SSC Film Studies

Explore some of the ways in which you have gained fresh insights into your chosen film as a result of applying Laura Mulvey's 'Male Gaze' theory. 

In Vertigo it could be argued that Scottie does not conform to the typical 'active' role of the male and is an fact passive as he is unaware of Gavin's plan. Gavin is the main active role who drives the narrative therefore he takes the most masculine role in Vertigo. Although Scottie may not always be active in the narrative he is the bearer of the gaze. We see Madeleine through his eyes as we adopt his point of view. Mulvey states that our world is ordered by sexual imbalance and pleasure in looking has been split by the following; characters that look at (gaze) are seen as active. Characters that are 'to be looked at' are passive and under the control of the male gazer.
 
There is consistent use of point of view shots from Scottie to Madeleine, ultimately reducing Madeleine to the object of the gaze. As a spectator we stop and gaze at her when Scottie does, making Madeleine appear as a passive character. However, when viewing the film a second time we realise Madeleine is aware of Scottie watching her and she is luring him in. Therefore although the male gaze represents the control of the male character over the female, it can be argued that Madeleine is the one who is control.

When Scottie first sees Madeleine in Ernie's there is a close up shot of Scottie positioning us with him. Then we again see her through Scottie's point of view. She is presented as an erotic object as at first we only see her back due to her backless dress. Her dress is green which connotes obsession and is perhaps prefiguring Scottie's path of obsession. The other people in Ernie's are dressed in black and grey making Madeline stand out. Madeleine is young and attractive and the red walls in the restaurant further adds to her desirability. The camera move follows Scottie's gaze, which is a visual signifier of his lust, he is literally being drawn to her.  Diegetic sound is removed and replaced with romantic music to perhaps emphasise how overwhelmed Scottie feels. This also alters our perception of her as we can only view her the way Scottie views her. Mulvey would argue that Madeleine's role is to be looked at by Scottie the male gazer.

Scopophilia and the male gaze are key themes in Vertigo, Madeleines role is to be watched by Scottie. During the sequence where Scottie is following Madeleine all shots are point of view. Romantic non-diegetic sound plays during this sequence which could suggest Scottie's passion and his loss of reality. When Kim Novak is Judy the sequence lacks point of view shots from Scottie, thus there is no male gaze. Scottie regains his masculinity as he becomes more active like by stopping her from leaving. Although Judy resists Scottie at first, which only slows the narrative,  she eventually agrees to change her appearance to suit his desires. There is a montage of her nails, hair and make-up being applied. This literally breaks her up into objects so we're discouraged to view her as a person. Thus it is reinforced that Scottie's fantasy is being projected onto Judy, just as Hitchcock projected his ideal woman onto Kim Novak.

However, when Novak is once again Madeleine the point of view from Scottie returns and so does the male gaze. The green lighting makes it seem as though Madeleine has been brought back from the dead. Hitchcock exaggerates the romantic kiss between Scottie and Madeleine perhaps to emphasise Scottie's happiness.