Analysis of Madeleine and Midge using Male Gaze Theory

Midge and Madeleine are portrayed differently, the male gaze applies to Madeleine so is desirable and shown as the ideal woman, on the other hand the male gaze theory does not apply to Midge and so she is portrayed as undesirable. 

The scene that introduces Madeleine has been cited by a few people as the best scene in cinematic history as it portrays 'love' at first sight. The scene used POV shots to construct Scotties obsession of her.

In the restaurant the walls are red which would be uncomfortable to sit in but in the film it connotes desire, the place is decked out in flowers which connotes romance. All the women are wearing dark, monotone colours, they all have dark hair or are wearing hats, on the other hand Madeleine wears a green dress and has pale, blonde hair, this makes her stand out which is only emphasised by the camera shots. When she is sat down the camera tracks towards her bare back , her costume sexualises her, this constant gaze on her connotes obsession as Scottie cannot take his eyes off her.

 The POV of when Madeleine walks towards him the lighting highlights her face and when she steps through the door way Gavin is cast in dark. She is the main focus and the framing makes her look like a picture, she is the perfect woman for Scottie and the audience gazes at her along with Scottie. Madeleine stops introit of Scottie and it is a POV, close up shot of her profile, it emphasises her portrait and she looks two dimensional, she becomes an aesthetic and is part of the scenery. The profile shot connotes how Scottie views her as the ideal woman along with the audience and Hitchcock. As she had got closer to Scotties the music had became louder and overwhelming, mirroring how Scotties is feeling. When they leave Madeleine is reflected in the mirror showing that there is more than one Madeleine as well as idealising her further. Hitchcock and Scottie, a log with the audience view her as an erotic object and so Madeleine fulfills the the two roles Mulvey writes about on the Male Gaze theory; that one, she is an erotic for the chargers and two she is and erotic object for the audience.

We first see Midge in her own apartment drawing, she wears yellow which is a neutral colour and she wears glasses. The glasses obscure her face from the audience and her overall appearance and dull, dour and bookish. 

We get wide, static shots of her body which stops our ability to 'gaze' at her as no specific feature is given focus. There are no POV shots from Scottie as he does not see her as an erotic object so by extension neither do the audience. The only close up we get of Midge is when they talk of their engagement, however, her glasses stop the audience from truly being able to see her face.The shot is high angle which is interesting as Madeleine is never shot in that way, it also portrays how Scottie sees Midge as being lower that his standards. Midge takes on the masculine role in this scene as she works as Scottie complains about his corset, she babies him and emasculates him. The camera is stylised in Ernies however in Midges apartment it is not.