Gender Stereotypes In Alfred Hitchcock's Film

Superior Essays
Alfred Hitchcock, also known as Hollywood’s master of suspense, has influenced Hollywood today immensely through his creative movies. Out of the many of his films, there was his 1959 film called, North by Northwest. The main stars of this movie, Eve Kendall played by Eva Marie Saint, and Roger Thornhill played by Cary Grant, go on an adventurous journey. Viewers see the recreation of this in the 2008 movie called, Eagle Eye, where Shia Labeauf as Jerry Shaw, and Michelle Monaghan as Rachel Holloman, are running away from the FBI. This paper will discuss the differences between these two films by comparing the gender stereotypes, the gender inequalities and the distinctive portrayal of the sexes. I will then use my analysis to conclude whether earlier films surpass later films.
The foot chase in North by North West begins with Eve and Roger running and sliding on Mount Rushmore. However, Eve is wearing an orange dress, heels, and is holding her purse as she runs for her life. This particular scene is noteworthy because, Roger is shown to be sweaty and dirty, yet Eve, is still looking clean, polished, and perfect. This is explained as Powdermaker (1951) states that, earlier heroes are shown as rugged, and the heroine is believed to have a sex appeal at all times. Stereotypes are evident here since a woman’s most powerful
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Therefore, I am able to conclude that earlier films and later films have no great difference, because both movies do not address gender inequalities, and end with the hero being the star of the movie. Although, new films today are attempting to overcome gender stereotypes, the inequality still exists. This shows that, despite the small differences among movies, they always end with a happy conclusion in which a woman’s life problems are solved through

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