I am going to be analysing Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo and will be looking at the key concepts of Laura Mulvey’s male gaze (SOURCE), manifest and latent content (Storey, DATE) id, ego and superego (SOURCE) and the conscious and unconscious (SOURCE). These concepts are present in the film and I will be looking at how Hitchcock brings these ideas to life.
In Vertigo we are shown the concept of id, ego and superego through the portrayal of the main characters, especially Scottie. According to Freud, the ego’s way of thinking is more rational and is oriented towards problem solving. Whereas the id represents the internal desires and the superego represents the external awareness of the world (SOURCE). Furthermore, Bellour(1989) says that the ego …show more content…
Before Madeleine’s …show more content…
It is a vital element in this film also and it is important to examine the effect that voyeurism has on both the character doing the looking and the audience who join him. The conventions in cinema create a sense of separation for the audience whilst playing on their voyeuristic fantasies(Mulvey, 19, p.806). Furthermore, Mulvey says that through the use of narrative codes and conventions, voyeurism creates an illusion for the viewer, through which they are able to look into a private world[806]. Similarly, Smelik (1999) explains that the camera manipulates what we see on screen and how we see it, causing the spectators to identify with the male gaze[491]. In addition, the narrative and visual techniques used by filmmakers make the male character active and powerful but the female is passive and powerless in comparison. Whilst referring to Mulvey, Storey (2012) says that the contrast between the light of the screen and the darkness of the cinema encourages viewers to partake in the voyeuristic elements created on screen[105]. The act of looking is demonstrated in the film when Scottie is hired to spy on Madeleine. However, we later find out that he is being set up by Elster who wants to get rid of his wife. The first time Scottie sees Madeleine at Ernie’s, he looks at her in a more voyeuristic way, as if he is fascinated by her, rather than an investigative look. In this scene,
In Vertigo we are shown the concept of id, ego and superego through the portrayal of the main characters, especially Scottie. According to Freud, the ego’s way of thinking is more rational and is oriented towards problem solving. Whereas the id represents the internal desires and the superego represents the external awareness of the world (SOURCE). Furthermore, Bellour(1989) says that the ego …show more content…
Before Madeleine’s …show more content…
It is a vital element in this film also and it is important to examine the effect that voyeurism has on both the character doing the looking and the audience who join him. The conventions in cinema create a sense of separation for the audience whilst playing on their voyeuristic fantasies(Mulvey, 19, p.806). Furthermore, Mulvey says that through the use of narrative codes and conventions, voyeurism creates an illusion for the viewer, through which they are able to look into a private world[806]. Similarly, Smelik (1999) explains that the camera manipulates what we see on screen and how we see it, causing the spectators to identify with the male gaze[491]. In addition, the narrative and visual techniques used by filmmakers make the male character active and powerful but the female is passive and powerless in comparison. Whilst referring to Mulvey, Storey (2012) says that the contrast between the light of the screen and the darkness of the cinema encourages viewers to partake in the voyeuristic elements created on screen[105]. The act of looking is demonstrated in the film when Scottie is hired to spy on Madeleine. However, we later find out that he is being set up by Elster who wants to get rid of his wife. The first time Scottie sees Madeleine at Ernie’s, he looks at her in a more voyeuristic way, as if he is fascinated by her, rather than an investigative look. In this scene,