The Nasty Woman and The Neo Femme Fatale in Contemporary Cinema

Puts forward the theoretical notion of the 'nasty woman' as a means of examining female protagonists in contemporary culture and cinema, particularly films directed by women. Piotrowska argues that in films such as Zero Dark Thirty, Red Road, Stories We Tell, and even Gone Girl the 'nastiness' of female characters creates a new space for reflection on contemporary society and its struggles against patriarchal systems