The Falcon and Feminine Figures:
For this week’s scene analysis, I chose the scene where Sam Spade confronts both Brigid and Joel in his apartment at 36:23:
I was first struck by the perspective of the camera and how this choice impacts our understanding of Sam Spade and film noir leads in general. The camera is placed behind Sam Spade, such that we cannot see his face and expressions. Instead, this implies that we are in the same position as Sam, uncovering the mystery of the Maltese Falcon as he is. Furthermore, he is placed in between Brigid and Joel, seemingly debating who to trust or believe. The two villains are portrayed as choices on opposite sides of the screen, showing us that Sam must choose between the two characters.
Brigid is sitting on the wide arm chair on the left, seemingly relaxed but there is unmistakable tension in her shoulders. Her posture hints that she is uncomfortable, her gaze flits guardedly between Joel and Sam. Opposite her is Joel, who is instead standing and smoking. Behind him, his shadow appears on the wall. At first, he is the only character who is doubled, whose criminal nature is revealed by the darkness projected by the lights. Then, as Brigid stands to hit him, her shadow also rises- thus also foreshadowing the same criminal nature and her involvement with Miles’ murder.
It is interesting to note the gender implications of the scene, where two of the most feminized characters are pitted against each other. Joel represents a ‘Middle Eastern’ masculinity, which is diminished by Sam Spades ‘American’ masculinity while Brigid is a classic American beauty or ‘knockout.’ I’m curious as to what their confrontation means, and what this scene implies for generalized gender norms. Brigid stands taller and slaps Joel- does this imply that American women are more socially dominant than non-American men? Furthermore, it doesn’t seem to matter who ‘won’ or ‘lost’ the fight, it is only Sam’s decision that defends Brigid and throws Joel to the police. Regardless of the fight’s outcome, Sam has the most power as the embodiment of American masculinity and its implicit power.