HITCHCOCK’S FASHIONABLE WOMEN:
A SIGN OF OPPRESSION OR ARTISTIC EXPRESSION?
Female characters play important roles in the films of Alfred Hitchcock. His films also show that he was conscious of the visual and symbolic impact of women’s fashions. His lead actresses are always well dressed and their outfits reflect various stereotypical images of women. This might be seen as an example of how cinematic depictions of fashion contribute to gender-based oppression in society. On the other hand, it has been argued that Hitchcock’s concern with women’s fashion might simply be related to his attempt to create an overall visual impression. This paper will examine the stereotypes of fashionable women in Hitchcock’s films and will consider whether …show more content…
Hitchcock was a male director whose major works were produced during the patriarchal times of the 1940s-1960s, but he was also an “auteur” who was concerned above all with creating unified artistic statements. In Hitchcock’s films we see the stereotype of women as glamorous objects. For example, he told his costume designer Edith Head that he wanted the actress Grace Kelly to “look like a princess” in the final ball scene in To Catch a Thief (1955) (McGilligan, 2003, p. 497). In Rear Window (1954), he wanted one of Kelly’s costumes to evoke “a piece of Dresden china” (McGilligan, 2003, p. 488). In other films, Hitchcock showed women wearing tight outfits that restricted their movement, even when they were engaged in life-threatening adventures alongside men. Some examples of this include Eva Marie Saint during the chase scene on Mount Rushmore in North by Northwest (1959) and Tippi Hedren in her dress suit in The Birds (1963). Are these and the other fashion stereotypes in Hitchcock’s films a sign of a sexist attitude? Or do they represent an effort to merge costume into the films’ overall themes and messages, along with the other cinematic elements such as plot, character and set
A SIGN OF OPPRESSION OR ARTISTIC EXPRESSION?
Female characters play important roles in the films of Alfred Hitchcock. His films also show that he was conscious of the visual and symbolic impact of women’s fashions. His lead actresses are always well dressed and their outfits reflect various stereotypical images of women. This might be seen as an example of how cinematic depictions of fashion contribute to gender-based oppression in society. On the other hand, it has been argued that Hitchcock’s concern with women’s fashion might simply be related to his attempt to create an overall visual impression. This paper will examine the stereotypes of fashionable women in Hitchcock’s films and will consider whether …show more content…
Hitchcock was a male director whose major works were produced during the patriarchal times of the 1940s-1960s, but he was also an “auteur” who was concerned above all with creating unified artistic statements. In Hitchcock’s films we see the stereotype of women as glamorous objects. For example, he told his costume designer Edith Head that he wanted the actress Grace Kelly to “look like a princess” in the final ball scene in To Catch a Thief (1955) (McGilligan, 2003, p. 497). In Rear Window (1954), he wanted one of Kelly’s costumes to evoke “a piece of Dresden china” (McGilligan, 2003, p. 488). In other films, Hitchcock showed women wearing tight outfits that restricted their movement, even when they were engaged in life-threatening adventures alongside men. Some examples of this include Eva Marie Saint during the chase scene on Mount Rushmore in North by Northwest (1959) and Tippi Hedren in her dress suit in The Birds (1963). Are these and the other fashion stereotypes in Hitchcock’s films a sign of a sexist attitude? Or do they represent an effort to merge costume into the films’ overall themes and messages, along with the other cinematic elements such as plot, character and set