THESIS: The active femme fatales use their intelligence and sexual appeal to try to gain control over the male protagonist and seek independence in the films, which represents how the roles of men and women changed at the start of World War II.

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Active Femme Fatales Seeking Control and Independence
Film noir started to form just before the United States entered World War II with films such as The Maltese Falcon (1941), High Sierra (1941), and Rebecca (1940). Film noir was the term invented by the French critics to explain a unique style in American film during the period after the war and reflects the dark atmosphere in American society (Moustakas 105). At the start of the war in 1939, women and men’s roles started to change. While men were at war, women had to be active members of society and take on more responsibility than they had before the war. In noir films, they started to reflect the changing gender roles that were happening during and after World War II. The Big Sleep and The Maltese Falcon are two good examples of how the femme fatales want to be the dominant character in the films. The active femme fatales use their intelligence and sexual appeal to try to gain control over the male protagonist and seek independence in the films, which represents how the roles of men and women changed at the start of World War II.
The purpose of this essay is to argue that the femme fatales in film noir want to be active characters in the film and seek independence. The primary argument will describe the femme fatales, including their relationship with the male protagonist on screen, and how it reflects the gender role changes during and after World War II. By extension, t…