SH Film Noir: Characters

Characters: The characters in a film noir are generally morally unstable and ambiguous, with stock characters including a 'tough' detective, the 'femme fatale', police forces and criminals each with their own moral ambiguity and corruption. The 'femme' fatale' is iconic to film noir, as she is represented in a sexual way which may be a regressive representation, but use their 'charms' to 'catch the hero's gaze' but eventually double-cross them. This can be seen as a progressive representation of woman as she usually out-smarts the hero and can be seen with a gun, which is unconventional for other film genres.