Yes, Battle of the Sexes

Billy Wilder, Double Indemnity 

Last week I reviewed the film Noir Double Indemnity. I questioned whether the film gave off a battle of the sexes feel. Billy Wilder's portrayal of women was indeed a negative portrayal. Male directors of Film Noir generally portrayed women as destructive and dangerous people. Theywere careless with emotion and physically weak. That was a part of classic Film Noir. But what happens when a woman becomes the director of a Film Noir?

Ida Lupino, The Hitch Hiker 

Ida Lupino directed the 1953 Film Noir, The Hitch Hiker. As one might expect, it's the woman's turn to take a stab at men in society. In The Hitch Hiker, the three main characters are men, one of which is the murderer--unlike the female murderer in Double Indemnity. The two films contrast each other through the roles of men. Double Indemnity portrays men as capable, strong and confident. The Hitch Hiker portrays two clueless men who pick up a hitchhiker that turns out to be a psychotic and dangerous escape convict. Not to mention Lupino's husband plays a Mexican peasant in one scene. Score one for the feminists? 

After viewing the two films, both Film Noir but directed by opposite genders, I have come up with an interesting conclusion. Throughout the 1900s, there was an increasing push for gender equality and women's rights. Hollywood is one of the most influential places in America and feminists making movies was a big deal for feminists. These two films illuminate the constant battle of the sexes going on during the 1900s, all coming from the push for gender rights from feminists and the opposition from the dominant 20th century male. Not to say that this is the right answer, but gender in society could play a huge role in gender in Hollywood and in the cinema.