Women:
For the femme fatal the iconography is usually the colour red: red nails, red lipstick and red dress. her clothing is usually formal but sexy. Black and white colouring is often used for the femme fatal to represent mystery and danger.
For the girl next door the iconography is usually pure, the colour white is used a lot and the girls usually have blonde hair. This is to fit the image of an angel to emulate innocence and care.
Smoking is also an iconic mark in film noir. It can be used to show risk and danger, and also helps the lighting look better.
For our OTS
We will be using the iconography associated with the femme fatal character by showing her smoking, dressing her in dark clothes and using a fur coat. As you can see from the image above, the femme fatal is holding fur which would represent class and the setting of an older film. Further more, there will be a heavy accentuation on the red lipstick the femme fatal will wear.
Film noir first came into the public eye in the early 1940s. This was a time when the position of women and men were changing, due to the war and the shift in expectations in gender. The two main roles for women in film noir is the femme fatal and the girl next door, This is mainly due to how men saw women as more dangerous and successful and it shows how many men feared and disliked the concept of a woman doing well and so they generally make the successful woman the bad one and the more needy, kind female the good one.
In our OTS
We will be showing the female gender as dangerous and mysterious. Our only female character will be the have the femme fatal personality because we thing it signifies the idea of Film Noir more, also it will make the OTS more interesting and by having a dangerous character it makes the audience want to watch more than just the opening.
Women:
The Femme Fatal. The name given is French for 'dangerous woman' and that is exactly how she is in film noir. She's usually the symbol of risk and sexuality and usually gets involved with the hero (see below). Her iconography includes red lipstick, provocative clothing and cigarettes.
The Girl Next Door. This woman is usually seen as the ideal woman, she's usually kind and innocent to an extent. She represents salvation, honour, courage and sacrifice in film noir and she's usually the love interest for the hero. Her iconography includes blonde hair and natural colours and whites.
Men:
The Anti-Hero. The anti-hero is usually the main character. Usually male, he is a good guy with something wrong about him, whether that be a drug addiction, the loss of someone close to them, or a personality trait triggered by something in their life.
Villain. The villain is usually fighting against the hero for something. This character is another of the main ones and is usually a man.
Others include, the hero, sidekick and extras.
In our OTS
We will be using the femme fatal character and the anti-hero. Iconography for both will be used, the femme fatal will be wearing red lipstick, a fur coat and will be smoking, as will the anti- hero. The anti hero will be dressed in a less conventional costume as our OTS isn't set in the 50's, so he will be wearing a Harrington jacket and jeans.
