Alfred Hitchcock

Feminist theory - Lisbet Van Zoonen:

- Gender is constructed through media language; codes and media products, and the idea that what is a male and what is female changes over time

- Women's bodies are used in media products as a spectacle for heterosexual male audiences, which reinforces patriarchal hegemony.

- Women are also used as an aspirational figure for other women to look at, for looking good for heterosexual male audiences.

Alfred Hitchcock's interview :

- "I mentally marked her down as the sort of woman you'd go to for an animated discussion about horses, the weather and the outrageous price of brussel sprouts."

- "They're like snow-capped volcanoes: all shimmering respectability on top and simmering passion underneath."

- He speaks quite respectably about his wife but at times he makes himself come across as superior to women.

- "I've come to these conclusions after years of selecting, grooming and directing some of the most beautiful actresses in the world."

- Patriarchal hegemony of what British should be like, the annoyingly high voices, showing women what men like which links to the heterosexual female audience; with them comparing themselves to the women in Hitchcock's life. The overall article is about his taste in women, which women may look at and take things from it in order to become more physically appealing.

- There is a process of objectification, "They're like snow-capped volcanoes" with connotations of aggression with a pretty layer of protection on top giving us the idea that women are pretty on the outside but aggressive and firey on the inside.

- The example of Grace Kelly showing her seductive side after originally looking pure and elegant. With her face saying don't touch me but at the same time she's sexually promiscuous. 

- All women show the binary opposition of purity working alongside seductiveness, stereotyping British women.

- Hitchcock is shown to have manipulated women before and he isn't even trying to hide it from audiences, he's obsessed with the stereotypical British woman.

- "Any man who hasn't been caught off guard by and English girl's sudden revelation of seductive depths doesn't know what he has been missing."

- xenophobic; the fear of foreigners 

Her facial expression may come across as intimidating or threatening; possibly suggesting she shows no emotion other than the seductiveness when with a male. The relatively close up shot shows Grace Kelly looking into the lens which reinforces the idea of intimidation, it's a direct mode of address. Women may find her physically desirable because of her hair, her dusky makeup, her mouth slightly open which may seem strange to use this picture for a heterosexual female audience. Hitchcock sees Grace Kelly as attractive and sexualises her throughout the interview whereas he sees his wife as more of a housewife and a cook, the picture of Hitchcock with his wife portrays her as less seductive and reinforces the emphasis of her being more of a housewife, a large binary opposition. 

There is a lot of arrogance shown in Hitchcock's speech through the use of the repeated pronoun 'I'. Throughout his directing career he has known to use women in his films who look similar as if he's building his perfect women, he's fetishising women; this reinforces patriarchal hegemony. 

Tippi Hedren speaking out about Hitchcock sexually assaulting her and it's said blackmailed her into keeping quiet otherwise he would ruin her career, she ended up being blacklisted from future films directed by him. He placed her dressing room next to his office with a door connecting the two, it's also known he was often stalking his actresses, hanging around their houses, etc. It could be said he was a sexually manipulative predator.

However, his status of creepy can also be seen as desirable because of the level of his power; that he can make you money as well as beautiful and famous. 

'How does Woman construct and appeal to its target audience? What choices have been made as to how women are represented?'