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