The Violent Woman

Hilary Neroni

Description

In The Violent Woman, Hilary Neroni brings psychoanalytically informed film theory to bear on issues of femininity, violence, and narrative in contemporary American cinema. Examining such films as Thelma and Louise, Fargo, Natural Born Killers, and The Long Kiss Goodnight, Neroni explores why American audiences are so fascinated—even excited—by cinematic representations of violent women, and what these representations reveal about violence in our society and our cinema. Neroni argues that violent women characters disrupt cinematic narrative and challenge cultural ideals, suggesting how difficult it is for Hollywood—the greatest of ideology machines—to integrate the violent woman into its typical narrative structure.

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Part One: The Development and Background of the Filmic Violent Woman

1. Complementarity and Its Discontents: An Overview of Violent Women in American Film

2. Expressions of Masculinity: The Traditions of Violence in American Film

3. Female Murderers: America's Recurring Nightmare

Part Two: The Violent Woman on the Contemporary Screen

4. Romancing Trauma: The Violent Woman in Contemporary American Film

5. Violent Women in Love

6. Femininity on the Front Line: Portrayals of Violent Women in Recent Military Films

7. Conclusion: The Long Kiss Goodnight

Endnotes

Index

Sujets

• Película fotográfica
• Visual culture
• History of film
• Film

Informations

• Publié par: State University of New York Press
• Date de parution: 16 février 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 2
• EAN13: 9780791483640
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

The Violent Woman
SUNY series in Feminist Criticism and Theory
Michelle A. Masse, Editor
The Violent Woman
Femininity, Narrative, and Violence in Contemporary American Cinema
Hilary Neroni
Published by State University of New York Press, Albany
2005 State University of New York
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.
For information, address State University of New York Press, 194 Washington Avenue, Suite 305, Albany, NY 12210-2365
Production by Kelli Williams Marketing by Susan M. Petrie
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Neroni, Hilary, 1969- The violent woman : femininity, narrative, and violence in contemporary American cinema / Hilary Neroni. p. cm. - (SUNY series in feminist criticism and theory) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-7914-6383-3 - 978-0-7914-6384-0 (pbk.) ISBN-10: 0-7914-6383-4 -0-7914-6384-2 (pbk.) 1. Women in motion pictures. 2. Violence in motion pictures. 3. Motion pictures- United States. I. Title. II. Series. PN1995.9.W6N47 2005 791.43 6522-dc22
2004007575
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
to Diana Cataldi, for her extraordinary strength and generosity
Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part One: The Development and Background of the Filmic Violent Woman
1 Complementarity and Its Discontents: An Overview of Violent Women in American Film
2 Expressions of Masculinity: The Traditions of Violence in American Film
3 Female Murderers: America s Recurring Nightmare
Part Two: The Violent Woman on the Contemporary Screen
4 Romancing Trauma: The Violent Woman in Contemporary American Film
5 Violent Women in Love
6 Femininity on the Front Line: Portrayals of Violent Women in Recent Military Films
7 Conclusion: The Long Kiss Goodnight
Notes
Index
Preface
Of course, I m not pro -homicide, a friend once said to me after she had expounded on her fascination with the latest appearance of violent women on-screen. To me, her statement represents the attitude of most film viewers today, who are both undeniably drawn to the violent woman but unsure what this might say about their character. No one is pro-homicide, but if a writer discusses violence in cinema today without at one point expressing some degree of disapproval toward violence itself, it appears as though she advocates violence. Both George W. Bush and Al Gore made the condemnation of filmic violence a central issue in the 2000 presidential campaign. And while multiple articles and political speeches seem to suggest that the simple answer to a peaceful society would begin with eliminating all violence from film, they ignore the complex way in which violence exists in society at every level, but especially the way in which violence is an integral part of changing gender expectations.
Until recently, on-screen violence has primarily been a masculine activity. There have been periods in cinema in which violent women have appeared (usually within a particular genre, such as the femme fatale in film noir), but since the late 1980s, they have been ubiquitous. Violent women today can be found across all genres. In the midst of the debate on violence in film, it is imperative to look at these new violent women and understand both why we are so fascinated-even excited-by them and what they reveal about violence in our society and its cinema. Rather than embodying some mythical pro-homicide movement, violent women actually disrupt the structure of filmic narratives, call into question our conceptions of masculinity and femininity, and reveal the limits of, or failures of, ideology. Our simultaneous condemnation of and fascination with the violent woman stems from this disruptive position that she occupies. On the one hand, we want to preserve our society against the threat of the violent woman, but, on the other hand, her threat excites us because it involves overturning the ideological structures (most especially those involving gender) that regulate our experiences.
This book investigates the history of violent women on film, the history of the female murderer and the public s reaction to her, the aesthetics of the representation of the filmic violent woman in contemporary cinema, and the theoretical relationship of masculinity and femininity to violence. The first three chapters make up part one, The Development and Background of the Filmic Violent Woman. They concentrate on the history of the violent woman (both on- and offscreen) and discuss the relationship of masculinity and violence on-screen. Chapter 1 , Complementarity and Its Discontents: An Overview of Violent Women in American Film, considers the history of the violent woman on film from silent films to today s action heroines. In chapter 2 , Expressions of Masculinity: The Traditions of Violence in American Film, I focus on the theoretical importance of violence through an exploration of the association of violence with masculinity. Chapter 3 , Female Murderers: America s Recurring Nightmare, investigates how society reacts to female violence by examining the public reaction to three well-known female murderers: Lizzie Borden (1892), Ruth Snyder (1927), and Susan Smith (1992).
In part two, The Violent Woman on the Contemporary Screen, I concentrate in four chapters on the phenomenon of violent women in contemporary cinema. By providing wide-ranging cultural analysis as well as analyzing individual films, I hope to bring about a clearer understanding of the theoretical and aesthetic issues surrounding the violent woman on-screen. In chapter 4 , Romancing Trauma: The Violent Woman in Contemporary American Film, I suggest that one commonality among many of the films featuring violent women is that, unlike in the traditional Hollywood film, violent women do not end up in a romance at the film s end. Through films such as John Dahl s The Last Seduction (1993), Steven Soderberg s Out of Sight (1998), Ridley Scott s Thelma and Louise (1992), and F. Gary Gray s Set It Off (1997), I investigate what this lack of romance suggests both about filmic narrative and society s concepts of masculinity and femininity. In chapter 5 , Violent Women in Love, however, I look at a handful of films-Oliver Stone s Natural Born Killers (1994), Kathryn Bigelow s Strange Days (1995), the Coen Brothers Fargo (1996), and Roger Spottiswoode s Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)-that do end with the violent woman in a romantic union. In my analysis of these exceptions, I uncover the multilayered cultural and filmic responses that a violent woman provokes, for example, often the traditional Hollywood film form is disrupted, or traditional gender roles are completely reversed, or the film attempts to split a woman s violence from her femininity. In chapter 6 , Feminity on the Front Line: Portrayals of Violent Women in Recent Military Films, I delve further into this attempt to split violence from femininity through an analysis of the two films in which this is especially prevalent: Edward Zwick s Courage Under Fire (1996) and Ridley Scott s G.I. Jane (1997). I also consider here the role of the military s relationship to female violence. In the conclusion, I investigate Renny Harlin s The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996) as a film which most dramatically depicts the contradictions involved in representations of the violent woman and her influence on the filmic form. Thus, this film provides a way of more completely understanding the complex relationship between Hollywood narrative, filmic violence, and the ideology of gender.
Acknowledgments
The publication of this book could not have happened without the support of numerous individuals and institutions. Portions of chapter 2 originally appeared as Expressions of Masculinity: The Traditions of Violence in American Film in the Journal for the Psychoanalysis of Culture and Society 5, no. 2 (Fall 2000).
I would like to thank my colleagues and students at the University of Vermont for being especially supportive of this work. They encouraged and challenged me at every step.
This project would be unimaginable without the support of James Peltz, editor in chief and acting director at State University of New York Press.
For their emotional and intellectual support, I am also indebted to: Diana Cataldi, Chadwyk McGowan, Beth Cowett, Walter Mac Davis, Marvin D Lugo, John Gennari, Cindy Karlson, Lillian Kessler, Henry Kessler, Sheila Kunkle, Amor Kholi, Tony Magistrale, Sandra McGowan, Jane Neroni, Delmont Neroni, Christine Pierce, Claire Scanlon, Nicodemus Taranovsky, Meredith Willoughby, and Jean Wyatt.
Thanks also to Todd Boyd, Marsha Kinder, and Douglas Thomas, whose mentoring and intellectual tutelage helped give birth to this project.
In a way that is hard to put into words, I am especially grateful to those who read part or all of this manuscript, generously giving their time, energy, and invaluable comments: Emily Bernard, Paul Eisenstein, Phil Foster, Jonathan Mulrooney, Sarah Nilsen, Sharon Preves, Renata Selecl, and Slavoj i ek.
Finally, this work would be quite impossible without Todd McGowan.
Introduction
Filmic violence has recently received a great deal of critical attention. Four edited collections of essays dealing with the topic have appeared between 1999 and 2001. The salient feature-and lasting contribution-of these collections is their determination to investigate violenc