Main Genre of Vertigo: Drama

“In feature films the director is God; in documentary films God is the director” Alfred Hitchcock

Vertigo : Drama versus Thriller

In class, we've learnt that all films have a main Genre and secondary Genres that define them. At the beginning, it was difficult for us to establish what the main Genre of Vertigo was, whether it was Drama or a Thriller. The reasons :

Vertigo , a Thriller ?

On the one hand, some websites defined Vertigo as a Thriller (1). On the other hand, the Thriller has always been associated with Alfred Hitchcock but, as a Genre it has received very little attention (2). While doing our research into the Thriller, we learnt that it had been sub-classified into six major sub-types by Charles Derry (3):

1. The thriller of murderous passion : "Where we can find a love triangle and the main scene is about the murder of one member of that triangle by other or others member of that triangle "(4). Vertigo cannot be defined as a Thriller of murderous passion, because it does not exist a real love triangle. Let us remind you that Madeleine is not really Elster's wife, so we do not know if Elster is in love with his wife, and there is not a murder of one member of the triangle at the hands of other.
2. The Political Thriller: It deals with plots related to assassination of a political figure or issues related to the government. Vertigo definitely does not enter into this category(5).
3. The Thriller of acquired identity : "Films organized around a protagonist's acquisition of an unaccustomed identity, his or her behaviour in coming to terms of metaphysical and physical consequences of this identity, and the relationship of this acquisitions to a murderous plot"(6). This characteristic are not present in Vertigo. In Vertigo, neither of the characters acquires an unaccustomed identity that leads them to a murder.
4. The Psychotraumatic thriller: it is "Organised around the psychotic effects of a trauma on a protagonist's current involvement in love affair and a crime or intrigue. The protagonist is always a victim - generally of some past trauma and often of real villains who take advantage of his or her masochist guilt (7). Here we found a parallel between a sub-type of Thriller and Vertigo. Scottie suffers from Vertigo and the consequences that this phobia had (the death of the policeman) make him feel very guilty. Elster took advantage of Scottie's phobia, when he decided to use him in his plan to murder his wife.
5. The thriller of moral confrontation : "It is organised around an overt anti ethical confrontation between a character representing good or innocence and a character representing evil"(8). Vertigo is not exactly a film that can be defined by these terms because neither of the characters represent exactly this characteristics.
   
6. The innocent-on-the-run thriller : Which "is organized around an innocent victim's coincidental entry into the midst of global intrigue" and in which "the victim often finds himself running both from the police or the villains"(9). Neither this sub-type defines the Genre of Vertigo. Scottie does not escape from any villain of the film.

The Main Genre of Vertigo : Drama

As we've learnt in class, one element in Drama genre can be identified as "portrayal of life situations and characters in conflict with themselves, other or forces of nature"(10). In Vertigo we can find these elements. For instance, the main character, Scottie, has a conflict with himself. He feels guilty about the death of his workmate, later he feels guilty about the death of Madeleine and his phobia is presented throughout the movie as a conflict of Scottie with himself, which at the end , can be solved.
Another characteristic of Drama film is that "human beings are shown at their best, their worst and everything in between" (11). This film, is based in a detective story. The "detective genre" has more possibilities to show the human being in all the situations mentioned before, since there will always be a human being observed by some other. In Vertigo for example, the audience sees Scottie at his worst, for example when he is suffering from depression in the hospital ,and he is unable to speak. Elster, at the beginning is shown as a man that is worried about his wife, but finally the audience learns that he was planning the murder of his own wife, which shows a human being at his worst, as a parricide. Scottie as a detective sees Madeleine/Judy in situations such as: The most beautiful woman in a restaurant and then as the victim of a dead person that possess her and tries to kill her or the woman that is accomplice of a murder.
"Drama also touches a broad spectrum of issues, such as alcoholism, mental illness or social issues, among others" (12). Vertigo touches several issues too. For example, a phobia, that can be considered as a mental disorder that has many consequences in the life of Scottie. Love in different aspects: The love that Midge feels for Scottie, the Love that Scottie feels for Madeleine/Judy and vice versa. The crime of a woman, in which his husband, Elster and Judy Barton are responsible. A supernatural phenomenon: Madeleine is possessed by a dead person. An obsession: Scottie becomes extremely obsessed with Madeleine.

To sum up, we think that Drama is the main Genre of Vertigo,and Thriller a secondary one because in spite of the fact that we found that Vertigo could enter into a sub-type of Thriller, defining Vertigo as a Thriller is to limit all its content, its symbols, its motifs and its themes, because the phobia is not the only issue that this film touches.
Also, Vertigo was considered in some websites as a
"Film Noir, but film noir is not a genre but the mood, style, point-of-view or tone of a film"(13).

This post was made thanks to information found at :

(1) See : http://www.culturalianet.com/art/ver.php?art=9356 ; http://www.filmstarts.de/produkt/38423,Vertigo.html

(2)Bernink, Mieke and Pam Cook. The Cinema Book.BFI Publishing. 2nd Edition: Britain 1999.179
(3)Bernink, Mieke and Pam Cook. The Cinema Book.BFI Publishing. 179
(4)Bernink, Mieke and Pam Cook. The Cinema Book.BFI Publishing.179
(5)Bernink, Mieke and Pam Cook. The Cinema Book.BFI Publishing. 179
(6)Bernink, Mieke and Pam Cook. The Cinema Book.BFI Publishing. 180
(7)Bernink, Mieke and Pam Cook. The Cinema Book.BFI Publishing. 180
(8)Bernink, Mieke and Pam Cook. The Cinema Book.BFI Publishing. 180
(9) Bernink, Mieke and Pam Cook. The Cinema Book.BFI Publishing.180
(10)Salazar, Miriam. "What is Genre". Santiago 22 October 2007
(11)Salazar, Miriam. "What is Genre". Santiago 22 October 2007
(12)Salazar, Miriam. "What is Genre". Santiago 22 October 2007
(13)Salazar, Miriam. "What is Genre". Santiago 22 October 2007