THE REPR

ESENTATION OF

WOMEN IN ALFR

ED

HITCHCOCK’S W

ORK

B Y BE T H A N P

R A T T E N

INTRODUCTION TO MY FILM STUDIES COURSE WORK

For my A2 Film Studies coursework I have decided to study the ‘The Representation of Women in Alfred Hitchcock’s films.’ I decided to chose the films ‘Psycho’ - (1960) which is my main film for the coursework. ‘Vertigo’ – (1958) and ‘The Birds’ – (1963).

I decided to chose Alfred Hitchcock as his treatment and representation of women had been talked and criticised for years. Also I decided to chose this topic because Alfred Hitchcock used the same type of actresses (Blonde). However these leading females have a horrible fate.The representation of women in Hitchcock’s work in particular Marion Crane in psycho has been seen as controversial for example the shower scene, which is an iconic scene of all time.

RESEARCH WEBSITESThe website http://www.imdb.com/ is useful for all three films;

Vertigo, Psycho and The Birds.http://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/oct/21/alfred-hitchcock-women-psycho-the-birds-

bidisha http://www.hitchcockwiki.com/wiki/Literature_Film_Quarterly_(1999)_-

_Hitchcock's_women_on_Hitchcock http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/starsandstories/9753977/Tippi-Hedren-interview-Hitchcock-put-me-in-a-mental-

prison.html

BOOK AND PDF FILEShttp://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Dark-Side-Genius-Hitchcock/dp/030680932X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377617064&sr=8-1&keywords=the+dark+side+of+

geniusThe Dark Side of Genius, The Life of Alfred Hitchcock by Donald Spoto

http://sun025.sun.ac.za/portal/page/portal/Arts/Departments/english/Documents/Clinton%

20Adas.pdfb PDF about the representation of genders in the Vertigo

INTERESTING QUOTEShttp://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/oct/21/alfred-hitchcock-women-psycho-the-birds-bidisha - ‘Few would

disagree that Alfred Hitchcock was a master film-maker, but the female characters in his films range from stupid to cunning to traitorous’ – This is an interesting quote as it shows that women were not always the victim however, they were still had a poor representation.

http://www.hitchcockwiki.com/wiki/Literature_Film_Quarterly_(1999)_-_Hitchcock's_women_on_Hitchcock - ‘Miss Leigh and Miss Pleshette were both killed by Hitchcock, and others suffered various horrible fates. And yet, what's also true about the women in Hitchcock films is they're typically the object of very strong sympathy from the audience’ – This quote shows that women were shown to have horrible fates but also gain sympathy from the spectators. They are shown as objects and not people.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/starsandstories/9753977/Tippi-Hedren-interview-Hitchcock-put-me-in-a-mental-prison.html - ‘Hitchcock developed an almost-crazed obsession with her, and when she rejected his advances, he made her life a living hell both on and off the movie sets, the former model says. He bombarded her with crude sexual overtures and ruthlessly tried to control every aspect of her life’ – Shows that Women were not mistreated or badly represented in just Hitchcock’s work but also real life.

INTERESTING QUOTEShttp://sun025.sun.ac.za/portal/page/portal/Arts/Departments/english/Documents/Clinton%20Adas.pdfb - ‘Vertigo

represents its characters and their gender in a manner that deviates from what could stereotypically be expected from a male director. Although one can see the typical patriarchal power represented by Scottie as male, one can also see women in the film as having power and independence. Hitchcock however returns to the norm when he goes on to rob Madeleine/Judy of her power and independence, and even her life, in order to help Scottie reach peace and finality in his life.’ – This shows that the representation of women in Vertigo is different as well as being similar to many of Hitchcock’s other work as women have little power.

http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alfred_Hitchcock - ‘Blondes make the best victims. They’re like virgin snow that shows up the bloody footprints.’ – quoted by Hitchcock, this shows why so many of his leading actresses were blonde and his reasoning behind casting.

http://a2identity.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/representation-of-women-in-vertigo.html - ‘The opening titles begin with an extreme close up of a woman's lips, showing her wearing lipstick, the next frame is an extreme close up of her eyes, which dart side to side nervously. This could reflect the vulnerability of women in Hitchcock's opinion and how they need men to protect them.’ – (about vertigo) – Shows an idea about the cinematography used in vertigo and the representation of women in the film.