1. CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES MARXISM
HITCHCOCK’S VERTIGO
CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES
MARXISM

2. CRITICAL APPROACHES TO VERTIGO
FILM FORM
Aesthetics and the way the film is created
Auteur Theory - Hitchcock’s artistic influence on the film as a demonstration of the director’s visionary genius
SUBJECTIFICATION / OBJECTIFICATION OF WOMEN
feminist theory
psychoanalytical theory

3. What is Marxism?
The political and economic philosophy of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels
the concept of class struggle plays a central role
inevitable development of Society from bourgeois oppression under capitalism to a socialist and ultimately classless society.

4. Cultural Marxism
Marxist analysis/ critique of the role of the media, art, theatre, film and other cultural institutions in a society
Emphasis on ethnicity and gender in addition to class.
Consideration of cultural products as commodities within a Capitalist system
A form of political analysis

5. What is a Marxist Critique?
Views cultural products as reflections of the social institutions out of which they are born.
Film itself is a social institution and has a specific ideological function, based on the background and ideology of the studio / producer / director.
A film arises out of the economic and ideological circumstances surrounding its creation. It is a commercial industry.
Marxist critiques analyse texts in relation to their relevance regarding issues of:
class struggle
the position of characters to the dominant class.
Films often mirror the creator's own place in society

6. Why apply a Marxist critique? 1. commercial context
Wexman, Virginia. “The Critic as Consumer: Film Study in the University, ‘Vertigo’, and the Film Canon.”        
Film Quarterly Spring 1986, 32-41
critical response to Vertigo has ignored the commercial aspects of the film.
Vertigo was made solely for commercial success & had Studio support with Paramount ( & then Universal)
Hitchcock exploited the “star system” - James Stewart /Kim Novak.
He chose cast before the script had been written.
Hitchcock knew that Kim Novak could be employed as a romantic idol and utilized profile shots to capitalize on her looks.
Wexman argues Hitchcock increased the film’s commercial appeal through use of extravagant settings. Viewers of Vertigo are treated as tourists as they are taken on a journey to all of San Francisco’s famous sites.

7. Why apply a Marxist critique? 2. Class, Ethnicity, Gender
Themes of psychological and personal obsession
Closely tied up with references to representations of class, gender and ethnicity
Obsessional downfall of Scottie (class), Madeline & Judy (gender) and Carlotta (ethnicity) can all be linked to these representations
Offers an alternative reading of the film and an understanding of the socio-historical context of the film’s production

8. What examples from the text invite a Marxist critique?
AREA OF STUDY
EXAMPLE (S) FROM FILM
COMMERICAL COMMODITY
CLASS
GENDER
ETHNICITY