The Violent Woman: Femininity, Narrative, and Violence in Contemporary American Cinema

by Hilary Neroni

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780791483640
Publisher:	State University of New York Press
Publication date:	02/16/2012
Series:	SUNY series in Feminist Criticism and Theory
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	218
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Hilary Neroni is Associate Professor of English at the University of Vermont.

Table of 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

Endnotes

Index