The Nasty Woman and the Neo Femme Fatale in Contemporary Cinema

The Nasty Woman and the Neo Femme Fatale in Contemporary Cinema puts forward the theoretical notion of the "nasty woman" as a means of examining female protagonists in contemporary cinema, particularly films directed by women. The phrase is taken from an insult thrown at Hilary Clinton during the 2016 Presidential election debates and reclaimed by the feminists worldwide. The volume also draws from the figure of the femme fatale in film noir.

Piotrowska argues that in films such as Zero Dark Thirty, Red Road, Stories We Tell, and even Gone Girl the "nastiness" of female characters creates a new space for reflection on contemporary society and its struggles against patriarchal systems. The nasty woman or neo-femme fatale is a figure who disrupts stable situations and norms; she is pro-active and self-determining, and at times unafraid to use dubious means to achieve her goals. She is often single, but when married she subverts and undermines the fundamental principles of this patriarchal institution.

For students and researchers in Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Film Studies and Psychoanalysis in Film Studies, The Nasty Woman and the Neo Femme Fatale in Contemporary Cinema offers an original way of thinking about female creativity and subjectivity. It is a proud celebration of feminist and female authorship in contemporary Hollywood.

Agnieszka Piotrowska is a filmmaker and a theorist, researching gender, race and class in cinema and culture. She is best known for her award-winning cult documentary Married to the Eiffel Tower , screened globally in 60 countries. She is the author of Psychoanalysis and Ethics in Documentary Film (2014) and Black and White: cinema, politics and the arts in Zimbabwe (2017). She is a Reader in Film Practice and Theory at the University of Bedfordshire, UK and Course Leader for MA/MSc Digital Film.