Bad Women, Spies and Vamps

Paper Summary:

In this article, the author explains that, if asked to program an early cinema series for Cinematheque Ontario, the them she would choose for the program would be "Bad Women, Spies and Vamps: Female Gender Transgression in Early Cinema." The author then goes on to explain why she thinks this theme is appropriate for this cinema and then identifies a number of films to be screened in the program, as well as some issues and information that would be included in the pamphlets accompanying the films.

Outline:
Introduction
Bad Women and New Women: Traffic in Souls
She Spies, Shoots and Saves: Serial Queens of the Early Cinema
Pearl of the Army
The Perils of Pauline
The Early Cinema Femme Fatale: Les Vampires
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"One of the interesting features of these films is that their narratives are often dominated by the dynamic tension between two figures: the Bad Woman and the New Woman. It should be recalled that this was a period when the traditional gender norms were under assault; most notably in the form of the Suffragette movement in the United States and Great Britain where women were protesting for the right to vote. As a result, there was a great deal of uncertainty as to what were the proper gender roles for women in this changing society. In this environment, reformers were at pains to distinguish between the New Woman - who was demanding unprecedented rights and privileges - and traditional Bad Woman who violated gender norms for different purposes. The issue of moral regulation was a central concern in this debate, as is illustrated in the words of one reformist text from 1913 .. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Butler, Kristine. "Irma Vep, Vamp in the City: Mapping the Criminal Feminine in Early French Serials." In Course Reader: Early Cinema to 1915. Ed. Sharon Hayashi. Toronto: York University, 2007, 387-400.
• Staiger, Janet. "The White Slave." In Course Reader: Early Cinema to 1915. Ed. Sharon Hayashi. Toronto: York University, 2007, 160-175.
• Singer, Ben. "Female Power in the Serial-Queen Melodrama: The Etiology of an Anomaly." In Course Reader: Early Cinema to 1915. Ed. Sharon Hayashi. Toronto: York University, 2007, 371-386.

More papers on Bad Women, Spies and Vamps:

• Term Paper # 131832 : "Women, Work and Equality"
• Analytical Essay # 134288 : "Women, Men and Unpaid Work"
• Persuasive Essay # 133098 : "Programming an Early Cinema Series"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: