FEMINIST

CRITIQUE

Mulvey

Mulvey is a famous feminist whos ideology

has been frequently applied to Vertigo. In
particular her views on:
The Male Gaze
Voyeurism
Fetishism
Scopophilia

The Male Gaze

The male gaze theory can be applied when a

film appears to be structured around the male
viewer and the film is shown from a male
perspective by an all male cast.
Women in the film are therefore styled
accordingly, allowing the potential for them to
be objectified.
Once this happens women can no longer be
the subjects and become passive charaters.

Voyeurism

The act of watching someone who doesnt

know theyre being watched and typically
engaged in intimate behaviors
Bearer is the term given to the person being
watched.

Scopophilia

The enjoyment of being looked at.

Ernies Bar

Ernies Bar is the scene where were first

introduced to Madeleine and continues on to
Scottie following Madeleine for the first time.
Its particularly helpful when applying a
feminist critique to the film as it consist of all
of the previous terms.

Ernies Bar: The Male

Gaze
Theory
Throughout scene
were shown both the
introduction to
Madeleine and
Scottie following her,
from Scotties
perspective.
It consists of many
point of view shots.

Ernies Bar:
Voyeurism

The whole scene portrays a man following a

woman without her knowing and so is about
an as obvious example of voyeurism you can
get from the film.

Ernies Bar:
Scopophilia

Later in the film we find out

the Madeleine is really a
woman named Judy and was
aware that Scottie was
following her in the Ernies Bar
scene. After re-watching this
scene we notice that
Madeleine slowly leaves the
bar and seems to want the
attention.
The shot of her looking in the
mirror can also be used as an
example of herself enjoying
being looked at.

Ernies Bar: Fetishism

Spirals are a reoccurring

motif throughout the
film. In this scene
Scotties interestingly
seems to be driving in a
spiral whilst following
Madeleine but this scene
also consists of a spiral
that can be interpreted
as fetishism. This is the
spiral in Madeleines hair.