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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This 4 page paper examines the use of the gaze in the film "Vertigo," specifically how Scottie sees Madeleine, and how the audience sees her because of his fascination. It also considers gender and sexuality and how Hollywood portrays women in cinema. Bibliography lists 1 source.
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4 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_HVVertgo.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
use of the gaze in the film, specifically how Scottie sees Madeleine, and how the audience sees her because of his fascination. It also considers gender and sexuality and how
Hollywood portrays women in cinema. The Gaze: Scottie, Madeline and the Audience Reaction The word "gaze" is somewhat unusual, and is taken here to mean the actual fact of gazing
or staring at someone. That gazing, or observation, will be important in the film is made apparent in the opening credits. They begin in black and white, with an extreme
close-up of lower left half of a womans face. The camera moves so that her mouth is centered, and then the name James Stewart appears above her lips. Then the
camera move up to the girls eyes, which move from one side to the other, indicating shiftiness, as Kim Novaks name appears. Then the screen turns to color, and the
camera moves in on the girls right eye, and the movie title appears from within the eye, followed by the famous spiral. Taken as a whole, this sequence, designed by
Sol Bass, should tell us that Kim Novaks character is not to be trusted; that seeing is all important in this film, and that there will be repeated sequences of
dizziness and dislocation. For most of the first 45 minutes of the film, Scottie (James Stewart) gazes at Madeleine (Kim Novak) from a distance, and forms his opinion of her
based on only what he sees and what hes been told. Hitchcock is very careful to put her in settings that enhance both her beauty and mystery. In the churchyard,
for instance, as Scottie observes Madeleine at Carlottas grave, Hitchcock composes a series of long shots. Madeleine is always in the center of the shot but at a distance, framed
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