Feminism In The Movie Vertigo

In Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema, Laura Mulvey argues that the gaze in films can only be male. Mulvey claims that if there is any female gaze, it is done through male identification as women do not have gaze of their own. The aim of this essay is to explore the possibility of female gaze and how it depicts power and gender in both films; Vertigo and The Piano. In The Piano, the film is mostly seen from Ada’s point of view which emphasises the spectator’s identification with her. Ada’s lack of voice can be seen as a symbol of her withdrawal from patriarchal society and women’s historical role of not having a voice.

Alfred Hitchcock (1899 – 1980), the “Master of Suspense”, was a English film director, who was well known for his use of suspense and psychological elements to shock and surprise his audience. Hitchcock was known for his use of recurring themes, motifs and plot devices, such as the use of birds, hand motifs, the audience as a voyeur, mothers, blonde women, and sexuality. He was also very technical in his editing, using filming techniques such as deep focus, point of view, close up and wide, tracking shots. Montage was also a technique he used frequently in his films. He believed that by using visuals, he could convey thoughts and emotions just as well as dialogue could.

On December 14th, 2000, Miss Congeniality (directed by Donald Petrie) was released, making 212.8 million dollars during its run in theaters. Sandra Bullock, the leading actress of the movie, played a character by the name of Gracie Hart. Bullock’s character is an FBI agent that must go undercover to protect the contestants of the Miss United States Pageant. The contestants were being threatened by a notorious criminal who happened to be the pageant host, Kathy Morningside, played by Candice Bergen. The stereotypical topic Miss Congeniality addresses is women not being good enough to do a man’s job; though the feminist defense in the movie proves the stereotype wrong. It would seem as though Miss Congeniality struggles with an ideological conflict by suggesting that being a feminist is acceptable, yet a woman must stay out of the work traditionally done by men. The conflicted opinions in Miss Congeniality are easily recognized by men and women being represented in film differently, misogyny in the workplace, the juxtaposition of feminism and misogyny, and the future with a continuation of struggles from both sides.

Alfred Hitchcock uses dramatic and verbal irony to explain women’s powerful intuition compared to men’s analytical skills. Gender differences are presented in a dramatic manner. Further, the short film explains the differences in gender character’s present in the society (Leitch, 18). For instance, men appear to have an arrogant feeling of superiority against women. This is highly evident in the society we live in because there are high levels of gender inequality. Moreover, women in the story act in solidarity-resisting men’s act of superiority. This brings the theme of feminism creatively in the film.

The 2001 comedy film Legally Blonde tells the story of Elle Woods, an upbeat and optimistic sorority girl who, over the course of the movie, transitions from a simple college student with few professional aspirations into a successful law student. Elle initially presents herself as a stereotypical sorority girl: vain, superficial, and self-obsessed. As such, she consistently faces discrimination from her friends, family, and colleagues alike. The film wants the audience to view Elle as a woman who rises up above the stereotype through hard work and intelligence, and who proves herself as a capable individual in a discriminatory society. Because of this, some view Elle as a feminist icon, a person who empowers women to achieve equality to

The viewer is introduced to the dolly zoom in the first scene when they look through Scottie’s eyes as he hangs from the gutter and looks down to the pavement below. The dolly scene gives the sense of vertigo. In this scene it makes the ground seem so much farther below than what it is. Hitchcock uses this shot throughout the film to give a feeling of false reality. The shot works by moving the camera back on a track while zooming in at the same time. This shot is also known as the vertigo shot. In the bell tower, this shot clearly puts the viewer into what Scottie is feeling at the time. It makes the viewer seem uneasy like they might suffer from Vertigo. In addition to this, Hitchcock perfectly uses the camera angle and the actors to tell a separate story. In the scene where he meets with his old friend, Gavin Elster, Hitchcock basically choreographed the actor’s movement and camera angles to set a mood and give foreshadowing. In this scene, Elster is sitting down while Scottie is standing in front of him asking the questions showing dominance. Once Scottie sits down, Elster stands up and stands on the steps to the second level, giving this sense of him being higher than Scottie. The camera follows Elster but then once Elster confesses why he wants Scottie to follow him, the camera pans in tight to his face. At this point Elster blocking is extreme in this shot. After his confession, the two men stay in the same position as the camera angle retreats on a dolly bringing both men into frame. This example shines light onto Hitchcock’s use of blocking and camera use that is evident throughout the film. Another major use of the camera is the way it used to show Scottie’s point of view. The narrative is restricted so that means the viewer can only see what the protagonist is seeing at that time. This is clear in the scene where Scottie is following Madeline as she

Gender roles have been, and unfortunately still are, evident in our everyday lives for quite sometime. Women are often portrayed as sexual objects, or delicate individuals; a body with no brain or strength. These traits are easily found within many novels and movies- old and new. In Alfred Hitchcock’s films, Rear Window and Strangers on a Train, Hitchcock begins his films representing women with the same characteristics as stated above. They are very stylish, attractive and presented as second-class individuals to males. But after examining these two films, Hitchcock does something that many directors in his time would not have dared to do. By making the women the heroine and arguably the protagonist of the storyline, Hitchcock proves to

In the beginning of the movie, the audience is thrown into immediate action. At first you see a cop chase a man and Scottie, the detective, following. The music increases the suspense as the audiences waits anxiously to see what is going on. Scottie all of a sudden falls and is holding on to dear life at the end of the roof. This is when the audience first learns about Scottie’s Vertigo. The audience can feel his fear of heights. The feel of a thriller movie incapacitates that audience at this point because they are wondering at the edge of their seats what is going to happen. As the audience sees the point of view of Scottie looking down onto the ground, they can feel Scottie’s Vertigo. The camera work on that shot was revolutionary in that film period. The camera seems to blur and zoom in and out to portray how scared Scottie is. The lighting in this shot and

Post World War II America was a society full of anxiety. In the late 1950s Americans were deeply troubled by so many social shifts. Major changes were occurring both internally and externally. They were in the midst of the Cold War, and were vastly approaching the atomic age. There was a communist scare and fear of Russian expansion. Joseph McCarthy was hunting down major celebrities for their communist involvement and the 'Red Influence' seemed to be everywhere. The move toward suburbia and the growth of multinational corporations were flourishing. People seemed to be pulled in every direction. Another change that would have a major impact on society for years to come was the

Shirley Jackson’s novel, The Haunting of Hill House, explores the cultural anxieties in the mid 20th century. Specifically, men use womanhood (societal norms) as purposely infantilizing women in order to confine the female mind. Jackson utilizes symbolism, metaphor, and anaphora in her novel in order to convey the message for men to stop infantilizing women. Moreover, Jackson spreads awareness that women are being confined by a system that men developed: womanhood. Hence, in effect, the novel serves as an informal protest against male repression through a medium that can be read by a wider audience —more importantly an indirect challenge to male readers. According to Krolokke, Second Wave Feminism became prominent due to cultural discontent with patriarchy during the mid 20th century. Moreover, Krolokke informs the readers that Second Wave Feminism influenced women to challenge traditional family roles and male ideologies about women not belonging in the workplace (11-12). Mid 20th century is also when Jackson published The Haunting of Hill House. So, with these historical and cultural contexts in mind, Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House ends the novel with Eleanor killing herself because she wants women to challenge the ideas of patriarchy into effect. Hence, Second Wave Feminism has a connection to Eleanor having a childlike personality (can not think for herself) because she wants women (especially young and single women) to explore their rights (their choices) and

Several film theorists have used a variety of tactics and view points to analyze feature films since their inception. One of the most prominent theorists of those that analyze films from a feminist perspective is Laura Mulvey. Mulvey is famous for her essay “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema,” which presents an array of theories involving the treatment of women in films. Arguably the most notable idea presented in Mulvey’s work is the existence of the “male gaze” in films. This essay will examine Mulvey’s theory of the male gaze in relation to Alfred Hitchcock’s film, Vertigo. Vertigo does not fit the criteria of a film that

The issue of female persecution throughout many of Hitchcock’s films has been fiercely contested, none more so than the controversial issue of assault and the attempted rape of a woman. Views that Hitchcock represents the archetypal misogynist are supported, Modelski suggesting that his films invite “his audience to indulge their most sadistic fantasies against the female” (18). Through both the manipulation of sound and the use of language, none more so than in Blackmail and Frenzy, the idea of rape and violence does effectively silence and subdue not only the women in the films, but the also the women watching them (18).

In Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns, Mariam and Laila were brought together due to circumstances they could not control. Although they were both oppressed wives of a cruel and violent husband, Rasheed, they were eventually able to regain power over their own lives. The two women supported and learned from each other, finding strength in their relationship. Their relationship was an alliance of sorts and was essential to their ability to regain power over their lives. Once Mariam and Laila befriended each other, they each started to gain courage and hope and began to take more control over their lives in separate, small acts of courage and rebellion that eventually led to significant events which cemented their newly regained power. The developing of power did not come without obstacles, but Mariam and Laila were able to persevere and continue to stand up for themselves against both Rasheed and their societal constraints. Finding strength and motivation from each other and from other loved ones essential to their efforts, Mariam and Laila were able to take power over their own lives by standing up to and retaliating against oppressors in a series of events which led to the pivotal moment when Mariam kills Rasheed, finally setting both women free and giving them both complete power over

Julia Kristeva is a Bulgarian-French philosopher, psychoanalyst and feminist writer. Her work on abjection gives an engaging insight into human culture in terms of it’s relationship to larger overarching power structures. In Powers of Horror, Kristeva argues that the oppression of woman in patriarchal societies is constructed through fear of the abject. “The tremendous forcing that consists in subordinating maternal power (whether historical of phantasmic, natural or reproductive.)” (Kristeva, 1982, p.91) The abject refers to the human reaction of revulsion to the threat of breakdown between the subject and object, the self and other. The border which separates nature and culture, between human and non human. “The abject confronts us, on one

Alfred Hitchcock is widely considered one of the most essential directors of all time and has undeniably revolutionized the cinematic art form and horror genre movement. A key ingredient to his productions is the psychoanalysis of the movie’s villains and the deceivery at comes with deep psychosis. These elements are what have taken Hitchcock from a good director to a legend. Hitchcock layers his movies in ways in which every time one watches his films they can pick up on a new detail that deepens the meaning and effects of the storyline. This is exactly what he does in his 1960 film, Psycho. By layering Freudian psychoanalysis, creating a twist ending and suspense, and giving the villain of the story, Norman Bates, a deeply rich background story, Hitchcock creates phenomenon in the audience arguably scarier, then Norman’s murders. Through this use the psychoanalysis and backstory, the audience also feels sympathy for Norman. This duality is what makes Hitchcock a wonderful artist and Psycho, a piece of art.