Double Indemnity Essay

Submitted By gchevin
Words: 546
Pages: 3

Analyse the influence of cultural context and the impact of controls and constrains on media work.
Double Indemnity (1944) directed by Billy Wilder was produced in a cultural context where the first wave of feminism was near approaching encouraging women to step out of their domestic sphere and gain attention in ways that may have been restricted previously. In terms of the controls and constrains of this time period, Hays Production Code placed a huge restrain on various elements such as the commitment of murder where brutal killings were not allowed to be presented in detail and adultery which must not be explicitly treated.
Double Indemnity was produced during the world war 11 which was a time period where women were encouraged into the workforce allowing them to achieve a new social and financial independence that upset the traditional gender roles. This resulted in social shifts of the time which has been reflected in the main protagonist, Phyllis Dietrichson who is representative of a femme fatal character archetype in film noir movies. Phyllis threatens mainstream attitudes towards femininity and domesticity as she seems to be in control of her sexuality by using it in order to manipulate men in order to gain independence. This femme fatal image is apparent in the initial scene where the audience and first introduced to her. She is first seen only wearing a towel around her body. This image is depicted in a highly sexualised way as women in the 40s were constricted to be covered up by their clothing thus no flesh would be appropriate to show. This choice of clothing may portray that Phyllis does not feel she has to conform to this image but instead show her flesh in order to be subjective of the male gaze. After this scene she changes into her clothes and is seen walking down the stairs while the camera tracks her. The audience then see a close up of her exposed flesh on her angles and then a longer shot tilting up placing emphasis on her feminine figure.