SSC Film Studies

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

Laura Mulvey is a British feminist theories who came up with the theory of the Male Gaze with 'Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema.' Mulvey states that our world is ordered by sexual imbalance and pleasure in looking and this has been split into the characters that gaze at others who are seen as as the active male characters and the characters that are to be gazed at that are the passive female characters, and therefore under the control of the male gaze. As a result of this the male gazer projects his fantasy onto the female form, which are styled according to their tastes. This is directly seen with the filmmaker Hitchcock, whom is described to be very controlling with his female actresses who he has worked with; the main case being with the actress Kim Novak who's career he is believed to have ruined. Due, to this the spectator is allowed to see the dominant ideology of the director Hitchcock forced into the film.

 From the beginning of the film male dominance is seen; the fact that the first face we see is a woman's but James Stewarts face is imprinted over her, shows the spectator the first theme of control and shows the male dominance. The use of extreme close ups of Madeleines face, shown in a series of different sections and not as a full person, straightaway introduces her as object; denying her of her own identity another key theme in Vertigo. Here, the spectator is forced the opportunity to gaze at Madeleine preparing us to gaze at her as an object for the rest of the film. Her switching gaze tells the spectator how she is uncomfortable with the close scrutiny of her personal space. This opening scene of the examination of the characters physical appearance introduces the theme of integral.

Mulvey argues that throughout the film the spectator is constantly switching between the role of the spectator and the role of the gazer, and this can be seen in the scene of Madeleine in Ernie's. The scene begins with Scottie in a medium close up. The camera then tracks right, copying Scotties gaze as he scans in the room in search for Madeleine. Once Scottie catches his eye upon on Madeleine the Scottie and the spectator are drawn towards her establishing a visual link between them; the violins begin at this point encouraging the spectator to view her more so as the ideal woman. The fact that everyone else in the room is dressed in drag and dark clothing, makes Madeleine stand out even more. The fact she's wearing a green dress, connotes both her ethereal and haunting nature as well as the jealous and envy she portrays between the two male characters. Her back is also exposed to Scottie and the Spectator allowing her to be objectified as an erotic object to both the male characters and the spectator as we cat help but gaze at her; she is completely unique and attention is automatically drawn to her, to be shown as 'to- be- looked- at- ness.' As her and Gavin are leaving Scottie straights his back up as a way to feel more masculine in front of her.  Once framed in the doorway she idealises a panting, she is therefore idealised by Scottie in this shot of her, as the red behind her literally becomes more vibrant as she passes by, foreshadowing the lust and danger she brings to the film. In this scene Scottie catches the eye of Madeleine and comes on to take the role of the gazer.

With the character of Midge, she acts as a counter point to Madeleine as she enforces Madeleines beauty as well as Scotties obsession for her. In the beginning of the scene, the camerawork isn't stylised and therefore the spectator isn't able to gaze at Midge in the same we are forced to gaze at Madeleine; Midge in this scene is shot in lots of high angle shot looking down on her, connoting that Scottie sees her as a lower status and someone that isn't good enough for him, due to the fact the spectator is forced to see this from Scotties POV we share this view. The use of close ups on Midge's face, show her as being an unappealing partner and no longer a love interest for Scottie; her glasses make her significantly less attractive as he face is bland. Midge typically portrays a masculine character; as she moves along the narrative with Scottie and his fear, in this scene she is also working while Scottie complains about wearing a corset a typically female item of clothing, while Midge portrays the masculine role.

Another scene, in which the male gaze can be seen is the Judy; here scophillia (the love of watching) and the gaze are key themes. The main character in vertigo is a detective whom watches others without their knowledge, while the other main character is an actress whose role is to be watched. In this scene, we literally have to watch Scottie wait for Judy to exit row bathroom we then are rewarded as we are forced to gaze at Judy as she becomes into the character of Madeleine. Therefore there is an imbalance in the visual and structure of the film. The fact that Judy never progresses the narrative of her own free will, connotes how completely passive she is as she literally slows down the narrative and Scottie masculitnity.

To conclude, vertigo has definitely enhanced my understanding of Laura Mulvey's theory, as i am now able to make a clear distinction between female and male characters. How the male characters are typically active and make things happen within the narrative, whereas the female characters are typically passive and slow down the narrative and have things done to them.