Research - Theories

Laura Mulvey's male gaze theory

The male gaze theory is the theory that female's are presented in a sexual and objectified way for the pleasure of male characters and viewers. This links to film noir as the femme fatale is ultimately a character put as an object to be gazed at. She is often wearing little or provocative clothing and generally has long hair and is wearing a lot of makeup.
"Vicious, and yet could charm you."

Levi Strauss' Binary Oppositions

The theory that conflicts between two opposing elements are set up and need to be resolved. One element within a pair is usually dominant and this pair of binary oppositions generally structure a narrative. The most common binary oppositions within film noir is good versus evil. Whilst the story lines usually follow the idea of good against evil, the lighting also reflects this binary opposition. The contrasts of light and dark, particularly in earlier black and white films, are harsh and so represent the idea of the good versus evil binary opposition within film noir.

Propp's Character theory

Propp identified a group of characters that are common in narratives to perform essential functions in the development of story lines. These characters include a hero, villain, donor, dispatcher, false hero, helper and princess. Film noir particularly subverts this theory as it included new characters such as a anti-hero, femme fatale and corrupt detectives. Detour (Producers Releasing Corporation 1945) also introduced the idea of the murderer escaping without arrest and subverting the endings of previous films but the Hollywood Production Code did not allow this and director Edgar G. Ulmer was forced to change the ending proving that films noir generally go against the stereotypical characters in Propp's character theory.