In terms of spectatorship, Vertigo by Hitchcock (1958) is different from many other movies by male directors. To some extent, male spectatorship in Vertigo involves the departure from the tradition of glorifying masculinity and the presence of fascination with femininity (Thomas, 1989, p. 41). The discussed movie tells a story about love and obsession with a mysterious woman from the position of a male character. In some scenes after the death of Madeleine, Scottys attempts to find this perfect woman in another person are depicted in a detailed and expressive way (Hitchcock, 1958). Madeleine and Judy that turn out to be the same person possess conventional attractiveness, and an emphasis is placed on the ways of how their behaviors affect Scotty and his mental condition.
Main body
Male spectatorship might affect the way that female characters are perceived by impacting the degree to which the viewer identifies with them. As Keane (1986) highlights, despite being possessing, brandishing, and relishing a position of active power, Scotty suffers throughout the movie (p. 236). In the scene at Muir Woods, Madeleine demonstrates her suicidal and depressive thoughts to Scottie without considering the effect that her words might have on him (Hitchcock, 1958). Because of male spectatorship, the viewer might see Madeleines behaviors as the reason for Scotties suffering, thus creating a desire to blame her.
Scotty possesses a range of psychological traits that are typical for men, such as the desire to control the situation, but his behavior resembles the feminine one from time to time. For instance, when exploring his fear of heights with Midge Wood, he suddenly faints and resembles a damsel in distress that is vulnerable and needs a supportive person nearby (Hitchcock, 1958). Scotty does not necessarily understand his weaknesses as feminine qualities, but he tries to respond to his flaws by inventing some rather unsuccessful ways to overcome the fear. His unsuccessful attempts to rationalize the fear enable Midge to demonstrate her best qualities, including compassion and carefulness. As for Judy, Scotties poor responses to his overwhelming fear work in her favor and enable her to play Madeleines role perfectly.
Due to an ongoing trend for male characters to be softer and depart from aggressive masculinity, if the film was contemporary, Scotty would be unlikely to claim to be emasculated by Judys behaviors. In the movie, Judys good acting skills and the resulting wholeness of Madeleines image make Scottie vulnerable to the living representation of his dream (Hitchcock, 1958). In many contemporary films about love, there is a tendency to depict male characters vulnerability and openness in relationships as the unobvious side of their strength, and softer masculinity is increasingly popular among women.
A final shift in the films point of view can be seen in the closing scene when Scottie brings Judy to the crime scene. Prior to that, Scottie used to be a victim of others manipulations and lies and suffered because of his obsession with something that never existed (Hitchcock, 1958). In the final scene, his assertiveness and determination to finish what he has started are indicative of his ability to regain strength after being deeply traumatized and stop being in a passive position.
As for me, Hitchcock waits to inform the audience of Mr. Elsters plan to kill his wife in order to emphasize Judys wonderful acting skills. The viewer discovers that Judy has played Madeleine as part of a murder plan after Scottie meets Judy. The difference between Judy as Madeleine and Judy as herself is tremendous, including appearance, speaking style, and intonation patterns. The viewers sudden discovery that they are the same person allows making the audience fascinated by Judys self-possession that helps her to keep her secret safe.
Scopophilia is understood as the tendency to feel sexual pleasure due to looking at another person and may find reflection in objectification (Keane, 1986). To me, the claims of Modleski and Mulvey regarding Scotties scopophilia have credibility and sound well-supported since Scotties fixation on Madeleines looks is shown in multiple scenes. First of all, Scottie falls in love with Judy as Madeleine after saving the womans life and seeing her naked (Hitchcock, 1958). Next, after being convinced that Madeleine is dead, he starts seeing her features in other women instead of, for instance, focusing on thinking about the things that she loved. Finally, Scotties attempts to make Judy recreate Madeleines looks imply that he might have mistaken the pleasure of enjoying that womans beauty for real love.
Conclusion
Finally, if Vertigo was a modern film, Hitchcock would probably be considered misogynistic toward women for telling the story from the perspective of a man that falls in love with beauty. Even though Hitchcocks female characters are allowed to be rational and intelligent, an emphasis is often placed on Judys appearance and attractive looks. After realizing her feelings, Judy changes herself to deserve Scotties love and approval, which does not align with the feminist ideals of women. Also, the scenes where Scottie follows women would probably cause criticism since the director does not depict such behaviors as something obviously negative.
References
Hitchcock, A. J. (1958). Vertigo [Film]. Alfred J. Hitchcock Productions.
Keane, M. E. (1986). A closer look at scopophilia: Mulvey, Hitchcock, and Vertigo. In M. Deutelbaum & L. A. Poague (Eds.), A Hitchcock reader (pp. 231-248). Iowa State University Press.
Thomas, P. (1989). Review: [Untitled]. Film Quarterly, 42(4), 40-42.
The film and fashion industries are two industries that compensate each other perfectly well. What we see in the movies, everyone tries to make it fashionable in their own lives. Likewise, what is currently coming out of the fashion industry makes little appeal if it is not available at the box office.
Due to this interrelationship of fashion and cinema, it is necessary to investigate issues that underlie the industries. To understand these issues I shall look back at the 50s and 60s with a special analysis of the works of Alfred Hitchcock. In this analysis, I will try to investigate the issue of stereotypes with special reference to the rear window and to catch a thief.
Sir Alfred Hitchcock is accredited as having been one of the worlds best film produces. He started his career in the United Kingdom although he later moved on to Hollywood, united states. While here, he directed movies mainly for paramount pictures and sometimes universal pictures.
Just like in many other industries or professions, the fashion and film industries do not lack their fine share of stereotyping. Stereotypes may be either positive or negative. In addition, some are inaccurate while others are accurate. This is because it depends on peoples imaginations. The fashion, clothing, and cinema industries are viewed by many to be involved with celebrity persons although it is not once or twice that we have seen leaders in those industries claim that they are not celebrities of any kind. It is just their profession, or so they claim.
Voyeurism is defined as a form of practice in which certain individuals derive sexual pleasures from observing other peoples activities. The people observed may be engaging in sexual acts, nude, or are scantily dressed. These sexual pleasures derived by the voyeurs have sometimes been represented as a form of illness. The term can also be used to describe or refer to a person who derives satisfaction or enjoyment from watching other peoples misfortunes.
Introduction
Definition
Stereotypes are social generalizations about certain individuals, groups of persons, professional bodies, or races. Unfortunately, stereotypes have widely been used to spread discriminatory utterances, vigilante violence amongst other social vices.
Voyeurism has been described as a disorder of sexual arousal. Among the indicating factors of voyeuristic disorder, include having intense sexual behaviors, desires, or fantasies for at least 6 months repeatedly. These usually arise after watching, listening to, or visualizing naked people, couples having sex, or disrobing. The disorder has been found to have some negative effects including work impairment, continuous distress amongst other factors.
The disorder may become chronic if it is exercised from an early age may be fifteen and then it is practiced as the sole sexual satisfaction means for the involved couple.
In his roles as director, Alfred Hitchcock is believed to have included some themes that contained some stereotypical messages and graphics about fashionable women. In a common setting, women are supposed to reflect a societys culture, interests, respect amongst themselves as well as for others. As thus, fashionable women are supposed to encompass all this when it comes to displaying them in cinemas and fashion shows since they are supposed to act as fashion guides within the field of the audience.
This representation is quite different as compared to the Victorian fashion, although there are instances where Kelly and Jeffreys nurse in the movie the rear window are represented wearing clothes similar to those of the Victorian era.
Alfred Hitchcock was born and brought up in London, England. He had a very lonely childhood. Regardless of this fact, he grew up to one of the worlds greatest movie producers and directors, directing over fifty movies before his death in 1980. He directed his first movie in 1925 the pleasure garden.
Gender stereotyping
Themes
In most of his movies, Alfred Hitchcock has been shown to favor the concept of stereotyping women. Most of his movies are claimed to have had some taboo behaviors. Among these themes that have been highly analyzed include the following.
Sexuality
Many of Hitchcocks movies are claimed to be highly sexualized. For example, although the movie the rear window does contain the theme of suspense it contains the theme of voyeurism as well. The story depicts the love lives of two different sets of people. It explores the lives of these people from the perspective of Jeffreys room. The movie revolves around the life of Jeff and his binoculars that he uses to spy on his neighbors. The sexual connotation o this movie is also illustrated through the use of the background music that is played in the entire length of the movie. The movie to catch a thief also explores a sexual line as Robbie the cat is traumatized by sexual advances from Gracie. Although the cat initially resists the advances, the stress becomes so huge that he bows down at last and concedes to her declaration of love.
Sometimes, the prudish conventions of his time made him express sexuality in some form of emblematic fashion. This is for example represented in the movie North by Northwest. This is represented when the film cuts hurriedly from a scene of two aroused but still visually unsullied lovers to a scene of a train entering a tunnel. Hitchcock as a director and producer devised several channels of conveying sexuality without having to use disappointing graphic behaviors.
Some of these ways included the substitution of overt sexual obsession with passionate eating of food. In a certain scene from Psycho, Perkins carries on a conversation with Janet while at the same time one of his hands is busy stroking a dead animal while the other hand explores his crotch. In this case, Sexual feelings are strongly associated with violent behavior.
The use of blonde women
Hitchcock expands his theme of voyeurism with the use of blonde women in place of brown-haired women. In his defense for using blonde-haired women, Alfred argued that the audience would be more suspicious if he was to use brown-haired women. Surprisingly most of these blonde-haired women many reviewers have claimed that were of the grace Kelly variety perfect and aloof. These are the kind of superstars to make many people go voyeuristic. In addition, Hitchcock claimed that he used blonde women not because he felt voyeuristic for them or had any feelings for them but due to the reason that it was a tradition, he had inherited having been started by Mary pick ford.
Comparison with other movies
Alfreds movies have been shown to have been shot during a time after the Second World War. During this time, women are shown to have been, only interested in realizing the tender love that had been absent during the period of the war. As compared to other movies and their themes, there is a big contrast. For example Wal-Mart-the high cost of low living . According to the director (Robert Greenward) of the movie Wal-Mart the high cost of low prices, the point he was trying to pass across is that not all that glitters is gold. This is because consumers of Wal-Mart products are some of the most satisfied. This is because they get the best goods, services, and even in some cases the best after-sales services. However, what is hidden from the ordinary eye are the processes that are involved in bringing about these products as near to them as possible. The director wanted the people to see and hear for themselves firsthand how the operations of Wal-Mart do even affect their lives indirectly in a negative manner.
If we were to compare Hitchcocks movies with another love movie like Harold and Maude, you realize that their themes are quite different. Harold and Maude was a movie directed by Ashby in 1971, it was based on the works of Colin Higgins. It is a movie with mixed themes of suicide, neglect, life, and death. It can be classified as a love drama as it is both Dramatical in its setting with a main theme of love. It explores social Paradigms on the different views of different persons in society. The storyline is about a young man named Harold, who shares a sour relationship with his rich mother (Mrs. Chasen), who seems obsessed with the idea of match-fixing Harold with blind dates. On the other hand, Harold is not interested in these blind dates and ends up faking suicide to scare them away. In addition, Harold is obsessed with death and funerals and happens to attend strange funerals for fun. In the process of attending these funerals, Harold meets Maude an elderly ex-concentration camp woman. The main theme is fixed on Harold who befriends the 79-year-old woman named Maude. Harold lived in a big mansion with his mother where he attempts mock suicides and also attends funerals for people he did not know, he finally meets Maude the old woman and they become friends.
To avoid gender stereotyping
Gender stereotyping has been one of the many ways that certain groups of persons are discriminated against. To understand this we must apply the Intersectionality theory to avoid negative and inaccurate gender stereotyping. According to Crenshaw, Intersectionality holds that distinct forms, or terms, of oppression do shape, and are likewise shaped by each other. Intersectionality thus suggests that to understand the racialization of certain oppressed groups in the United States, a person should seek to investigate and or examine ways through which social processes, racializing structures, in addition to social representations are shaped by class, sexuality, and gender, amongst other factors. Likewise, according to color feminists, the major contributors to the theory of Intersectionality theory, experiences of sexuality, class, and gender, cannot be sufficiently understood except if influences of racialization are cautiously considered and examined.
Intersectionality is a tool for analysis, advocacy and policy development that addresses multiple discriminations and helps us understand how different sets of identities impact on access to rights and opportunities (Crenshaw, 2000).
Using the Intersectionality theory Crenshaw has identified that the issue of national identity usually comes up especially in gender issues involving women of color in the United States. As a result, many womens groups have sprung up in defense of their rights and in support of efforts to eliminate discrimination.
Conclusion
Gender stereotyping is not limited to the fashion and cinema industries. Stereotyping has been very rife even in education centers as well as workplaces. For example, Institutional racism or discrimination is not foreign to American culture. African Americans have been on the receiving end and they have been highly affected by it. From this perspective, many African Americans have faced many occupational and educational disadvantages due to ingrained stereotypical views that are still deeply rooted in the American society like blacks are inherently criminals. This has denied many African Americans many privileges enjoyed by other races like good education, the best occupations as well as a just legal structure.
Voyeurism has been described as a disorder of sexual arousal. Among the indicating factors of voyeuristic disorder, include having intense sexual behaviors, desires, or fantasies for at least 6 months repeatedly. These usually arise after watching, listening to, or visualizing naked people, couples having sex, or disrobing. The disorder has been found to have some negative effects including work impairment, continuous distress amongst other factors.
The disorder may become chronic if it is exercised from an early age may be fifteen and then it is practiced as the sole sexual satisfaction means for the involved couple.
References
Ron, Langevin 1983, Sexual Strands: Understanding and Treating Sexual Anomalies in Men, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
McGilligan, Patrick 2003, Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light, Regan Books.
Thrillers and eggs are equally terrifying… Actually, according to one specific person, eggs are even more frightening. The Master of Suspense, also known as Sir Alfred Hitchcock, may be frightened of eggs, but he is famously known for his thrillers, such as ‘Psycho’ (1960), ‘Rear Window’ (1954) and ‘Vertigo’ (1958). The purpose of this essay is to present some of his work, visions and style, and outline how Hitchcock changed the world cinema with his art.
History
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock was an English director and filmmaker born on August 13th, 1899. Hitchcock was nicknamed the ‘Master of Suspense’ for employing a kind of psychological suspense in his films, producing a distinct viewer experience (Biography, 2019).
Before becoming a notorious director, Hitchcock enrolled at the University of London in 1916, where he took drawing and design classes, and those skills helped him get a position as a title card designer in 1920. Years later, in 1940, Alfred moved to Hollywood, where he was hired to direct an adaptation of ‘Rebecca’; the film won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and Hitchcock earned his first Academy Award nomination for Best Director (Barson, 2020).
According to Purtell (1993), Hitchcock’s style was influenced by other directors, such as Luis Bunuel, Sergei Eisenstein, Henri-Georges Clouzot and Michelangelo Antonioni; the director is often seen as an influence and it’s possible to see it in ‘The Lord of the Rings’ (2001-2003) and ‘Titanic’ (1997), with the ‘MacGuffin, and ‘Jaws’ (1975) and ‘E.T.’ (1982) with the dolly zoom technique (Ursell, 2016).
Director’s Vision and Style
The first films in history were silent and counted solely on the director’s ability to tell the story visually. As mentioned above in Hitchcock’s history, the director started his career in the film industry as a title card designer, required for the films back then. Because of that, Hitchcock continued to believe in cinema as a visual medium and that dialogues and sound should remain secondary to the image in telling the story (Duguid, 2014). With that in mind, it is possible to say that one of the most used techniques of Hitchcock is the montage. The director, relying on images to tell a story, uses the sequence of shots to show the audience what they need to know. Besides the famous shower scene in ‘Psycho’ (1960), the final scene with Norman Bates at the mental institution shows Norman, but the audience hears his mother’s voice, showing us that this personality took over Norman’s and was now in control. Pairing the image to what Norma says, we find out (or at least we can assume) that Norman was the one with mental problems and Norma was innocent: she wasn’t even capable of hurting a fly. Seconds go by and there is a close-up in Norman’s face with a deranged smile. Hitchcock also counted on mise-en-scène (described by Moura (2014) as the arrangement of everything that appears in the framing) to tell the story. In ‘Psycho’ (1960), for example, the taxidermied birds are part of the story and Norman even compares his mom to one of the birds, saying she’s “as harmless as one of those stuffed birds”, and later the audience learns that his mom is dead.
Birds are, in fact, part of Hitchcock’s style. According to Tallon (2017), the director uses birds to artfully foreshadow events and reveal deeper truths about characters. Not only part of ‘Psycho’ (1960), birds are also in Hitchcock’s ‘Young and Innocent’ (1937), ‘Vertigo’ (1958) and, obviously, ‘The Birds’ (1963).
Significance
As mentioned before, Hitchcock believed that the image should tell the story rather than the dialogue or sound effects and, because of that, he developed some techniques to make the story flow and deliver the feelings he wanted to, which became his own way to produce films and came out to be his legacy to the film industry.
In ‘Psycho’ (1960), for example, during the scene where Marion Crane (portrayed by Janet Leigh) is stabbed in the shower, the act of killing is not explicit. What we see, however, is a silhouette holding a knife which makes Marion scream (with a close-up on her mouth); when Hitchcock opens the shot again, it’s possible to see the silhouette move its arm to stab Marion and the latter tries to fight, with no success. After a few seconds, the director shows us the bathtub with a mix of water from the shower and blood, announcing that the character is dying.
Still following the idea that the image is telling a story to the viewer, another technique used by Hitchcock is, as the director named it, the MacGuffin. This specific characteristic is described by Hitchcock himself, according to Duguid (2014): “The device, the gimmick, if you will, or the papers the spies are after… The only thing that really matters is that in the picture the plans, documents or secrets must seem to be of vital importance to the characters. To me, the narrator, they’re of no importance whatsoever”. In Psycho (1960), the MacGuffin would be considered the money, Marion stole from her employer; while the money is of no importance to the narrator, or to us, the viewers, it is highly important to the character to the point where she even tries to hide it inside a newspaper. The MacGuffin can be seen in other recent films, as mentioned before, such as ’Titanic’ (1997) and ’The Lord of the Rings’ (2001-2003). In ‘Titanic’, the MacGuffin is the ‘Heart of the Ocean’, whereas in ‘The Lord of the Rings’, it is the One Ring.
And moving forward to a more ‘technical’ style by Hitchcock that is famously known, there is the ‘vertigo effect’ (also known as the dolly zoom and the Hitchcock shot). The effect originated in Hitchcock’s ‘Vertigo’ (1958) and, according to McCullagh (2018), can be explained as zooming in while dollying out, or the other way around, while focusing on a single point in space.
Conclusion
Whether you like thrillers or not, it is important to acknowledge the fact that Hitchcock’s ideas and style are still present in recent films more than we think. It could be a small detail that has the whole plot revolving around it, it could be a technical style, or it could be the way the images tell the story more than the dialogue and sound effects. Hitchcock brought his ideas to life and influenced many directors around the world with his unique style, as well as his personality. And even though people think cinema is just memorizing lines and filming (telling a story while you do it), it is more than that. Cinema comes with history behind the story; with a legacy never told; with people inspiring people. Cinema is, after all, art.
References
Barson, M. (2020, March 13). Alfred Hitchcock. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alfred-Hitchcock
Biography. (2019, October 22). Alfred Hitchcock. Retrieved from https://www.biography.com/filmmaker/alfred-hitchcock
Duguid, M. (2014). Hitchcock’s Style. Screenonline. Retrieved from http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tours/hitch/tour1.html
McCullagh, J. F. (2018, December 13). The Cinematic Power of Hitchcock’s Dolly Zoom Technique. The Beat. Retrieved from https://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/hitchcocks-dolly-zoom-filmmaking-technique/
Moura, G. (2014, July 1). Mise-en-scène. The Elements of Cinema. Retrieved from http://www.elementsofcinema.com/directing/mise-en-scene-in-films/
Purtell, T. (1993, January 15). Who Inspired Alfred Hitchcock? Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved from https://ew.com/article/1993/01/15/who-inspired-alfred-hitchcock/
Thallon, C. (2017, June 19). ’Psycho’ Birds. Medium. Retrieved from https://medium.com/@carterthallon/psycho-birds-2e6b36afca5e
Ursell, J. (2016, August 10). The Phenomenal Influence and Legacy of Alfred Hitchcock. Into Film. Retrieved from https://www.intofilm.org/news-and-views/articles/hitchcock-feature
One of Sarris’ three premises that make Alfred Hitchcock one of the most well-known auteurs and gives him a distinct style of film from other directors is his technical competence; with usage of mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing, and sound. Beginning the list, Hitchcock uses woman who are almost always blonde. For example, Marion Crane (‘Psycho’, 1960), Melanie Daniels (‘The Birds’, 1963), and Lisa Carol Fremont (‘Rear Window’, 1954). Hitchcock stated that he had a preference for blondes as they were less suspicious than brunettes. He saw them as being more innocent. When a blonde did something deceitful or untruthful, it’s a greater shock then when a brunette did the same. Other elements Hitchcock uses in his mise-en-scene include staircases. Staircases would be signified having a foreboding look to them. Examples would include staircases in ‘Psycho’, ‘Vertigo’ (1958), and ‘Strangers on a Train’ (1951). Hitchcock would as well shoot shots including the reflection of the actors in the scene quite often in his films. Another large element of mise-en-scene Hitchcock incorporated was birds. He used birds quite often as it symbolized terror and fear in his films. In ‘Psycho’, birds are found behind Norman Bates, he has stuffed birds around his house, birds overlook the town of phoenix, Arizona, and Bates says to Marion “you eat like a bird”. In the film ‘The Birds’, the symbolism of birds should be fairly obvious to the point of no explanation. Finally, another element we see in Hitchcock’s mise-en-scene are that objects often embody some kind of visual representation. For example, in ‘Psycho’, the shower symbolizes entrapment. Same can be said for the phone booth in ‘The Birds’.
Elements that are part of the technical camera include POV-shots, which were largely used by Hitchcock as it provoked voyeurism. This could be seen in the film ‘Rear Window’ and ‘Psycho’, when Norman would watch Marion. Technical elements with the camera also included the Hitchcock rule, where the size of the object in the frame should be equal to the importance in the story at that moment. Hitchcock also incorporates establishing shots of landscapes at the beginning of his films. He masters the way of establishing an area such as San-Francisco in ‘The Birds’, Phoenix in ‘Psycho’, and London in ‘Frenzy’ (1972). Technical elements of editing include several POV-shots which relate to the Kuleshov effect, which is a mental study where the audience establishes a connection between multiple shots. Hitchcock uses parallel editing to show relation between characters. Such as the film ‘Strangers on a Train’, where even though the characters may be far apart from each other, their relationship and the indecisiveness between the two storylines make them feel as if they are very close to each other, almost as if they’re in the same shot. This back-and-forth transition between the two create a flow for the storytelling and narrative. Parallel editing is also used to show an element of balance between good and evil, which can be portrayed towards the cast in ‘Strangers on a Train’.
Technical elements of sound would include Hitchcock’s favorite use of silence. In ‘The Birds’, before the major attack, the birds are all silent, slowly gathering on the playground. In ‘Psycho’, Norman watches at the beginning of the shower scene with ambient sound, and in ‘Frenzy’, the breaking of the girl’s fingers is accommodated with silence, then the sound of snapping fingers. Another element of sound Hitchcock uses is dialogue. Hitchcock believed it’s not necessarily important by what the actors say, it’s about what’s being seen on screen and the interactions between actors; that is mastering the visual element. It’s one reason why Andrew Sarris contributes to the argument that Hitchcock is one of the most technically advanced people in all of cinema.
The second of Sarris’ premises that make Alfred Hitchcock a well-known auteur is his personality. Hitchcock would often reflect his own personal life into his films and have recurrent characteristics in his films relating to his expressions. The personalities of American directors have been stereotyped and forced to show scenes visually instead through literary due to censorship. For example, a sexual scene would have strict regulations and would have to instead be indicated by the after scenes such as a couple lying in bed smoking a cigarette. Which leads American directors to develop an abstract way to overcome obstacles, which Hitchcock would find creative ways to interpret a scene without losing the meaning towards it. As well Hitchcock would often have parallel comparisons between characters. Sometimes the wrong character is accused such as Guy Haines in ‘Strangers on a Train’. Another aspect of Hitchcock’s decisions would be the view towards the police in his films. He would consider the police to be incompetent, unable to do anything about the bird attack, or even denying the truth towards psycho Norman Bates. He would also decide to make women trap the male figures, then the woman would fall into distress and need the help. For example, Marion Crane had a sexual control over Norman Bates, then later on, she needed to be saved by her sister and her boyfriend. Same could be said for Norman Bates, who was trapped by his mother. And as well Melanie Daniels who gets trapped by the birds and needs to be saved. It’s a recurring theme that women are trapping the male then getting themselves into trouble and having to be saved in Hitchcock’s films. And lastly, a common decision made by Hitchcock was to have the transference of guilt, such as the transference of guilt from Norman Bates’ mother onto him. The ability for Hitchcock to relay his opinions and decisions into his films credited him as being the author of his films, thus an auteur.
The third of Sarris’ premises that considers Alfred Hitchcock to be an auteur is his interior meaning in his works. Interior meaning deals with elevating cinema from a low art form to a high art form. One of the reasons towards the auteur theory is that cinema was often seen as a low art form. It was a commercial art form and was believed as not true art. So how was cinema lifted from being formed commercially into a high art form? That was changed when tension was added between a director’s personality and his material. A director has a distinct kind of attitude towards the meaning of cinema. By seeing this attitude, by creating this meaning, we can create a higher element of art. This can be seen through the technical level and the personality and style of the director on screen, which transfers meaning into the film. This is one thing that Pauline Kael had completely gone against when she would rebuttal towards the auteur theory. She believed that meaning was being made up just for the sake of meaning in a film. But looking at Richard Maltby in Hollywood cinema, he stated that “what permits the endless variety of meaning to be generated from a film are in large part the critical practices themselves”. Even though the director may not have intended any sort of meaning, it is the responsibility of the viewers, critiques, and theorists, to uncover the meaning.
Let’s take a look at interior meaning in Hitchcock’s work, mainly considering around voyeurism. Voyeurism itself can be attributed to cinema; crowds of people gathered in a dark room, or even one person watching a movie alone, the actual viewing experience may very well be a voyeuristic activity in its own nature. You are watching people on screen in their everyday lives and they cannot see you, so it implies a sort of pleasure in the audience watching the events of others unfold. This voyeuristic element even goes further into giving the audience power. By being voyeuristic, it gives the sense of power. By having that power, you can tame and repress sexuality in film. This is why certain people feel dirty or uneasy after watching a Hitchcock film. This topic has always engaged Hitchcock and therefore leaks into many angles of his films. This common theme is not only a reemerging pattern, but also an integral part of his own technique. The film ‘Rear Window’ resolves around the very concept of this, being one of the most subjective films ever made. The main plot tells the story of a recently-incapacitated photographer passively spying upon his neighbors in his small confined apartment complex, thus establishing voyeurism in the film and in the audience.
Another interior meaning Hitchcock incorporates in most of his films is the commonality of evil. It cannot be completely ridden from the diegetic world at the end of his films, there is still evil. For example, at the end of ‘Psycho’, Norman was detained but his aura of evilness is still present. Although captured, he is still alive. In ‘The Birds’, the birds are still alive at the end. Even if it may appear that it has been conquered, it is not ridden from the world. With Hitchcock, authority is incompetent. The psychiatrist in ‘Psycho’, the police, all sources of authority is unable to act upon the main threat of the film. So, it is the responsibility of the protagonist to take it upon himself to move the plot forward and fix it.
Andrew Sarris’ premises of auteurs being able to take complete artistic control with thematic technical competencies, their unique distinguishable personality, and their views of interior meaning in the work they create, is what considers Alfred Hitchcock the ‘Master of Suspense’, having his own distinct realm of cinema and style, and makes him one of the world’s most famous and creative auteurs in film history.
The word ‘auteur’ refers to a strong aesthetic found reoccurring in the work of a single director, in particular it can be found in the visual styles and motifs of his/her films. In Hitchcock’s long 54-year career in the film industry, making 57 films and hosting his own TV show, one thing can be established: his need to exercise control over all aspects of the film production, whilst a typical director would delegate and trust his colleagues in their fields of expertise, Hitchcock would make sure to be involved in all precise decisions to make his vision come to life. An example of this can be seen in the film ‘Vertigo’ (1958) and his interactions with the actress Kim Novak, controlling exactly what she wears, her hairstyle and her acting.
Whilst Hitchcock does display thorough control throughout all of his films, this may not be what equates him to be an auteur, when looking at the range of films Hitchcock has made from romance like ‘Rebecca’ (1940) to thrillers like ‘Frenzy’ (1972). One main idea carried out through many of his projects, and could be an example of an auteurism feature, is the psychological nature of his films, in that main characters can be explored further and many interpretations can be made of their psyche and causes of their behavior. For example, in ‘Vertigo’ inferences can be made about Scotty and his obsession with Madeleine in that with her he feels like a hero and masculine whereas in his reality he feels weak due to his phobia.
Hitchcock is known as the ‘Master of Suspense’ and gave more or less all his characters ordinary and mundane lives so that he could live up to that title, when he would break the everyday routine of characters with some unexpected plot twist. In Hitchcock’s career he always tried to stay contemporary and up to date with the times and so was always thinking and creating new ideas, this allowed him to maintain the Master of Suspense as his films would shock audiences in ways never thought of before, for example, in ‘Psycho’ (1960) Hitchcock killed the female lead halfway through the film.
The ‘Hitchcock blonde’ is infamous among Hitchcock’s most well-received films, although not used in every film, the Hitchcock blonde was a blonde haired beautiful, poised woman who was intelligent and had sex appeal to the lead male, audience and to Hitchcock himself. It can be argued the Hitchcock blonde was his ideal woman and that he desired them, but at the same time was scared of the blonde as well. As a reoccurring motif in the film, the Hitchcock blonde exemplifies that Hitchcock was an auteur.
In conclusion, it can be argued that an array of factors, motifs, themes and ideas make Hitchcock an auteur and make his work very recognizable to any audience. It can also be suggested that although all the individual elements as discussed above make Hitchcock an auteur in its own right, but in fact, it is actually the collection of some, if not all of his ideas in a single piece of work, which provide the best basis of Alfred Hitchcock being a famous and well-known auteur.
Hitchcock’s books and essays have been of great admiration by most of his readers throughout the years in America and all over the globe. Most of his works have been filmed. They have acted as a source of inspiration to their ecstatic audience as they wait on his next moves behind the scenes. Among the inspiring films that Hitchcock produced, including Strangers on a Train, North by Northwest, Psycho, among others. His skills in writing about the shifting expectations in American society were evident throughout these periods in his writings and films. He follows their lives through the years the 1940s, 1950’s up to 1960s conveying ideologies, alternatives to cultures, and much more in those difficult decades. Among the writings of Hitchcock is Hitchcock’s America, which was based on American society. This paper will attempt to explore the book to establish an argument analysis on it.
Analysis
Hitchcock is regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers in English History. His techniques in writing were thrilling and earned him the name “Master of suspense”. He held significant information from the audience and engaged them in emotions and intrigues that were exciting and consuming. His work in North by Northwest entails thrilling episodes of not only psychological fable of mellowness but also an anthropological tale of character relationships and culture; he brings out a character by the name Thornhill, who is mistakenly taken for an agent of the government. This sets up a hot pursuit, which involves several exchanges between him and other enemy agents. In this group of an enemy agents, there is a woman called Kendall. They first met in a Train and Kendall persuaded him into romance, which is immensely highlighted in the movie, and then sets him up to be caught by the other agents but in the process falls in love with him, these latter feelings compel her to aid his escape from the agents.
With time, love between the two matures and this becomes a setback to the opposing agents as she strongly feels attached to Thornhill and cannot stand his death. Eventually, she helps him escape, shifting the landscape of the movie into a love mix with Thornhill gaining his defendant. Through this, Hitchcock is able to convey American culture and the violence entailed. Romance is highlighted richly in the movie and clearly presents turning points to the tale American culture is also conveyed in this story as it portrays an American wife and how she does her duties in taking care of the home and needs, emphasizing the importance of a woman who, as a mother who cares for her children.
American hospitality is depicted during the film as Thornhill seeks refuge in the pursuit. Deception is clearly brought out as Kendall does it in seducing him to set him a trap. The romance depicted compounded by kisses throughout the movie highlights the fragrance given to it. The story is sparkling with effects and suspense to the audience.
Conclusion
America’s Hitchcock gives the audience the desire to keep reading and is full of thrilling romantic episodes with violence and culminating suspense. The movie presents turning points inclined by love and romance, which aids Thornhill. The author attracts and retains the audience’s attention leaving them with the desire to read further. His skills in presenting American culture and romance are quite admirable; no wonder he is considered the master of suspense.
Created in 1958, Hitchcock’s noir psychological thriller Vertigo has yet to lose its relevance and the status of one of the most sublime cinematographic pieces of all time. The movie revolves around John “Scottie” Ferguson, a former police detective, who developed severe acrophobia and vertigo after an incident on duty. At his old acquaintance’s request, Scottie starts following his wife, Madeleine, who as per the client’s words, has become suicidal. This essay argues that Scottie’s obsession with Madeleine has never been loving but rather an indulgence in his mental disarray and even sadism.
Scopophilia in Vertigo: Becoming an Object
The point of view (POV) refers to the character through whom the audience has the chance to experience the visual world. Because of its subjectivity, the POV is not always reliable, but it makes the viewer an intimate witness to the narrator’s psyche (Morgan, 2016). In Vertigo, it is Scottie through whom the viewer becomes familiar with the movie’s universe and its rules. Hitchcock presents his point of view through the so-called subjective camera: an angle that implies the POV of one of the characters.
When Scottie starts to follow Madeleine, he soon becomes more voyeuristic than investigative. At the beginning of Vertigo, the camera takes long shots of Madeleine’s face as if it was Scottie’s lingering gaze (Pippin, 2017). The main character’s voyeurism borders fetishism because he objectifies the woman. He knows little to nothing about her personality at first, and her decisively feminine form and beauty are the only aspects of her being that capture his attention. The feminist theory of cinematography refers to this dynamic between Scottie and Madeleine as the male gaze (Modleski, 2015). It is the act of depicting women through the male-centric lens that often deprives the former of their humanity. Vertigo’s main female character is especially defenseless against the male gaze since she is not even aware that she is being watched.
In the field of psychology and, especially, Freudian psychoanalysis, Scottie’s behavior patterns with Madeleine can be classified as scopophilia. According to Freud, scopophilia is the aesthetic pleasure that humans derive from watching others, often in the sexual context. In fact, the pioneer of psychoanalysis argued that all people had the scopic drive – the desire to see others (Allen, 2016). Interestingly enough, inhibitions to realizing the scopic drive allegedly lead to visual disturbances (Allen, 2016). In Scottie’s case, they take the form of vertigo – a mental disorder that gives a person an illusion of objects rotating. It is possible that in the police officer’s unstable world, Madeleine was the only object he could see clearly.
Scottie’s Misogyny and Compulsion
Later in the movie, Scottie turns from watching Madeleine to actually talking to her, which only strengthens his feelings for the woman. The question arises if he has genuine affection for her now that he has a chance to know her intimately or stays a prisoner of his fetish. The answer is no because once Scottie and Madeleine start spending time together, the police officer’s style of communication becomes interrogative. He attacks her with a series of questions that often make the women feel intense guilt and discomfort. In a rather short time, not a single part of her internal world remains untouched by Scottie’s gaze. When Madeleine sees bizarre dreams, Scottie is quick to interpret them and impose his understanding of her visions. It is not love but sadism because empathy is replaced with an intrusion. In fact, none of the relationships portrayed in the film are built on real human involvement.
As the events of Vertigo continue to unfold, the viewer sees the misogynistic side of Scottie. Misogyny, translated as hate of women, diminishes them to a status of the object that does not have the right to exist unless it meets the impossible standards of a patriarchal society (Manne, 2017). After Scottie learns that it was Judy, who was Gavin’s “wife” the entire time, he misses Madeleine. Even though Judy gives him a chance at genuine human connection, he rejects the opportunity and becomes even more engulfed in his fetishist desires. The police officer erases everything that makes Judy unique because it does not conform to his vision of “Madeleine.” Judy has to give up on her usual clothes, hairstyle, and even mannerisms to satisfy her partner’s unrealistic expectations. The woman knows that if she does not perform, she will instantly become unattractive.
Soon it becomes clear that Scottie is pursuing an ideal that does not exist, nor has it ever existed. His encounters with “Madeleine” were brief and did not lead to a deep human connection. In actuality, the police officer construed the image of his perfect woman and proceeded to hold his real-world partner to it. Rothman (2015) makes an interesting point about the relationship dynamics between Scottie and Madeleine by using the concept of Emersonian perfectionism. An alternative theory of ethics, Emersonian perfectionism sees the pinnacle of morality in becoming human by acknowledging the humanity of others. This is something that Scottie fails to accomplish as he gradually turns Judy into an empty shell of herself. By doing so, he deprives himself of a chance to become more human and live an authentic life free of rotating illusions.
The movie finale demonstrates that the entire love story might have been another manifestation of Scottie’s compulsion. After he became traumatized by the death of his coworker, he subconsciously strived to repeat the experience, no matter how harmful it was. Interestingly enough, such a tendency is in line with Freud’s theory of death drive that counters the idea that humans only seek pleasure and avoid pain. In the end, Scottie purposefully puts himself and Judy in a situation that recreates both the coworker’s death and Madeleine’s fake suicide. However, the police officer not only inflicts pain on himself but also punishes Judy for her involvement with Gavin.
Conclusion
After more than 60 years since its creation, the psychological genius of Vertigo continues to mesmerize the viewer. The relationship between Scottie and Madeleine is probably the most intense and complex movie arc. While at first glance, the police officer’s obsession with the woman can be interpreted as romantic love, it soon becomes clear that it is no more than a morbid fetish. From the very beginning, Scottie indulges in voyeurism without Madeleine’s knowledge and later, tries to break down her walls by attacking her with questions. Ultimately, Madeleine becomes an unattainable female ideal that the police officer continues to go after, refusing to accept the humanity of women. He never lets go of vertigo – a compulsion that takes control of his life and substitutes real experiences with illusions.
References
Allen, D. W. (Ed.). (2016). The fear of looking or scopophilic — Exhibitionistic conflicts. Butterworth-Heinemann.
Manne, K. (2017). Down girl: The logic of misogyny. Oxford University Press.
Modleski, T. (2015). The women who knew too much: Hitchcock and feminist theory. Routledge.
Morgan, D. (2016). Where are we?: Camera movements and the problem of point of view. New Review of Film and Television Studies, 14(2), 222-248.
Pippin, R. B. (2017). The philosophical Hitchcock: “Vertigo” and the anxieties of unknowingness. University of Chicago Press.
Rothman, W. (2015). Must we kill the thing we love? Emersonian perfectionism and the films of Alfred Hitchcock. Screen, 56(4), 489-492.
In terms of spectatorship, Vertigo by Hitchcock (1958) is different from many other movies by male directors. To some extent, male spectatorship in Vertigo involves the departure from the tradition of glorifying masculinity and the presence of “fascination with femininity” (Thomas, 1989, p. 41). The discussed movie tells a story about love and obsession with a mysterious woman from the position of a male character. In some scenes after the death of Madeleine, Scotty’s attempts to find this perfect woman in another person are depicted in a detailed and expressive way (Hitchcock, 1958). Madeleine and Judy that turn out to be the same person possess conventional attractiveness, and an emphasis is placed on the ways of how their behaviors affect Scotty and his mental condition.
Main body
Male spectatorship might affect the way that female characters are perceived by impacting the degree to which the viewer identifies with them. As Keane (1986) highlights, despite being “possessing, brandishing, and relishing a position of active power,” Scotty suffers throughout the movie (p. 236). In the scene at Muir Woods, Madeleine demonstrates her suicidal and depressive thoughts to Scottie without considering the effect that her words might have on him (Hitchcock, 1958). Because of male spectatorship, the viewer might see Madeleine’s behaviors as the reason for Scottie’s suffering, thus creating a desire to blame her.
Scotty possesses a range of psychological traits that are typical for men, such as the desire to control the situation, but his behavior resembles the feminine one from time to time. For instance, when exploring his fear of heights with Midge Wood, he suddenly faints and resembles a damsel in distress that is vulnerable and needs a supportive person nearby (Hitchcock, 1958). Scotty does not necessarily understand his weaknesses as feminine qualities, but he tries to respond to his flaws by inventing some rather unsuccessful ways to overcome the fear. His unsuccessful attempts to rationalize the fear enable Midge to demonstrate her best qualities, including compassion and carefulness. As for Judy, Scottie’s poor responses to his overwhelming fear work in her favor and enable her to play Madeleine’s role perfectly.
Due to an ongoing trend for male characters to be softer and depart from aggressive masculinity, if the film was contemporary, Scotty would be unlikely to claim to be emasculated by Judy’s behaviors. In the movie, Judy’s good acting skills and the resulting wholeness of Madeleine’s image make Scottie vulnerable to the living representation of his dream (Hitchcock, 1958). In many contemporary films about love, there is a tendency to depict male characters’ vulnerability and openness in relationships as the unobvious side of their strength, and softer masculinity is increasingly popular among women.
A final shift in the film’s point of view can be seen in the closing scene when Scottie brings Judy to the crime scene. Prior to that, Scottie used to be a victim of others’ manipulations and lies and suffered because of his obsession with something that never existed (Hitchcock, 1958). In the final scene, his assertiveness and determination to finish what he has started are indicative of his ability to regain strength after being deeply traumatized and stop being in a passive position.
As for me, Hitchcock waits to inform the audience of Mr. Elster’s plan to kill his wife in order to emphasize Judy’s wonderful acting skills. The viewer discovers that Judy has played Madeleine as part of a murder plan after Scottie meets Judy. The difference between Judy as Madeleine and Judy as herself is tremendous, including appearance, speaking style, and intonation patterns. The viewer’s sudden discovery that they are the same person allows making the audience fascinated by Judy’s self-possession that helps her to keep her secret safe.
Scopophilia is understood as the tendency to feel sexual pleasure due to looking at another person and may find reflection in objectification (Keane, 1986). To me, the claims of Modleski and Mulvey regarding Scottie’s scopophilia have credibility and sound well-supported since Scottie’s fixation on Madeleine’s looks is shown in multiple scenes. First of all, Scottie falls in love with Judy as Madeleine after “saving” the woman’s life and seeing her naked (Hitchcock, 1958). Next, after being convinced that Madeleine is dead, he starts seeing her features in other women instead of, for instance, focusing on thinking about the things that she loved. Finally, Scottie’s attempts to make Judy recreate Madeleine’s looks imply that he might have mistaken the pleasure of enjoying that woman’s beauty for real love.
Conclusion
Finally, if Vertigo was a modern film, Hitchcock would probably be considered misogynistic toward women for telling the story from the perspective of a man that falls in love with beauty. Even though Hitchcock’s female characters are allowed to be rational and intelligent, an emphasis is often placed on Judy’s appearance and attractive looks. After realizing her feelings, Judy changes herself to deserve Scottie’s love and approval, which does not align with the feminist ideals of women. Also, the scenes where Scottie follows women would probably cause criticism since the director does not depict such behaviors as something obviously negative.
References
Hitchcock, A. J. (1958). Vertigo [Film]. Alfred J. Hitchcock Productions.
Keane, M. E. (1986). A closer look at scopophilia: Mulvey, Hitchcock, and Vertigo. In M. Deutelbaum & L. A. Poague (Eds.), A Hitchcock reader (pp. 231-248). Iowa State University Press.
Thomas, P. (1989). Review: [Untitled]. Film Quarterly, 42(4), 40-42.
Alfred Hitchcock is often considered as one of the most prominent filmmakers who created unique images of women and transformed traditional interpretations and understanding of gender roles. As many critics have observed, males are usually the central force of the narrative, with their status an extension of this domination. Despite, or perhaps because of, this standard male supremacy, the evidence shows that women are much freer than men to explore emotions and character types, from wilting flowers to stoic martinet. Role reversals and fashionable dressing in films follow peaks that correspond to periods of greater experimentation in society at large.
Hitchcock offered significant new models in the treatment of female impersonation, shocking audiences and critics and breaking the bonds of “good taste” until those boundaries ceased to be standardized. Vertigo is one of the most popular films portraying the sense of dislocation and confusion that it projects. Leaving the viewer off balance is precisely what the movie wants to do (Hirsch, 2001). It also makes you feel the obsessions of the 1950s and makes them seem enough to murder for. Hitchcock’s fascination with the icy blonde love object is full of psychological double entendres. In this movie, a fashionable woman, Barbara, is a mysterious woman.
Hitchcock viewed that love objects both ironically and adoringly as viewers admired Kim Novak in what was surely her best role. In addition to everything else, Vertigo is one of the most successful of the 1950s films that dealt with analysis (Hirsch, 2001). Though some of the terms sound hokey, like “acute guilt complex” and “acute melancholia,” what viewers see has the ring of psychological truth. Stewart plays an emphatically rational detective who decides to retire honourably after an attack of acrophobia (Auiler & Scorsese 2000). The initial symptom of this fear of heights is the vertigo of the film’s title.
Not so curiously, it is the very same dizziness and paranoia he feels when his romantic life goes wrong. In this case, romantic love is heated by fashion and luxury symbolized by Barbara. Hitchcock examined the male psyche through Barbara Bel Geddes as the leading man’s friend.
Vertigo Barbara.
In this film, Hitchcock portrayed that it is the distancing of the love object (Novak) by her money, with the additional attraction of being a rich man’s wife, that adds the glamour necessary for male emotion, or this particular male’s emotion.
And clothes not only make the woman, but they also make the male libido go zowie. Vertigo, which is violent without being bloody, is equally about affluence: what it takes to be a white-gloved lady; the filmmaker and the audience observe with envy the manners and morals of a particular class. To Hitchcock’s and the actors’ credit, opulence looks good to us even as we see how it messes people up. The setting of the film is one of San Francisco’s refined neighbourhoods, which also provides the hilly, winding streets: a perfect visual metaphor for the hero’s emotional and mental state (Auiler & Scorsese 2000).
The film Rear Window (1954) portrays a fashion model Lisa Carol Fremont and her perception of the world and love relations. The main themes of this film are marital relations and voyeurism, murder, and suspense. Similar to other movies, Rear Window is simply seeing, and accepting, a woman for what she is, and what she has earned, in the man’s world of tough gains made, with certain rules played for all they are worth (Kaplan, 1990).
Theorizing about all the multitudinous changes women’s self-concepts and filmmaker’s views of them have offered in the 1950s is all well and good. But nothing and no one speaks so loudly or clearly as the women themselves, discussing the parts they’ve picked and sometimes created in movies. Just as the attempt to conform to a socially recognized uniform represents a desire for cohesion, social order, and unity, the opposite behaviour of deliberately defying dress codes marks a demand for departure from the old order, the anarchic assertion of individual freedom. Both impulses have their appeal for various segments of the population at different periods of individual and social development.
In looking at individual films that offer role reversal, cross-dressing, and exchanges in costumes, we can examine our attitudes about male and female images as well as the appeal of androgyny for our past and present society (Kaplan, 1990). The female has long been the mythic symbol of wisdom and self-sufficiency, a figure whose in-between status inspires fascination, dread, and reverence. In our own culture, priests and nuns have historically striven for angelic wisdom by denying their sexuality and forfeiting participation in the gender-related rituals of mating and procreating. This ad unites Americanism, feminine fashion, and rayon in a single blow (Kaplan, 1990; Golden, 2004).
Grace Kelly in Rear Window.
Psycho (1960) is one of the most popular films portraying female impersonation and voyeurism. Critics admit that male impersonation, on the other hand, almost dropped from the screen, its relative absence being, in part, a consequence of the fact that women now wear pants in everyday life. Indeed, many films that depict women in what had been traditionally male roles are no longer actual reversals; they are simply reflections of changing economic and social realities (Silver & Ursini 2004).
The shift in the status of women is mirrored in the change in depictions of female impersonation, the distortions in these images disclosing the anxiety with which changes have been greeted by many men. Hitchcock then undermined the supposed harmlessness of the little old lady impersonator with Psycho in 1960. Impersonating a woman involves anxiety over the loss of power because it means that the male must identify with a typically lower-status figure. The function of female impersonation in films changed as the images of real women in society changed. What had served as a refuge from the male world, the protective mother figure, began to turn into a domineering discipline figure soon after World War 11 (Silver & Ursini 2004).
Vera Miles in Psycho.
By the beginning of the sixties, the point of view expressed in most cross-dressing films was much closer to the anxiety-ridden hostility than to the fun-loving stage impersonations of vaudeville, the British music hall, and the public school and dramatic traditions. To understand recent incidences of female impersonation in film, it may be most profitable to regard them in terms of their appeal to audiences. His variety signalled a breakdown of stereotypes in female fashion, a trend that was to continue into an era in which true drag queens would make their popular screen debut. The shift toward imitation of stronger female types points to a drastic alteration of popular views on what constitutes masculinity and femininity (Silver & Ursini 2004).
Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960) was the first major work in American film history to explore the psychotic manifestation of female impersonation. The character of Norman Bates was to become synonymous with a newly discovered phenomenon, the pathological “Momma’s boy.” Norman Bates so despises and yet so identifies with his domineering mother that after her death he preserves her body by stuffing her, and he “becomes” his mother by dressing in her clothes, killing anyone who threatens that closed, restricted relationship.
The film was based on the novel inspired by a real incident in which “a man kept his mother’s body in his house, somewhere in Wisconsin,” but under Hitchcock’s direction, the macabre tale becomes a profound and complex work of art (Silver & Ursini 2004). The film teaches us not only to mistrust exterior reality but to mistrust the filmmaker as well. Although Hitchcock was not particularly concerned with the subject of cross-dressing per se, some of the touches that make the film so cinematically innovative were necessitated by the inherent deceptiveness of impersonation Hitchcock creates a brilliant synthesis of form and content here (Hirsch 2001).
By calling attention to the filmmaking process itself, he distracts the audience from an inconsistency in the actual content of the film (the fact that Norman’s mother is a stuffed, dead woman). This kind of interplay between form and content is typical of much of Hitchcock’s work, but it seems that this subject called on the director to exceed himself in manipulation and deception because of the very nature of the cross-dressing situation (Morris, 1997; Golden, 2004).
What makes his solution to the problem of concealing true identity so elegant is the fact that this angle also creates tremendous suspense, a sense that some evil presence is looking on from above. The length of the shot from above builds so much tension that a cut to any other camera angle comes as a shock.
No director after Hitchcock was to master the theme with such purely film devices. Rather, other directors turned to the expertise of the female impersonator to fool audiences when the plot demanded such deception (Morris, 1997). According to Silver & Ursini (2004): “ increasing film noir style seen in Hollywood’s female gothic cycle accelerated over the course of the duration as seen in Hitchcock’s noir espionage thriller Notorious (1946). How gender (and masculinity) played out on Hollywood screens was significant” (p. 165).
In general, Hitchcock’s fashionable women are no longer the sweet, harmless matrons. In the past two decades, male characters have generally impersonated female figures of power. The decrease in male impersonation and the increase in female impersonation coincide with an apparent rise in prestige for women within society. The nature of female impersonation has changed drastically, becoming much more explicit sexually and possibly more threatening (Moerbeek, 2006).
When censorship bans were lifted, previously covert connections between female impersonation and homosexuality suddenly became overt, populating the screen with all the varieties of impersonators that exist in real life. These films also explore the individual’s confrontation with “the Other.” Imitation of the otherness of the female arouses curiosity, desire, fear, and even loathing in male characters within such films. When a film concentrates on the comic aspects, as did the majority of films before 1960, the ultimate movement is toward reconciling dichotomies between playful curiosity and obsessive fear. A film that presents a likeable yet powerless woman is no less sexist than a film that presents a despicable yet powerful woman; in fact, the latter film may carry a heavy misogynist message while implying the superiority of females over males (Moerbeek, 2006).
The cross-dressing films of the sixties follow this pattern of misogyny and fear of the powerful female, but in the mid-seventies, an interesting change occurs. For the first time, female impersonators become sympathetic characters–occasionally comic, yet no longer the figures of derision or harmless ridicule (Moerbeek, 2006).
Following Silver and Ursini (2004) Psycho is a culmination of Hitchcock’s work, combining his recurrent themes of voyeurism, the doppelganger, and extreme sexual repression. “Hitchcock obviously favours women who are reserved and who will not resist his control.
He relegated his performers to essential but nonetheless subsidiary roles” (Hirsch 2001, p. 142). Hitchcock had dealt with the transvestite character early in his British career in Murder (1930), in which a woman is suspected of being a murderer until it is discovered that her fiancé (who leads a double life as a transvestite trapeze artist) is the real culprit. Much later in Hitchcock’s career, in To Catch a Thief (1955), he directs Cary Grant as a reformed cat burglar who finally catches the woman who has been impersonating him, robbing houses in imitation of his style (Moerbeek, 2006).
Using the theme and techniques of voyeurism, Hitchcock tests sexual boundaries, exploring fearful as well as pleasurable fantasies in ways that leave the viewer wondering whether Hitchcock worships or loathes women. Sexual power is a central theme of his films, and in Hitchcock’s world characters’ manipulation of each other usually involves the female taking on male characteristics. As is true of many films that employ cross-dressing, Hitchcock’s masculinization of the female is often accompanied by the feminization of the male, with the role exchanges reinforced by visual cues (Moerbeek, 2006). In the process of the film, his women characters mature and become the ideal woman, an impression that is strengthened her with the other characters in the films.
Hitchcock’s careful manipulation of form and content is informed by his astute understanding of the expectations, demands, and responses of his audience. This sensitivity points to two of the essential differences between pre-Psycho and post-psycho treatments of serious female fashion. In earlier films, the audience had been aware of the deception, but in the sixties and seventies, filmmakers increasingly chose to leave viewers in the dark, often until the end of the film.
In part, this is a difference in the prevalent genre featuring female impersonation before 1960–comedy–and the more serious films, often with shock value, after 1960. In older comedies (and in the vaudeville throwbacks still occasionally produced in the sixties and seventies), usually, the audience must be aware of the deception to appreciate the jokes (Kaplan, 1990).
An image of fashionable women attracts the audience by leading their vision, with the camera directing attention to forbidden images that often create involuntary responses of shock and fear. Perhaps more pervasive and disturbing than the intrusion of sudden violence is the sense of inevitability in the film’s conclusion. Psycho ends with a scene of very literal entrapment. The camera peers through a tiny window for the final shot of Norman Bates locked forever in one small room; his personality (whatever he had) is trapped now in the persona of his domineering, controlling mother, who cannot even allow the flies in the room their freedom of flight. In Psycho the only alternative to complete repression of sexuality is violence, and the film’s conclusion neatly locks this threat into a padded cell (Kaplan, 1990).
In sum, Hitchcock creates unique and outstanding images of fashionable women which contrast with images of the 1920-1930s. His fashionable women are love objects for male characters. Almost all of Hitchcock’s work abounds in images of the sexual repression he had observed at a personal level and saw mirrored in the American scene. This would seem to be a strong statement for women and minority rights, but Hitchcock’s films glosses over these issues in the end. Using images of fashionable women, Hitchcock reinforces stereotypical notions of masculinity and femininity; it is a subspecies even more thoroughly dominated by males than is the West.
Bibliography
Auiler, D., Scorsese, M. Vertigo: The Making of a Hitchcock Classic. St. Martin’s Griffin; First Edition edition, 2000.
Golden, C. 2004, From Punishment to Possibility: Re-imagining Hitchcockian Paradigms in the New York Trilogy. Mosaic (Winnipeg), vol. 37, pp. 93-94.
Hirsch, R. 2001, The Dark Side of the Screen: Film Noir. Da Capo Press.
Kaplan, E. A. 1990, Women in Film Noir. British Film Institute; New edition.
Moerbeek, K. 2006, Alfred Hitchcock: The Master of Suspense: A Pop-up Book. Little Simon.
Morris, Ch. D. 1997, The Allegory of Seeing in Hitchcock’s Silent Films. Film Criticism, vol. 22, pp. 27-37.
Silver, A., Ursini, J. 2004, Film Noir Reader 4: The Crucial Films and Themes. Limelight Editions; 1 edition.
The film and fashion industries are two industries that compensate each other perfectly well. What we see in the movies, everyone tries to make it fashionable in their own lives. Likewise, what is currently coming out of the fashion industry makes little appeal if it is not available at the box office.
Due to this interrelationship of fashion and cinema, it is necessary to investigate issues that underlie the industries. To understand these issues I shall look back at the 50s and 60s with a special analysis of the works of Alfred Hitchcock. In this analysis, I will try to investigate the issue of stereotypes with special reference to the ‘rear window’ and ‘to catch a thief.
Sir Alfred Hitchcock is accredited as having been one of the world’s best film produces. He started his career in the United Kingdom although he later moved on to Hollywood, united states. While here, he directed movies mainly for paramount pictures and sometimes universal pictures.
Just like in many other industries or professions, the fashion and film industries do not lack their fine share of stereotyping. Stereotypes may be either positive or negative. In addition, some are inaccurate while others are accurate. This is because it depends on people’s imaginations. The fashion, clothing, and cinema industries are viewed by many to be involved with celebrity persons although it is not once or twice that we have seen leaders in those industries claim that they are not celebrities of any kind. It is just their profession, or so they claim.
Voyeurism is defined as a form of practice in which certain individuals derive sexual pleasures from observing other people’s activities. The people observed may be engaging in sexual acts, nude, or are scantily dressed. These sexual pleasures derived by the voyeurs have sometimes been represented as a form of illness. The term can also be used to describe or refer to a person who derives satisfaction or enjoyment from watching other people’s misfortunes.
Introduction
Definition
Stereotypes are social generalizations about certain individuals, groups of persons, professional bodies, or races. Unfortunately, stereotypes have widely been used to spread discriminatory utterances, vigilante violence amongst other social vices.
Voyeurism has been described as a disorder of sexual arousal. Among the indicating factors of voyeuristic disorder, include having intense sexual behaviors, desires, or fantasies for at least 6 months repeatedly. These usually arise after watching, listening to, or visualizing naked people, couples having sex, or disrobing. The disorder has been found to have some negative effects including work impairment, continuous distress amongst other factors.
The disorder may become chronic if it is exercised from an early age may be fifteen and then it is practiced as the sole sexual satisfaction means for the involved couple.
In his roles as director, Alfred Hitchcock is believed to have included some themes that contained some stereotypical messages and graphics about fashionable women. In a common setting, women are supposed to reflect a society’s culture, interests, respect amongst themselves as well as for others. As thus, fashionable women are supposed to encompass all this when it comes to displaying them in cinemas and fashion shows since they are supposed to act as fashion guides within the field of the audience.
This representation is quite different as compared to the Victorian fashion, although there are instances where Kelly and Jeffrey’s nurse in the movie ‘the rear window’ are represented wearing clothes similar to those of the Victorian era.
Alfred Hitchcock was born and brought up in London, England. He had a very lonely childhood. Regardless of this fact, he grew up to one of the world’s greatest movie producers and directors, directing over fifty movies before his death in 1980. He directed his first movie in 1925 the ‘pleasure garden’.
Gender stereotyping
Themes
In most of his movies, Alfred Hitchcock has been shown to favor the concept of stereotyping women. Most of his movies are claimed to have had some taboo behaviors. Among these themes that have been highly analyzed include the following.
Sexuality
Many of Hitchcock’s movies are claimed to be highly sexualized. For example, although the movie ‘the rear window’ does contain the theme of suspense it contains the theme of voyeurism as well. The story depicts the love lives of two different sets of people. It explores the lives of these people from the perspective of Jeffrey’s room. The movie revolves around the life of Jeff and his binoculars that he uses to spy on his neighbors. The sexual connotation o this movie is also illustrated through the use of the background music that is played in the entire length of the movie. The movie to catch a thief also explores a sexual line as Robbie the cat is traumatized by sexual advances from Gracie. Although the cat initially resists the advances, the stress becomes so huge that he bows down at last and concedes to her declaration of love.
Sometimes, the prudish conventions of his time made him express sexuality in some form of emblematic fashion. This is for example represented in the movie ‘North by Northwest. This is represented when the film cuts hurriedly from a scene of two aroused but still visually unsullied lovers to a scene of a train entering a tunnel. Hitchcock as a director and producer devised several channels of conveying sexuality without having to use disappointing graphic behaviors.
Some of these ways included the substitution of overt sexual obsession with passionate eating of food. In a certain scene from ‘Psycho’, Perkins carries on a conversation with Janet while at the same time one of his hands is busy stroking a dead animal while the other hand explores his crotch. In this case, Sexual feelings are strongly associated with violent behavior.
The use of blonde women
Hitchcock expands his theme of voyeurism with the use of blonde women in place of brown-haired women. In his defense for using blonde-haired women, Alfred argued that the audience would be more suspicious if he was to use brown-haired women. Surprisingly most of these blonde-haired women many reviewers have claimed that were of the grace Kelly variety ‘perfect and aloof’. These are the kind of superstars to make many people go voyeuristic. In addition, Hitchcock claimed that he used blonde women not because he felt voyeuristic for them or had any feelings for them but due to the reason that it was a tradition, he had inherited having been started by Mary pick ford.
Comparison with other movies
Alfred’s movies have been shown to have been shot during a time after the Second World War. During this time, women are shown to have been, only interested in realizing the tender love that had been absent during the period of the war. As compared to other movies and their themes, there is a big contrast. For example “Wal-Mart-the high cost of low living”. According to the director (Robert Greenward) of the movie Wal-Mart the high cost of low prices, the point he was trying to pass across is that not all that glitters is gold. This is because consumers of Wal-Mart products are some of the most satisfied. This is because they get the best goods, services, and even in some cases the best after-sales services. However, what is hidden from the ordinary eye are the processes that are involved in bringing about these products as near to them as possible. The director wanted the people to see and hear for themselves firsthand how the operations of Wal-Mart do even affect their lives indirectly in a negative manner.
If we were to compare Hitchcock’s movies with another love movie like Harold and Maude, you realize that their themes are quite different. Harold and Maude was a movie directed by Ashby in 1971, it was based on the works of Colin Higgins. It is a movie with mixed themes of suicide, neglect, life, and death. It can be classified as a love drama as it is both Dramatical in its setting with a main theme of love. It explores social Paradigms on the different views of different persons in society. The storyline is about a young man named Harold, who shares a sour relationship with his rich mother (Mrs. Chasen), who seems obsessed with the idea of match-fixing Harold with blind dates. On the other hand, Harold is not interested in these blind dates and ends up faking suicide to scare them away. In addition, Harold is obsessed with death and funerals and happens to attend strange funerals for fun. In the process of attending these funerals, Harold meets Maude an elderly ex-concentration camp woman. The main theme is fixed on Harold who befriends the 79-year-old woman named Maude. Harold lived in a big mansion with his mother where he attempts mock suicides and also attends funerals for people he did not know, he finally meets Maude the old woman and they become friends.
To avoid gender stereotyping
Gender stereotyping has been one of the many ways that certain groups of persons are discriminated against. To understand this we must apply the Intersectionality theory to avoid negative and inaccurate gender stereotyping. According to Crenshaw, Intersectionality holds that distinct forms, or terms, of oppression do shape, and are likewise shaped by each other. Intersectionality thus suggests that to understand the racialization of certain oppressed groups in the United States, a person should seek to investigate and or examine ways through which social processes, racializing structures, in addition to social representations are shaped by class, sexuality, and gender, amongst other factors. Likewise, according to color feminists, the major contributors to the theory of Intersectionality theory, experiences of sexuality, class, and gender, cannot be sufficiently understood except if influences of racialization are cautiously considered and examined.
“Intersectionality is a tool for analysis, advocacy and policy development that addresses multiple discriminations and helps us understand how different sets of identities impact on access to rights and opportunities” (Crenshaw, 2000).
Using the Intersectionality theory Crenshaw has identified that the issue of national identity usually comes up especially in gender issues involving women of color in the United States. As a result, many women’s groups have sprung up in defense of their rights and in support of efforts to eliminate discrimination.
Conclusion
Gender stereotyping is not limited to the fashion and cinema industries. Stereotyping has been very rife even in education centers as well as workplaces. For example, Institutional racism or discrimination is not foreign to American culture. African Americans have been on the receiving end and they have been highly affected by it. From this perspective, many African Americans have faced many occupational and educational disadvantages due to ingrained stereotypical views that are still deeply rooted in the American society like blacks are inherently criminals. This has denied many African Americans many privileges enjoyed by other races like good education, the best occupations as well as a just legal structure.
Voyeurism has been described as a disorder of sexual arousal. Among the indicating factors of voyeuristic disorder, include having intense sexual behaviors, desires, or fantasies for at least 6 months repeatedly. These usually arise after watching, listening to, or visualizing naked people, couples having sex, or disrobing. The disorder has been found to have some negative effects including work impairment, continuous distress amongst other factors.
The disorder may become chronic if it is exercised from an early age may be fifteen and then it is practiced as the sole sexual satisfaction means for the involved couple.
References
Ron, Langevin 1983, Sexual Strands: Understanding and Treating Sexual Anomalies in Men, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
McGilligan, Patrick 2003, Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light, Regan Books.