How has your study of Laura Mulvey enhanced your understanding of Vertigo?

Laure Mulvey is a feminist film theorist who wrote 'Visual pleasure and Narrative Cinema'. In her essay she states that "Our world is ordered by sexual imbalance and pleasure in looking has been split into the following; Characters that 'look at' and Characters that are 'to be looked at'." The term 'to be looked at' was coined by her and it generally refers to most female characters in film. She says that women play a 'passive' role in film whereas men play an 'active' role. Through doing so men drive the narrative and women halt it due to either needing to be saved or getting in the way of the male protagonist. She also says that the audience 'gazes' at the females through the males eyes. The term 'gaze' refers to the act of viewing a woman as a sexual object and through doing so removes any identity. 

The Male Gaze can be applied to Vertigo in most scenes featuring Madeleine. This is because she is positioned in such a way that encourages the audience to 'gaze' upon her, like Mulvey suggests. Hitchcock introduces Madeleine in the scene in Ernie's restaurant. This is because she is introduced as a passive object for the audience to gaze upon. The scene begins with a medium close-up of Scottie at the bar as he searches the room for her. The camera then tracks left towards the restaurant, mimicking his viewpoint. The camera then stops as Scottie -and the spectator- notices Madeleine. The spectator is provided with Scottie's gaze as he is drawn towards her. The camera then begins to track towards Madeleine whilst a soft, non-diegetic violin soundtrack starts to play. No cut away shot is provided as we are experiencing Madeleine through Scottie's gaze, therefore he is utterly fixated on her. It is significant the Madeleine is wearing a green dress as it connotes jealously and envy, both feelings Scottie is experiencing towards Gavin. Green also connotes the supernatural which is a theme introduced in the first half of the film but discarded when the spectator learns the truth about Gavin's plot. Madeleine's back is exposed so the spectator can gaze upon every part of her body. As Madeleine stands up the room becomes more vivid and the red on the walls becomes more vibrant. The colour red connotes passion, anger and lust; three words that are associated with Madeleine and Scottie's relationship. As Madeleine walks towards the bar she is framed within the doorway, making her appear to look like a painting. Madeleine then begins to walk past Scottie and stops. The audience receives a POV shot from Scottie as he gazes upon her. She then begins to walk out on Gavin's arm. As they turn they walk past a full length mirror which reflects their exact moves. The theme of identity is prominent in Vertigo and this shot helps to reinforce that. 

There is a stark difference between Madeleine and Midge's first scenes. Midge is not presented as a object to 'gaze' upon as her appearance unappealing. This is because she is wearing a yellow outfit which no only connotes normality but also blandness. She also has glasses which connotes imperfection, a very different representation to Madeleine. Through the use of costume and camera shots, Hitchcock removes any of Midge's femininity and positions her in a masculine role, juxtaposing Scottie who adopts the feminine role. Unlike Madeleine, the audience never receives a POV shot of Midge from Scottie. Instead she is shot in a series of high angles that look down on her. This is done to reflect Scottie's attitude to her as he doesn't see her as a viable sexual partner and instead views her as a 'mother figure'. This is also reinforced through Midge's attitude with Scottie. She is contradicting yet caring, referring to him as "Johnny Boy" and educating him on brassiere's. The 'gaze' is also withheld as the audience never receives lingering shots on her unlike Madeleine. Midge is simply seen as functional, educating both the audience and Scottie.

We can also apply the Male Gaze to most scenes featuring Judy. She is 'gazed' upon by Scottie multiple times and through doing so gives the audience the opportunity to 'gaze' upon her. She is shot a lot like Madeleine; with long, lingering shots of her body to provide both Scottie and the audience with 'sexual pleasure'. Unlike Madeline though she halts the narrative far more times. She provides a barrier to the narrative and only until Scottie reinforces his dominance on her does the narrative continue. Judy provides Scottie with a way to cure his Vertigo as the only way to get back his masculinity is to dominate a woman. This is reinforced in the bell tower scene as Scottie is only cured from his Vertigo when he asserts his dominance over Judy. 

In conclusion, I believe that the study of Laura Mulvey has enhanced my understanding of Vertigo as the film is about surviving in a patriarchal world. Through applying the Male Gaze I can see that the male characters are most definitely active and the female characters passive. Because of this, the female characters are used by the males.