The Most Important of the Five Senses: Sight?
For class on 4-25-2007.
I cannot see Vertigo as a film that is all about men possessing women. I see it as a film that is more about how men and women construct desires within each other. This idea was brought up in class, and after seeing a few clips I thought this idea fit the best.
Madeleine/Judy is the MacGuffin in the film; she pulls Scotty away from the real crime. Judy fell in live with Scotty who was following her. This adds to the whole fact that Judy just wanted to be seen and loved by Scotty. He saw her, but not the real woman underneath; only the woman Judy was dressed up as. Judy had tied an invisible rope around Scotty and, as we stated in class, she led him where she wanted him to go. Or rather, where she wanted to go with him.
Judy jumped into the river, and then Scotty pulled her out. “Madeleine” was not truly possessed by Carlotta; Judy was trying to get closer to Scotty. How much closer can you get than being underdressed by the man she loves, then lying naked in his bed. She felt bad about what she was doing, but the love she felt for Scotty was overpowering. Judy had constructed feelings inside of Scotty, and they overpowered him as well.
Once Judy’s desires could no longer be pursued, Scotty took on Judy’s former job. He had lost his love, Judy’s representation of Madeline. He had become obsessed with Madeleine, and began seeing women who looked like her everywhere. Finally we see the original MacGuffin herself, Judy. Scotty then goes on to not only to reconstruct his desires for the blond he once loved, but he also reconstructs Judy in the woman who was once Madeline.
There is a need to be seen, in Judy’s case, but also a need to see, for Scotty of course. That is why Scotty follows her everywhere, and I mean everywhere, she goes; and also why Judy just lets him do.
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April 29th, 2007 at 9:11 pm
[...] Assuming that Judy is holding out hope that she can make a fresh beginning with Scotty then maybe the purple dress is the best choice. All at once Judy can be majestic and commanding while conveying suffering and sorrow at the same time. I like this idea because it puts Judy in control of the relationship, rather than Scotty which patriarchal conventions would dictate. In talking about gender, Royale With Cheese states, “Judy had tied an invisible rope around Scotty and, as we stated in class, she led him where she wanted him to go. Or rather, where she wanted to go with him.” Scottie thinks he is controlling the situation but is he really? Was Scottie ever controlling things? It seems pretty easy to sit back now and say of course he was not. He was never controlling anything or anyone. He was just a puppet. Of course he was, but it is impossible to know this when watching the film for the first time. Judy did indeed have an invisible rope tied around Scottie’s waist. She used it to lead him around where she needed him to go. She is still using it now to lead Scottie into new territory. By that I mean she is using it lead Scottie into loving her. Perhaps she embodies some the ‘Super Female’ traits as Molly Haskell discusses in her essay, From Reverance to Rape: Female Stars of the 1940s. Judy does use her femininity to lure Scottie into believing she is Madeline. Again, she uses her femininity to try to hold on to Scottie because she loves him. That is, she loves him as Judy and not Madeline. Indeed, I find Judy to be ”… exceedingly feminine and flirtatious, too ambitious and intelligent for the docile role society has decreed she play.” She has no choice but to turn her energies on the people in her world with demonic results. The demonic results manifest in Scottie’s mental breakdown and in her eventual suicide. Additionally, it can be surmised that Scottie will either wind up the victim of another breakdown and perhaps in a catatonic state for the rest of his life, or he will wind up in prison for the rest of his life. Either way the results are demonic, sad and tragic. [...]