Alfred Hitchcock unravels the mystery of British women

Liesbet Van-Zoonen argues that  gender and our expectations of gender is constructed through codes and conventions of media products. This could be through the selection of image, the shot type, costume, camera angle, anchorage of mise-en-scene, or any other contributing factor. Crucially, she also argues the idea of what is male and what is female changes over time. This interview with the then famous, now legendary film director Alfred Hitchcock is an excellent demonstration of the ideological representation of women, and allows us to explore the sociohistorical context that Woman was published in.

Van-Zoonen also argues women’s bodies are used in media products as a spectacle for heterosexual male audiences, which reinforces patriarchal hegemony. Patriarchal hegemony, simply put, is the hegemonic expectations of women in society as reinforced by men who occupy power. 

1. Read the Alfred Hitchcock article and make notes on content, ideology and lexis. Make sure to pick out several (at least three) example sentences that you can ultimately quote in the exam!
2. Analyse two of the images included in this article. Consider shot type, costume, and especially the anchorage provided by the lexis of the captions. What ideological perspectives are being constructed?
3. How does this interview reflect the representation of women in 1964? How does it differ from how women are represented in 2018?
4. In what ways does this article confirm patriarchal hegemonic ideologies relating to women?
5. Research Alfred Hitchcock, particularly accusations made about him by the actor Tippi Hedren. Discuss your findings.

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