[Reading Response 1] Noirs – The City The Woman and Other Spaces

I believe the noir thrillers and melodramas from the 1960s signified the departure from old representations of women. Earlier films confined women on-screen to traditional roles like obedient housewives or supernatural virtuous heroines; but from the article, 1960 films like the Black Rose introduced complex characters, oscillating between high-society women and a professional of robbery. Female roles in an urban setting becomes intertwined and relatable – even if not, in a sense that navigating between cramped domestic spaces and the outside urban aesthetics poses as an ideal to females stuck in factory routines, serves as a visual relief to those yet to experience the break-free from the most domestic norms.

 

I was delighted to realize from the article, “the feminine domestic space coexists with and is a continuum of the modernizing city”, that the doubling of female identities was meanwhile portrayed through space – an abstraction. The Heroine showing a shiny black convertible driving past the newly completed public housing estates up the hill to a modern villa, allows me to realize a juxtaposition in the city of the 1960s, addressing the alienation and disjunctions of the city as a result of transition. To me, juxtaposition is a result of change, and change is a beautiful way to convey the concept of time.

 

I was highly skeptical of the abstract relation of “time and space” to a simple human gender role on screen. The biggest takeaway from this article was the interplay between female roles, time, and space, particularly in an urban setting.

1 thought on “[Reading Response 1] Noirs – The City The Woman and Other Spaces

  1. Sereypagna says:

    Your response to Eunice’s text is quite well. But there are some points to improve: 1/ you can elaborate more about ‘…the doubling of female identities was meanwhile portrayed through space – an abstraction.’ And 2/ What is your skepticism of the abstract relation of “time and space”? you should elaborate this point a bit.

    Reply

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