Character Archetypes of the Tech-Noir Vamp
The framework of the femme fatale’s evolution in science fiction
The Tech-Noir Vamp is a recurring archetype of a dangerous, seductive female presenting character. This archetype often uses technology and their sexuality as tools to manipulate and control their surroundings, leading to their status as both a symbol of danger and a source of fascination. The Tech-Noir Vamp represents a complex interplay between the allure of technology and the enduring appeal of the classic film noir femme fatale trope from the 1940s. Contemporary expressions can be seen TV shows such as HBO’s West World and films such as Blade Runner 2049, Under the Skin, and M3GAN.
Tech-noir can be described as a combination of low-life crime drama and high-tech science fiction, often incorporating elements of surrealism and paranoia. In classic film noir, the femme fatale or vamp is viewed as a seductress who uses their charm, beauty, and cunning to manipulate events to her benefit generally to the disadvantage of her romantic partner or dramatic foil.
Tech-noir builds upon the sinister female characters of narrative history by exploring the subversive and nonconformist aspects of gender roles while challenging audience expectations of assumed female characteristics. Superhuman or exponential capabilities are enabled by artificial intelligence, data processing, extra sensory abilities and aided by the access to networked and interconnected databases or other advanced computational technology.
The literal translation of femme fatale from the French means, deadly woman. The mythical influences can be traced back to ancient stories of goddesses such as Circe, Medusa, and Calypso were used to symbolize the dark and cunning expression of female power dynamics. The mythical underworld has parallels with the contemporary or futuristic implications of tech-noir’s crime based underworld.
The old testiment super anti-heroine Lilith is one of the earliest examples of a dark side of domestication parable. Here Adam’s first wife transforms into demon upon rejecting a lesser than equal status with her partner. Patriarchal expression of the myth casts Lilith as a source of chaos and destruction due to her rejection of a sexually subjugated status.
Silent Film Influences
Leaping forward to the silent film era, the character of Irma Vep, portrayed by Musidora in the 1915 French silent film Les Vampires, is a prototypical example of an early film’s femme fatale set in a post-industrial era. She can be seen as a precursor to Trinity from The Matrix films and as well Emma Peal from TV’s The Avengers, and as an architype for all permutations of DC Comic’s Cat Women, particularly those represented in dystopian urban rooftops.
In The Vampires, Vep is depicted as a member of a criminal organization with a shadowy, stylized appearance that emphasizes an otherworldly theatricality of her subterranean gang. Her powerful representation reflects the post-industrial shift to cities and the blurring of class and gender in urban communities. The Vampires, attack both the emerging bourgeoisie and the established elite to sew chaos and reap the rewards of ill gotten gain. Director Louis Feuillade used Irma Vep as an iconic symbol of anarchy against the class system, similar to the way the French institutions used the female symbol of the Marianne as a personification of national identity. Irma Vep embodies the iconic potential for upheaval.
Irma Vep’s form fitting cat suit and cross-dressing were also viewed as a subversive presentations that challenged traditional gender roles and norms. By dressing as a man in parts of the episodic film, Vep subverted societal expectations and gained access to spaces and power that were typically reserved for men. This blurring of gender lines around traditional expectations was a significant statement for films of the time.
Vep’s character antagonized social fears about modernity. Although her villainy is not enabled by technology, her criminal network and empowerment arises from industrialization and the shift towards cities that allowed for changes in gender roles.
A foundational post-human femme fatale influence from the period of silent films is the character of Bad Maria from Fritz Lange’s 1927 film “Metropolis”. Bad Maria is a robotic manifestation of a woman created by the villainous scientist Rotwang to incite a rebellion among the working class. She uses her charisma to manipulate the workers into revolting against the factories, ultimately leading to destruction and chaos in the city. Metropolis depicts industrial capitalism in a heroic light when it shows Rotwang and Bad Maria as villains, while The Vampires glamorize the criminal element as charming anti heroes.
As Rotwang’s fem-bot, Bad Maria is a powerful and sinister representation of the rise of industrialization the disruption that technology can bring to a society. The film’s use of chiaroscuro, high contrast light and shadow and stylization in depicting Bad Maria’s transformed mechanical body, mimics the iconography of religious forms particularly the alter and the Virgin Mary.
This serves to highlight the idea that the people of Metropolis have begun to deify technology, elevating it to a religious status. The use of the name “Maria” in the film further emphasizes this point, as it is a name often associated with the Virgin Mary, a religious figure who is often depicted as a symbol of purity and motherhood. In the context of the film, the character Bad Maria is used to incite rebellion and destruction. The film shows the dangerous consequences of blindly trusting in manipulative demi-gogues.
The fetishistic details of Maria’s mechanical transformation is a precursor to 1989’s Japanese cyberpunk horror cult classic Tetsuo: The Iron Man and 1985 anime classic Ghost In The Shell. Her character’s influence can also be seen in the borg queen from Startrek.
French New Wave
Jean-Luc Godard’s film Alphaville (1965) is another pioneering work of science fiction and film noir that seamlessly blends the conventions of both genres, with a significant focus on the femme fatale role. The film is set in a dystopian future where a supercomputer has taken control of the city of Alphaville, eliminating emotions and independent thought. The protagonist detective, Lemmy Caution, is a tough, no-nonsense gum shoe who is sent to Alphaville to find and eliminate the inventor the master computer.
Natacha von Braun, played by Anna Karina, serves as the femme fatale figure. Natacha is a state-programmed daughter of the master computer inventor, and she is initially depicted as a cold, emotionless and robotic like figure. However, as she spends more time with the detective character, she begins to question the world of Alphaville and the control it has over her.
Natacha’s character arc is central to the film’s themes of individuality, and the dangers of technology. Natacha’s growing humanity is a direct contrast to the dehumanizing effects of socially programming people.
Woman as Product
In Ridley Scott’s 1982 film Blade Runner, the android replicant character Rachael serves as one of the most iconic examples of the tech-noir femme fatale archetype. Through his interactions with Rachael, Deckard, the protagonist, reflects on identity through the revelation of Rachael’s implanted memories, which is further complicated by implication that Deckard may also be a replicant. One film noir detective trope, the interrogation, takes on deeper meaning as the films interviews expose the replicants. The interview format can be interpreted as reveling the replicants psychopathic tendencies, emotional detachment or viewed as unfair prompting in a system designed to trigger aggression. In the case of Rachael she succeeds to pass or go beyond typical detection but her ultimate failure opens up the possibility of “retirement”.
The character of cyborg Ava in the 2015 film Ex Machina shares similarities with Rachael in the story arch where she first engages with the protagonist primarily during interrogations. Both the Rachael and Eva characters are artificial beings who are created by men and are used as a tool to manipulate and deceive other the male characters in the process of similar interrogations.
Ava is an advanced robot created by a tech CEO and is used as a tool to manipulate a programmer into believing that she has consciousness. Similarly, Rachael is a replicant created by the Tyrell Corporation and is used as a tool to test the protagonist, Deckard. Both Ava and Rachael are portrayed as property, who are subjected to the control of the male characters or corporations in the film.
The vulnerability of Rachael, both in the hands of the Tyrell corporation and in the company of Deckard, the replicant hunter, highlights a key tension in Blade Runner’s narrative.
In one scene Deckard physically corners Rachael during a romantic exchange. The implication of physical dominance Deckard has over Rachael brings into question the film makers intention of representing the power dynamic as well as Deckard’s morality in responding to Rachael as an object or non human. To the viewer Deckard’s potential for sexual aggression may diminish his perception as a humane or heroic figure. The subsequent request for articulation of consent by Deckard has more nuanced meaning and while her communicating back her own wishes reaffirm her agency, choice and desire.
In Blade Runner 2049, a new replicant model named Luv is introduced as a visually striking noir femme fatale who manipulates and pursues the main character, K. The role of the hunter alternates between K and Luv throughout the story. Luv’s appearance, featuring structured outfits, high-contrast lighting, and a hairstyle reminiscent of Rachael, embodies the classic noir femme fatale aesthetic. Unlike Rachael’s image of vulnerability, Luv presents a more predatory and aggressive persona. The portrayal of the femme fatale in Blade Runner 2049 is marked by assertiveness and action rather than passivity.
Tech-noir raises questions about the power dynamics between creators and created, and the ethical implications of controlling artificial intelligence and how culture is impacted by technical or mechanical innovation at scale. The tech-noir vamp or femme fatale serves as a powerful lens through which to explore these complex and thought-provoking themes. These characters are not just mere plot devices, but rather, they serve as a reflection of society’s anxieties and questions about power, gender, and sexuality reimagined within the rapidly advancing world of technology.
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