The Uncanny In Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo

The scene towards the second half of the film in which loud music accompanies energetic animations, indicates what we presume to be Scottie’s dream. Bold swirling visual effects spin in rhythm with the intense music, practically hypnotizing anyone whose eyes fixate the screen. This allows for the viewer to question how Scottie perceives his own identity in such a way that his willingness to help a friend has quickly escalated to a full on obsession and ultimately results in his psychological decline. In a way, the audience is given the opportunity to recognize their own private obsessions, the darkest depths of their own psyches, and their control over their own emotions. This moment is pivotal to the film as a whole, exemplifying Hitchcock’s intention to pull the innermost feelings to the forefront with dramatic film

The lighting used by Hitchcock also serves to portray Madeleine as a fantasy woman, using the lighting to highlight her face. As Madeleine passes by Scottie in the restaurant she is bathed in a soft light which makes her all the more noticeable against the backdrop of a dimly-lit restaurant. Furthermore, as she passes by him, she is shown in a full body shot in the center of the frame, which Hitchcock uses to create an overwhelming sense of romance. Here, Madeleine is the desired object clearly separated from her mundane surroundings. The viewer is aggressively confronted with Madeleine’s image and this allows us to be swept up in the romantic fantasy along with Scottie. The lighting used in this scene actively draws the viewer to her features and ensures that all attention is on her. The audience are enticed and seduced by her and this stretches to Scottie as well as we can see that he is drawn to her and has to make an effort to be covert.

The principal idea in Sigmund Freud’s interpretation of The Uncanny theory centres around the Heimlich, translating to ‘homely’ and thus, what is familiar, and the Unheimlich, which is often translated to what is ‘Uncanny’ defined as ‘what is […] frightening precisely because it is not known and familiar’ (Freud, 1919) or later described as something that is ‘secretly familiar which has undergone repression’. He extends the theory further by placing the uncanny in to two classes, those are, thoughts that have been ‘surmounted’, for example, superstitious beliefs that have been discarded but re-emerge when an event occurs that could potentially confirm these beliefs. The second class being that of the ‘repressed complexes’ such as recalling repressed trauma, most specifically from childhood, fear, and unconscious desires.

In the beginning of the short story, as Brother reflects on Doodle’s life, the author uses personification and foreshadowing to create a mood of remorse. As he gazes out of the window into his backyard, Brother states that “the graveyard flowers were blooming. ...speaking softly the names of our dead” (Hurst 1). The flowers provide flashbacks of the past, and foreshadow a loss of life. The loneliness felt by Brother causes readers to consider how they would feel if their loved one was gone. As Brother observes the seasons, it is noted that “summer was dead but autumn had not yet been born” (Hurst 1). The personifications of the seasons as stages in the cycle of life and death creates an unsure and uncertain mood. The shift between seasons creates an idea of change and uncertainty of events to come. Hurst creates a mood of remorse through

In the beginning of the movie, the audience is thrown into immediate action. At first you see a cop chase a man and Scottie, the detective, following. The music increases the suspense as the audiences waits anxiously to see what is going on. Scottie all of a sudden falls and is holding on to dear life at the end of the roof. This is when the audience first learns about Scottie’s Vertigo. The audience can feel his fear of heights. The feel of a thriller movie incapacitates that audience at this point because they are wondering at the edge of their seats what is going to happen. As the audience sees the point of view of Scottie looking down onto the ground, they can feel Scottie’s Vertigo. The camera work on that shot was revolutionary in that film period. The camera seems to blur and zoom in and out to portray how scared Scottie is. The lighting in this shot and

Both Rear Window and Vertigo engage in some of these Hitchcockian themes, notably, obsession, and the equation of knowledge and danger, where “individuals…face danger…after learning some piece of information”(Sterritt 8). In Rear Window, Jeff becomes consumed by his obsession to understand and solve the crime he believes Mr. Thorwald has committed; this obsession drives the narrative, as Jeff slowly uncovers what has happened. His obsession also exemplifies the theme of knowledge as dangerous, as in executing his ‘investigation’ he places himself in danger, as we see towards the very end of the film, but he also places Lisa in danger when she enters the Thorwalds’ apartment to find evidence. In Vertigo we see Scottie become obsessed with the character Madeleine, through both his short love affair with her, and as well in his makeover of Judy to resemble the Madeleine whom she once acted as. He also becomes, to a certain extent, obsessed with conquering his Vertigo; he tries, with Midge to try and combat it initially, but ultimately reaches his climax with the illness with Judy acting as

The Hollywood Classical Film characteristics in Vertigo, helps to develop the plot and story. The first element of a Hollywood Classical Film that I will be examining is that individual characters are casual agents of the film. This means that characters in a film act as if they really exist, they have goals, fears, feelings, motives and emotions. The characters in Vertigo who are casual agents are the following: John Ferguson is the main character, he is a ex-cop who suffers from a fear of heights, he is spying on Madeleine Ellester and eventually falls

Freud has also touched upon the melancholy of losing a loved one. Freud’s theory is that loss and melancholy is what can lead to madness. This trait is also seen in Scottie’s reaction to the believed death of Madeleine. Scottie goes mad and has to be institutionalized. When he is released he finds the Madeleine “look alike” in Judy and develops a deep obsession. Heather Holf who wrote Hitchcock’s Vertigo and the Tragic Sublime says:

going back to the other views to see where the policeman is and how is

The film tells the story of a fake psychic, Blanche Tyler, and her boyfriend George, who get hired by a millionaire to find the missing heir of her fortune. The baby grew up with the name Edward Shoebridge, but allegedly dies in a fire with his parents years ago. Driven by money, George is not convinced and continues to search for him. Meanwhile, Edward Shoebridge living as Arthur Adamson and his girlfriend, Fran, kidnap famous people returning them in exchange for valuable jewels. It is revealed to Blanche and George, Edward’s true identity. Blanche goes to meet Adamson at his house by herself. Blanche finds Adamson and Fran in the midst of a crime, but vows not to tell a soul. Adamson locks her in a hidden room while they complete

Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho and Adrian Lyne’s Fatal Attraction may be different in their color scene, time period, and overall plot; However, this does not stop them from being similar. Hitchcock’s Psycho and Lyne’s Fatal Attraction are similar in their themes and characters. Audiences see these similarities in their characters’ misleading appearances, failure to overcome personal flaws, and desire to enter others’ lives. Within their characters, both Psycho and Fatal Attraction portray their characters’ misleading appearances in a way that builds suspense.

"Insert clever quote of your choice here". This quote from "The Black Cat" perfectly illustrates the psychological undertones present in Edgar Allan Poe's work. Poe is known for using various techniques to show the reader the darkness that lies in the minds of men. One such technique involves telling the entire story from the point of view of a single character, whose account becomes less and less believable as the story goes on. Another concept that is present in many of his works is "The Uncanny" - a feeling of unease caused by something that is both familiar and strange at the same time. This essay will analyze and demonstrate the use of the uncanny in Poe's "The Black Cat", and how it's used to bring us inside the troubled mind of the protagonist.

The comparison of The Sandman with Oedipus Rex made me think about the thematic resemblance of two pieces. Here the subject of reality-testing is also important. The levels of uncanniness vary depending on the style of the book. The reader’s sensibility to the text is adjusted to the style. If it is a tale, every uncanny seems “normal”. Fiction creates an uncanny effect only when actual conditions are being narrated. So, the reader in a way shares the perspective of a character experiencing the uncanny along with him.

While the woods of “Ulalume” seem to be haunted, they are full of quotidian characteristics—leaves, lakes, stars, and the moon. What does make the woods “uncanny”, however, is the narrator’s lack of knowledge at the time that he was indeed in a place that he admits, “once we had journeyed down here” (Hollander 245). This adds unfamiliarity to a familiar place. The woods are unrecognizable to the speaker because he has repressed the memory of his Ulalume. Further, Freud states that the “Uncanny” is “in reality nothing new or alien, but something which is familiar and old-established in the mind and which has become alienated from it only through the process of repression” (“The Uncanny 13). Thus, the narrator is not recognizing the woods because of the repression of his trauma.

Alfred Hitchcock is widely considered one of the most essential directors of all time and has undeniably revolutionized the cinematic art form and horror genre movement. A key ingredient to his productions is the psychoanalysis of the movie’s villains and the deceivery at comes with deep psychosis. These elements are what have taken Hitchcock from a good director to a legend. Hitchcock layers his movies in ways in which every time one watches his films they can pick up on a new detail that deepens the meaning and effects of the storyline. This is exactly what he does in his 1960 film, Psycho. By layering Freudian psychoanalysis, creating a twist ending and suspense, and giving the villain of the story, Norman Bates, a deeply rich background story, Hitchcock creates phenomenon in the audience arguably scarier, then Norman’s murders. Through this use the psychoanalysis and backstory, the audience also feels sympathy for Norman. This duality is what makes Hitchcock a wonderful artist and Psycho, a piece of art.