Dial "M" for mother : a Freudian Hitchcock / Paul Gordon.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gordon, Paul, 1951-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Hitchcock, Alfred, 1899-1980--Criticism and interpretation.

Hitchcock, Alfred.

Hitchcock, Alfred, 1899-1980.

Motion pictures--Psychological aspects.

Motion pictures.

Criticism and interpretation.

Physical Description:

256 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

Madison, N.J. : Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, [2008]

Summary:

Dial "M" for Mother: A Freudian Hitchcock is an analysis of a number of Hitchcock's major films-Shadow of a Doubt, Rear Window, Vertigo, North by Northwest, Psycho, The Birds, Marnie, and Frenzy-from a distinctly Freudian psychoanalytical perspective that explores the latent, psychosexual meaning of Hitchcock's films. Although a number of issues dealing with psychoanalysis are considered (primary narcissism, dreams, the uncanny, and Oedipus complex, etc.), the primary focus here is on the figure of the mother and her various surrogates (e.g., Freud's "Madonna / Harlot" theory).

Although one might expect there to be numerous Freudian studies within the burgeoning field of Hitchcock criticism, for numerous reasons discussed in the introduction to this book, this has not been the case. Although the present work does not ignore the many important formalist treatments of the director, it is primarily concerned with the latent content that explains not only the relation of the various parts of any one film, but the relation of the various Hitchcock films to each other. Building on the important, related work of feminist film criticism (Mulvey, Modleski, Silverman, Creed, and others), this book argues for a middle position between those who would denounce Hitchcock's view of women and those who celebrate his strong female protagonists (Rebecca, Marnie, Melanie Daniels, et al.), by arguing that these women are functions of a strong mother image that is central to all aspects of the director's work, and the reason for its uniquely comic, violent, and pessimistic worldview.

Contents:

1 Introduction: Dial "M" for Mother: A Freudian Hitchcock 11

2 Sometimes a Cigar is not Just a Cigar: Shadow of a Doubt 37

3 Cast-ration by the Rear Window 54

4 NTILEVER: Vertigo 74

5 ROT in North by Northwest 95

6 Disrepectufl Respectabilities: Psycho 116

7 The End of the World: The Birds 141

8 A Mother's Love: Marnie 160

9 Pota-toes: Frenzy 183

10 Afterword: Other Hitchcock Films 208.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 248-252) and index.

ISBN:

9780838641330

0838641334

OCLC:

163625326