Name: Ashkan Fayyaz

ERP: 25077

Film Analysis Assignment

Scene#1: Vertigo (1958)

Analysis: The scene begins with the male lead, Scottie taking up a voyeuristic role as he is

sneaking a look from the gate of the flower shop and stares at the woman from a distance. As his

eyes follow her around the shop, he is struck by her beauty and is fixated towards her. The

woman in question is oblivious to the male lead’s presence, as he watches her from a hidden

position which reinforces the concept of peeping tom. The woman is shown through the point of

view of the male lead. Her actions, movements and role are dictated by the presence of the male

lead and is subjected to his gaze. It creates a dichotomy of power, with the man being the active

observer and the woman being a passive observer. This relation enforces patriarchal conventions,

where men are supposed to be dominating and women are supposed to be submissive. The

lighting, camera techniques and colours create a sense of etherealism and depict the male lead’s

infatuation towards the woman. The camera zooms into her blonde hair and green dress and sets

her distinct from the background. The camera further eroticises her as she moves around the

store and emphasises on her role as an object to the male lead’s desire.

Scene#2: 8 ½

Analysis: The scene starts with the man, Guido, standing in a queue. He has embossed a suit

with glasses on. The man has a grim look complimented by bright light and dark shadows

cloaked on him creating a sense of mystery around him. The man glances at a glamorous woman

with angelic attributes standing at a distance from him. Differential lighting comes into play over
here, as Guido is clouded by darkened shadows while the woman effuses glow from within her

exalting a heavenly aura illustrating the dominance of the man and the sexual desirability of the

woman. Guido lowers his glasses and looks at her in a seductive way further objectifying her. As

his fantasy breaks and the woman vanishes from the scene. A working-class woman is shown

who is sweating and is visibly tired. Due to the sweat, the light reflects off her skin and makes

her ‘shine’ creating a distinction with the ideal woman who glowed from within. As sweat is

associated with manual labour, the shine implies her class and delineates that her being engaged

in manual labour sets her apart from the ideal woman. The difference in lighting imposes that the

working woman lacks the internal qualities that make the ideal woman virtuous.

Scene#3: Kabhi Kushi Kabhi Gham

Analysis: The scene begins with a drone shot that shows the mansion’s alienation from the rest

of the city. As the camera spans over the opulent mansion, it illuminates extravagance and

grandeur. The panoramic interior is made up of exquisite furnishings, high ceilings, ornate

chandeliers, and intricate details that signify otherworldliness and is a sign of wealth. It gives a

window for the audience to escape from the harsh realities of the slums, dismay and poverty

existent in the outside city. As Rahul enters the mansion, it demonstrates the traditional values of

an Indian Family as her mother and the entire family is desperately waiting for the return of the

eldest son so that he can continue the family legacy. Rahul is wearing a w estern outfit

encompassing the difference between modernity and tradition The scene cuts to a shot of women

dancing, everyone in the house is sporting a traditional dress and there are religious idols placed

in the interior of the mansion exhibiting the surface culture. His mother senses his presence

before she even sees him and is affectionate towards him emphasizing the aspect of maternal

love in traditional family values.

Scene#4: The Wind Will Carry Us

Analysis: The scene starts with Taj Dawlat returning Behzad’s camera to him. As she serves him

tea, he remarks that “he has never seen a woman serve tea” for which Taj Daulat reprimands him

and reminds him that has he not seen her mother serving tea to anyone. Taj Daulat scolds a man

for parking his car beside the cafe. It counters the notion that women are powerless in the

countryside and challenges the assumption that patriarchy prevails in the rural space. Taj Daulat

engages in a conversation with his husband over sexism and labour. Behzad takes up this

opportunity to take pictures but Taj Daulat doesn’t allow him to do so as she is fully aware of

how a camera works and stops him from exoticizing the rural culture. This emphasizes the

coevalness of cultures and instantiates that both the urban culture and rural culture are

contemporaries. As Behzad is witnessing these instances of everyday rural life an undoing of his

own ethnography and assumption also happens. In all of these sequences, several times

characters are out of frame as they speak which is defiant of the voyeuristic nature and behaviour

of the dominant cinema.