Vertigo Homework

How far has your wider film studies learning contributed to a better understanding and appreciation of your chosen film?

Throughout my research into Alfred Hitchcock I learned a lot about his approach to films and the different techniques that he uses of the micro elements to convey certain moods and feelings.  His perfectionist approach to scenes interested me a lot and also when I was analysing scenes in vertigo I knew everything was there for a reason.

A lot of the cinematography is very interesting in vertigo as it tries and succeeds to encourage us to view the film in two perspectives. One perspective being when we are ‘spectatators’, and one being when we ‘gaze’. When we are forced to gaze while watching the film it is when Hitchcock wants us to look at Madeline. He does this so the idea of the 'perfect woman' is reinforced through Madeline and we understand why Scottie becomes so obsessed. An example of this would be the scene in Ernie's.

The room is filled with people wearing dark clothes and having either dark hair or a hat on until the camera pans across the room to reveal a woman with bright blonde hair and a shiny green dress. The camera then proceeds to track towards her and our focus is completely on this woman – we are forced to gaze. The male gaze theory was thought up by Laura Mulvey a British Feminist film theorist who “sees the representation of women in film and literature (and therefore society in general) as being dominated by a male point of view. Her belief is that the world is a patriarchy and that men have the ‘active’ roles and women ‘passive”. Continuing with the Ernie’s scene as the camera pans it takes on the role of Scotties gaze so we are forced to emulate. We are forced because there is no alternative given. The slow track towards here also rejects the possibility from viewing Madeline any other way she now fills the frame. The non diegetic music that is played over the top in this scene connotes the passion felt by Scottie. It also alters our perception of Madeline as she is presented to us as the ‘ideal’ woman, the way Scottie sees her.

Mulvey says that the role of a woman in a narrative serves two purposes, one, they are used as an erotic object for the characters within the story and two, an erotic object for the spectators in the auditorium. This positions males as being the dominant figure in film and therefore society. If a woman does not abide by this they are punished and looked down upon.

For this film in particular this theory definitely applies. There are so many examples that back this up and also characters specific to show this. For example midge is shown high angle shots usually to visually show that Scottie is above her. She is also not wearing any revealing clothing or showing skin that would be appealing to the heterosexual male viewer and indeed Scottie. Due to this Scottie does not take an interest in her so we are not forced to ‘gaze’.

Another part of my psychoanalysis research that has helped me to understand the film more is the ‘castration complex’ Sigmund Freud said “Castration anxiety is the conscious or unconscious fear of losing all or parts of the sexual organs, or the function of them”. This can also refer to being castrated metaphorically – to have a masculine feature removed. This can refer to being degraded, dominated or made insignificant. The quest for restoration can often take the form of proving virility or sexual dominance. This is relevant to Vertigo in the opening scene where Scottie is chasing a criminal across rooftops.

At the beginning of the scene we see Scottie chasing the criminal with a policeman, immediately putting him in a dominant position as he is an authority figure. Scottie then falls and is hanging on to a house gutter for his life. The policeman then stops chasing the criminal and comes back to help him and in the process he falls to his death. Due to this Scottie develops ‘Acrophobia’ and metaphorically has a masculine feature removed as he then chooses to retire because of this and blames himself for the policeman falling trying to save him. His role in society has been stripped from him and he is now restricted effectively ‘castrating’ him.

Another part of my research was ‘Fetishism’. Fetishism is “the focusing of erotic desire on some inanimate object with sexual connotations, such as clothes, hair or particular body parts. Scottie takes the active role in Vertigo for the simple typical reason that he is a man. The male spectator fetishises female beauty as a way of defending against the anxiety brought about by the spectacle of women representing ‘lack’ of castration. Throughout Vertigo it seems that the narrative revolves around Scotties obsession to overcome this acrophobia castration and regain masculinity by ‘getting the girl’. This becomes so strong in Scottie that the thing that makes Madeline inaccessible to him, marriage does not stop him. This shown in the Ernie’s scene also as Madeline and Gavin get up to leave. Madeline walks through the door frame as Gavin trails and she is positioned so that the arches look as I she was a portrait. This is to reflect Scotties point of view and to adopt his gaze. While she does this Gavin’s face is almost completely in darkness as if he is not a factor in Scottie regaining this masculinity and getting her.

In conclusion all of my research has given me greater understanding on how and why Hitchcock conveys certain moods and how psychoanalysis is used throughout to make a more powerful film. From all of this I watch the film in a different light and see how important these concepts are to Vertigo and without them would not be one of the most technically perfect films ever made.