rich cinematic texture and dark, shadowy moods. The Miami University Art Museum is currently hosting a film series about the beautiful, mysterious femme fatales of the 1940s and 1950s.
Professor Shira Chess of Miami University's communications department has organized the Femme Fatale Film Series in conjunction with Miami University's Art Museum exhibit Out of the Shadows: The Rise of Women in Art. The era of film noir highlights a time in United States history when women were literally and figuratively emerging out of the shadows and taking on new roles both on and off screen.
Before World War II and film noir, women were playing roles in film that were melodramatic and predictable. But the femme fatales of film noir are dangerous and exciting. Chess selected each movie in the series to examine four different types of femme fatales. Phyllis of Double Indemnity (the first film in the series) is strong, calculated and manipulative.
"In some ways, these are really horrible, negative characters but at the same time they were really pushing the kinds of roles that women could have forward, both on and off screen," Chess said. "It was dealing with insecurities in our country and at the same time making opportunities."
Ronald Scott, a communications professor, is introducing the first film in the series. He said black and white films allow you to see light and shadow more so than in color films. Light narrates the world in which these femme fatales live. The texture and the mood of these films mimic the dark and the light worlds that we all inhabit, making the films real and gritty.
"If you have never seen noir before, its so rich," Scott said. "It doesn't matter what you know or don't know, it just opens the door for analysis. They are such fun movies to play with."
Scott also said you couldn't truly appreciate color movies until you see what happens in black and white. To him, these films pull you in, make you feel and really make you to think.
After each film, there will be an optional 30-minute discussion in which students and faculty have an opportunity to converse about various aspects of the film. These forums will allow the audience to delve deeper and really think about what they have just watched. Chess looks at the films she selected as media artifacts that give us a look into history. She organized this film series after noticing the lack of opportunities around Oxford to view different types of media critically.
"Giving the opportunity to see films as a community can create a different type of dynamic on campus. We can create a culture of movie-goers and critics," Chess said.
Double Indemnity, the first film in the series, is being shown at 7 p.m. this Thursday at the Art Museum. Subsequent films include Miss Sadie Thompson (Oct. 20), Detour (Nov. 3) and Kiss Me Deadly (Nov. 17). The series is free to attend for all.
For more information about the film series go to Miami Art Museum's website.
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