Lesson 5 themes - vertigo
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Transcript of Lesson 5 themes - vertigo
Learning Objectives
Identify Key Terms:• Vertigo
Introduce the ‘Castration Complex’
Apply the Castration Complex to key scenes from Vertigo
‘Vertigo’
Vertigo“a sensation of dizziness or abnormal motion resulting from
a disorder of the sense of balance”
The fact this is the films title gives us reason to think that Vertigo is a key component of the film and the characters and deserves close inspection
The sensation of Vertigo is created by Hitchcock in these scenes
It was created by zooming forward whilst the camera tracks backwards
‘Vertigo’
“The sensation has been explained I believe, by psychologists, as arising from the tension between the desire to fall and the dread of falling... an idea it is worth bearing in mind
in relation to the whole film
We are made to understand what it feels like to be so near death, and to have death
made so temptingly easy – a way out of pain and effort”
In his essay “Hitchcock’s Films Revisited: Vertigo” film theorist Robin Wood writes:
‘Vertigo’
We do not see him get down and it appears that there is no way down for Scottie
It could be argued that the entire film is a psychological journey through the mind of Scottie as he contemplates both the possibility of life and the possibility of giving up
This idea introduces the theme: DEATH AS BOTH ATTRACTIVE & FRIGHTENING as a major theme of the film
• Do you agree with this
statement?
• How could you argue that this
was true?
The Castration Complex
“Castration Anxiety is the conscious or unconscious fear of losing all or parts of the sexual organs, or the function of
them”
The castration Complex is an area of psychology developed by Sigmund Freud
According to Freud, when a child (male) becomes aware of both male and female genitalia he assumes that the female’s penis has been removed and becomes anxious that his penis may be cut off by his rival (father)
The Castration Complex
This can refer to being degraded, dominated or made insignificant
Men will usually go to extreme lengths to save their pride and/or perception restored
The quest for restoration can often take the form of proving virility or sexual dominance
Castration Anxiety may also be metaphorical and refer to being castrated metaphorically – to have a masculine feature removed
The Castration Complex
How can we argue that Scottie has been a victim of the ‘castration anxiety’?
During the film’s opening sequence Scottie, a Policeman whose purpose is to protect others, fails and see’s a cop fall to his death attempted to save him
He develops ACROPHOBIA and suffers from Vertigo (A masculine features is removed from Scottie)
He is removed from duty and his role in society has been restricted from him – he has effectively been ‘castrated’
The Bell Tower
Analyse the following scenes and make notes on the following:
At what moments does Scotties weakness hinder him?
How does his Vertigo restrict his masculine features?• What he is unable to do when he suffers
Vertigo?
How does he attempt to cure his Acrophobia?
The Bell Tower
The Bell Tower in the film was designed as a phallic symbol
Scottie encounters his castration as he finds out that that Madeleine is out of his control and runs up the bell tower
We see here that he is suffering from Castration Anxiety and that he believes castration can be cured by up-ward movement
As the film progresses he continually tries to
The Bell Tower
Scottie is unable to prevent the death of Madeleine because his Vertigo restricts him
He is effectively restricted from protecting others (a part of his previous life) – a representation of his castration
Read the notes on your handout and highlight key points