I Want That Mink!

One of film noir’s prominent features, if not a necessity, is of course the femme fatale . As well as being an intelligent and powerful woman who inevitably leads men to destruction, she is often after money. But what this cold-blooded and greedy creature really wants is for money to be seen, and so she embellishes herself with glittering jewelry, luxurious dresses and designer hats. In her talk Petra Dominkova will argue that one garment in particular was singled out in film noir as an ultimate symbol of luxury, imbued with ominous importance as a burdensome object of desire – the mink coat. Petra Dominkova is Lecturer in Eastern European Cinema at East and Central European Studies, Charles University, Prague. She is also a PhD candidate in film studies.