Laura Mulvey Theory: Vertigo
Laura Mulvey, a feminist and a film theorist argues that, in
Classic Hollywood cinema, viewers are encouraged to identify with the
protagonist of the film; who tends to be a man. Whereas female characters are,
according to Mulvey coded with ‘’to-be-looked-at-ness’’. Mulvey argues that,
the male is an active onlooker, whereas the woman is always a passive object.
Mulvey proposed the ‘male gaze’ theory. This theory
suggests that the women within films are viewed through three different
perspectives. Firstly by the director (and other crew members who are predominantly
male), then by the camera, which is argued to be a representation of men and
patriarchy within society due to its phallic shape, the camera lingers on the
female, focusing of certain aspects of her body, this definitely appeals to the
voyeuristic tendencies of the male audience. Mulvey, argues that in classic
Hollywood films, the mise-en-scene along with the cinematography contribute to
the construction of a male dominated world, where the woman is an object of
men’s desires, her body can be fragmented and used to pleasure men. It is
possible to use Mulvey’s theory when trying to explain Vertigo. Scottie
represents the male gaze, in the beginning of the film, Scottie is waiting to
see Madeleine for the first time; he is shown sitting at the bar already
looking to his side waiting for the beautiful Madeleine to appear. This scene indicates
that, Scottie is an active onlooker waiting to be visually pleasured by Madeleine.
Madeleine’s face on the other hand is not shown; instead the audience are
presented with an image of her bare back which is half covered by her emerald
green gown. The music begins to play and the camera slowly zooms in.
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Although, the construction of the film’s narrative is aimed to make
the men into dominant and confident characters, in the restaurant scene the
audience are able to see that Scottie seems to be attracted to Madeleine, but
at the same time he is reluctant to look are her, perhaps her beauty is too
overwhelming for Scottie. When Madeleine leaves the restaurant, the audience
are able to see that her eerier green gown makes her look like she’s almost floating;
this contributes to the ‘ghostly’ persona that Hitchcock was trying to create.
It is definitely true to say that Hitchcock takes fascination with an image
through scopophilic eroticism as the subject of the film. In Vertigo and many
other Hitchcock’s films, the look is central to the plot. Vertigo, in
particular focuses on voyeurism, from the start of the film the audience are
almost forced to be voyeurs.
When Scottie begins to follow Madeleine, the audience are
taken on a journey with him. It is possible to say that, the audience may feel
uncomfortable accompanying Scottie. This scene really heightens the tensions
within the audience, the music adds to the overall viewing and the continuous
exchange of shots of Scottie driving and Madeleine, who is unaware of the fact
that someone is following her contribute to the audience anticipating to see
what happens next. The audience are once again voyeurs, however in this
particular scene the camera not only lingers on Madeleine, but also on Scottie
as the audience are exposed to a mid-close up of Scottie when he is driving.
Scottie’s face expressions, indicate that he is intrigued by Madeleine and he
is eager to find out more about this mystic and enigmatically beautiful woman.
It is possible to say, that apart from the flashbacks that Judy has, there aren’t
any scenes where the audience are exposed to the film through a female point of
view.
The image of femininity in Vertigo is shown as a male
construct. However, the film is not only about the construction of femininity,
but it is also about the construction, or in fact, the illusion of the male identity.
The narrative of the film reveals that men desire to own, control and
manipulate women to their own liking. Scottie constructs his ideal beauty
through giving Judy a ‘Madeleine makeover’, however, the audience may be able
to see that, in fact Judy appears to be more feminine that Madeleine ever was.
When the audience first see Judy, she is shown wearing visible make up and
colourful clothing, however this does not make her more desirable, in fact
Scottie makes it very clear that this is not what he is looking for in his
‘ideal beauty’. After Judy has her makeover, she appears less feminine as she is
wearing a grey suit; Scottie even tells her to put her hair up, the audience
may question why Scottie is behaving like this.
Firstly, the audience are
exposed to a hyper feminine icy blonde who is wearing a green gown, but then,
gradually, as the film progresses Madeleine become less feminine in her choice
of costumes. Perhaps, Scottie’s irrational need to ‘remake’ Judy into Madeleine
indicates that he is constructing his own masculinity through his women.
The audience are able to see that Scottie’s relationships
with women are not straight forward. He desires Madeleine, but on the other
hand he finds comfort and happiness within Midge. Midge appears to be the
motherly figure within Vertigo. This indicates that , there is a clear
divide within women; they can be categorised as hyper feminine, desirable and
sexual, or they can be boring motherly figures. Midge definitely is the
‘mother’.
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Within Vertigo, women fall into distinctive categories
(mother/objects of desire) however men are also divided. Scottie may appear
masculine at the first glance, but Hitchcock manages to develop his character
in a distinctive way that indicates he is a confused man. When Scottie visits
his ex-boss, Gavin Elster the audience are able to see the contrast between
Scottie and the dominant, alpha male that Elster is, the mise en scene (dark,
manly furniture, formal clothing etc.) contribute to the audience understanding
of his character. Often, Scottie is shown as vulnerable, Elster is shown as the
one having some power over Scottie as he is the one standing up , whereas
Scottie is found sitting down most of the time. This indicates that, not only
there are differences in the male hierarchy, but there are also differences in
masculinity as men can be categorised into men who have gained their
masculinity and men who haven’t.
In conclusion, it is fair to say that Laura Mulvey correctly
points out the passive roles of women within classic Hollywood cinema. Many
people claim that Vertigo is the representation of Hitchcock. Through
the film, Hitchcock is trying to deal with his own issues, surrounding the
ideal beauty, masculinity and gender. The audience definitely take pleasure
from viewing Madeleine. Perhaps we can argue that, film directors such as
Hitchcock, contribute to the misrepresentation of women and the growth of
patriarchy within society.
Anna Gaszkowska
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