Resumen de Looking like a hero: constructions of the female gun-fighter in Hollywood cinema
This paper addresses the aesthetic and semiotic issues of dress, agency and desire as they are articulated aroundthe figure of the female gun-slinger in action-driven genres. It explores the problems presented for feminist critics inrelation to the fetishisation of the action heroine, alternative readings of co-option or resistance, and the celebrationof cinematic violence. It also explores a number of narrative strategies whereby the transgressive power of thefemale gun-slinger is contained. With particular reference to Salt (Phillip Noyce 2010), it highlights issues oftransformation, performance and identity, focusing on the operation of costume as an ‘alternative discourse’ withinthe text. It considers the limitations and potential of the contemporary action heroine as an empowering femalefigure in popular culture.
