Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Maritorious Melodrama: Film Noir With A Female Detective, Philippa Gates

English and Film Studies Faculty Publications

Feminist critics tend to disagree whether the parachuting of women into traditionally male roles—for example, that of detective—results in a feminist representation. The female detective of the 1930s, however, can be seen to offer a decidedly positive feminist hero in that she defies the stereotype of the “masculine” (i.e. unnatural) woman—especially when one considers the time in which she appeared and representations of female detectives in contemporary film. Despite popular conceptions of classical film, Hollywood did offer progressive representations of working women, ironically in the decade characterized by economic and social upheaval during the Depression. The prolific female detective of …