Hawksian woman
The "Hawksian woman" is, in film theory, a character archetype of the tough-talking woman, popularized in film by director Howard Hawks through his use of actresses such as Katharine Hepburn,[1] Ann Dvorak, Rosalind Russell,[2] and Angie Dickinson.[3] The best known Hawksian woman is probably Lauren Bacall, who iconically played the type opposite Humphrey Bogart in To Have and Have Not and The Big Sleep.[4][5]
The archetype was first identified by film critic Naomi Wise.[6]
[edit] Characteristics
The Hawksian woman is up-front in speaking her mind and keeping up with her male counterparts in witty banter as well as taking action to get what she wants personally as well as sexually, and could in many ways be seen as a post-feminist before the fact. Despite his preference for this kind of woman, Hawks never considered himself a feminist and simply stated that he thought these women were lively and interesting both in films and in life. Hawks discussed his preference for this kind of woman in some detail with Joseph McBride, taking up a full chapter of Hawks on Hawks (1982).
The Hawksian woman foregoes her feminine, yielding, servile gender identity to take leading roles – albeit on masculine terms – as denoted by being known, like the male protagonists, by nickname rather than forename.[7]
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[edit] Influence
John Carpenter, an avowed Hawks fan, includes Hawksian women in most of his movies, from Assault on Precinct 13 through his most recent Ghosts of Mars. Examples of Hawksian women in Carpenter's films include the characters played by Karen Allen in Starman and Adrienne Barbeau in The Fog and Escape from New York (the latter was also his real-life wife at the time).
In a May 2000 profile of actress Cameron Diaz in The New York Times, journalist Dave Kehr remarked that Diaz "would have fit marvelously well into the tradition of the Hawksian woman, with her sense of fun, camaraderie and forthright sexuality."[8]
[edit] References
- ^ King, Susan (August 13, 2003). "Not just pretty faces". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/2003/aug/13/entertainment/et-king13. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
- ^ Macnab, Geoffrey (January 15, 1997). "Just like a man". The Independent (Independent News & Media). http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/just-like-a-man-1283227.html. Retrieved September 2, 2009. "And the so-called "Hawksian woman", self-reliant, insolent, capable of running with the boys (Rosalind Russell in His Girl Friday or Bacall in The Big Sleep), was not so very different from a character like Brett in Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises."
- ^ King, Susan (March 12, 2009). "Howard Hawks' later films at LACMA". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/2009/mar/12/entertainment/et-hawks12. Retrieved September 2, 2009.
- ^ O'Connor, John E.; Rollins, Peter C. (2005). Hollywood's West: the American frontier in film, television, and history. University Press of Kentucky. p. 116. ISBN 0813123542, ISBN 9780813123547. http://books.google.com/?id=4pdTBKaum_UC&pg=PA116#v=onepage&q=.
- ^ Greer, Germaine (December 30, 2006). "Siren song". The Guardian (Guardian Media Group). http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2006/dec/30/film. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
- ^ Wise, Naomi (1971). "The Hawksian Woman". Take One 3 (3). Reprinted in Hillier, Jim; Wollen, Peter, eds (1996). Howard Hawks, American Artist. London: British Film Institute. ISBN 0851705928. OCLC 471592430.
- ^ Boxwell, David (May 2002). "Howard Hawks". Senses of Cinema. http://archive.sensesofcinema.com/contents/directors/02/hawks.html. Retrieved September 16, 2009.
- ^ Kehr, Dave (April 30, 2000). "SUMMER FILMS: STAR POWER; Cameron Diaz, Good Sport". The New York Times (The New York Times Company). http://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/30/movies/summer-films-star-power-cameron-diaz-good-sport.html?pagewanted=all. Retrieved September 2, 2009.
