Scene Analysis

In the scene with Madeline we are introduced to Scotties obsession and desire for her which is connoted by the way the scene is shot. We start off with a shot of Scottie peering over his shoulder to get a look at her which then the shot beings to pan round the restaurant towards where she is sitting. This shot showing Scottie shows us just who we are seeing this from. As it pans round we see Madeline stand out with her blonde hair and green dress, which also connotes desire and obsession through the colour used which is green. As the shot tracks in we follow Scotties 'gaze'. We also notice that the background mise-en-scene is based around the colour red which connotes love, romance, danger and death. This tracking shot is us following Scotties gaze and as we are taking his POV we are simply not able to look away which emphasises the male gaze. As she gets up to walk towards Scottie there is a second when you is walking through the make shift door frame that Elster sort of fades out in the shadow and as madeline walks through she is seen also as a painting in the door frame, signifying a 'picture perfect' woman. As she gets closer to us and Scottie the music comes to a crescendo as we see a  close up shot of a the side of her face, a shot we see in Judy later in the film but instead as a silhouette.

In the scene with Midge, (Or Johnny-o to her) Scottie seems to feel relaxed and calm around Midge as the music is almost casual compared to the romantic music in the scene with Madeline. As Midge is working (a masculine feature) Scottie is walking round and at points in pain as he complains about his corset (a feminine feature). Midge is also not framed or shot in a particular way, she is shot in almost a plain way and a standard way of shooting a scene. The standard shot reverse shots and cuts are enough for plain old Midge.

In the clothes shop scene we see Scottie picking out a dress for Judy, in which she doesn't like. Scottie then removes her choice as he is the dominant male and leaves her with no choice but to obey. This is called Objectification, the person who is 'gazed' at are objectified (In our case is Judy). They are treated as an object whose sole values is to be enjoyed or possessed by the voyer. Objectified characters are devalued and their humanity is removed. Scottie is using Judy as an object as he sculpts her appearance to what he wants to eventually be enjoyed which end up not happening anyway. Also in the hairdressing scene we see Fetishism take place with a montage of Judy being transformed. The definition of fetishism explains that it is the focusing of erotic desire on some inanimate object with sexual connotations, such as clothes, hair or particular body parts. This montage shows us images such as her lipstick being put on, her nails being done and her hair being washed, all desires of what Scottie wants to change on Judy to what he wants, further controlling her. This attempt to recreate madeline is a response to his castration. He attempts to assert control and obtain the perfect woman in an attempt to restore his masculinity.