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    Sarah Psychoanalytical Theory

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    candifilmstudies
    Psychoanalytical theory analyzes films from a psychological point of view based on inherent symbolism. The document discusses Lacan's theory that man must know and possess woman to exist, and that the rescue fantasy archetypes in Vertigo reflect Scottie's fear of non-existence if he cannot save Madeline. It argues that Hitchcock manipulates multiple collapses of the rescue fantasy throughout the film, with Scottie failing to rescue his "Beauty" Madeline and later realizing Judy is not truly Madeline after she falls from the tower.

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    Sarah Psychoanalytical Theory

    Uploaded by

    candifilmstudies
    31 views8 pages
    Psychoanalytical theory analyzes films from a psychological point of view based on inherent symbolism. The document discusses Lacan's theory that man must know and possess woman to exist, and that the rescue fantasy archetypes in Vertigo reflect Scottie's fear of non-existence if he cannot save Madeline. It argues that Hitchcock manipulates multiple collapses of the rescue fantasy throughout the film, with Scottie failing to rescue his "Beauty" Madeline and later realizing Judy is not truly Madeline after she falls from the tower.

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    Psychoanalytical theory analyzes films from a psychological point of view based on inherent symbolism. The document discusses Lacan's theory that man must know and possess woman to exist, and that the rescue fantasy archetypes in Vertigo reflect Scottie's fear of non-existence if he cannot save Madeline. It argues that Hitchcock manipulates multiple collapses of the rescue fantasy throughout the film, with Scottie failing to rescue his "Beauty" Madeline and later realizing Judy is not truly Madeline after she falls from the tower.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
    31 views8 pages

    Sarah Psychoanalytical Theory

    Uploaded by

    candifilmstudies
    Psychoanalytical theory analyzes films from a psychological point of view based on inherent symbolism. The document discusses Lacan's theory that man must know and possess woman to exist, and that the rescue fantasy archetypes in Vertigo reflect Scottie's fear of non-existence if he cannot save Madeline. It argues that Hitchcock manipulates multiple collapses of the rescue fantasy throughout the film, with Scottie failing to rescue his "Beauty" Madeline and later realizing Judy is not truly Madeline after she falls from the tower.

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    You are on page 1of 8

    PSYCHOANALYTICAL

    THEORY AND THE RESCUE


    FANTASY IN VERTIGO

    MAIN IDEAS
    Psychoanalytical theory is
    based on the symbolism
    inherent in fi lm, analysed
    from a psychological point
    of view.
    The rescue fantasy is based
    on the story of Orpheus,
    who saves Eurydice from
    Hades in Greek mythology.
    It is often expressed
    through the archetypes of
    the Knight, the Beauty and
    the Dragon.

    LACAN
    Lacan speculated
    that:
    Woman is a social
    construct.
    If woman does not
    exist, then neither
    does man.
    Man must know and
    possess her, for if
    she does not exist,
    neither does he.

    U n d e r t h is t h e o r y , S c o t t ie s f e a r i s
    o n e o f o b l iv i o n a n d n o t h i n g n e s s . I f
    h e c a n n ot s a v e M a de le i n e , h e
    c e a s e s to ex i s t .
    A n ex a m p l e o f t h is i s th e
    tr a n s f o rm a ti o n s e qu e n c e , w h e n
    Sc o t ti e t r i e s t o re c re a te J u d y i n th e
    i m a g e o f a de a d w o m a n ( M a d e le i n e ) .
    W h e n th e t r a n s f o rm e d Ju d y w a l k s
    to w a rd s h i m , s h e i s ba t h e d i n g re e n
    l i gh t, s y m bo l i s in g de at h a n d th e
    a ft e r l i fe . S c ot t ie i s t r y i n g t o
    re s u rre c t h i s c h a n c e a t ex i s te n c e ,
    bu t h e i s c l i n gi n g t o a w o m a n t h a t
    do e s n o t ex is t . T h e re f o re , h e w i l l fa i l
    to p o s s e s s h e r a n d c e a s e t o ex i s t
    h i m s e l f.

    THE RESCUE FANTASY


    The rescue fantasy relies on
    the Knight saving the
    Beauty from the Dragon.
    The Knight represents the
    hero, the Beauty represents
    the weak, vulnerable female
    object of desire and the
    Dragon represents the
    villain.
    It is argued that, in Vertigo,
    Hitchcock manipulates the
    rescue fantasy through the
    character of Scottie. The
    rescue fantasy experiences
    multiple collapses
    throughout the fi lm.

    THE COLLAPSE OF THE RESCUE


    FANTASY
    Part 1- the opening sequence
    Scottie faces the fear of
    death and his own impotence,
    represented by his fear of
    falling.
    When he meets Madeleine,
    his quest becomes rescuing
    Madeleine from her
    possession.
    The Collapse- the fi rst tower
    sequence
    Scottie does not rescue his
    Beauty. He is faced with his
    fear again, and he has failed
    to fulfi l the rescue fantasy.

    Part 2
    After the court recognises
    Scotties failure, he is
    publicly identifi ed as a
    failed knight and becomes
    helpless, like Beauty. It is
    Midge who attempts to
    rescue Scottie from his
    catatonic state. The dream
    sequence suggests the
    Dragon is now Scotties
    obsession with his
    vertigo- his fear of
    impotence.

    Part 3
    On meeting Judy, Scottie sees
    an opportunity to become the
    knight again, and tries to
    manipulate Judy into his
    image of Madeleine so he can
    revisit his rescue fantasy.
    The Collapse
    Scottie marches Judy to the
    top of the tower- he is able to
    defeat his vertigo. Hitchcock
    however takes this out from
    under his feet by making Judy
    fall off the tower, shattering
    the rescue fantasy.

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