Archetype or Stereotype: The Femme Fatale in Online Education

Abstract

Creative writing courses have flourished in recent years. However, the accuracy of the content of some courses has yet to be examined. Character archetypes are an unavoidable topic in most courses requiring character creation. We found that some online creative courses include characters whose character archetypes are debatable. For example, the Femme Fatale is often considered a character archetype, but some scholars believe it is a stereotype bias. While the use of character archetypes and stereotypes in creative work is a matter of personal freedom, it is inappropriate to educationally disseminate content that is still controversial in the academic community. This study explores the history and reasons for the generalization of the Femme Fatale, the differences between the Femme Fatale and other character archetypes, and derives three reasons why the Femme Fatale is inappropriate as a creative work. This study is intended to call attention to the rigor of the content of online creative writing courses.