Sex and Love

1
Sex and Love

• 1. Whats up with Lost Highway and Vertigo?
• What is Lost Highway about?
• What is Vertigo about?
• How are the two films related?
• 2. Complete Sex/Love
• According to Nagel, what constitutes complete
  sex? When is sex incomplete, or perverse?
• How can we extend Nagels discussion and develop
  a concept of complete love?

2

• Vertigo and Lost Highway
• Comparison of Main Characters
• Vertigo Lost Highway
• John Scottie Ferguson Fred Madison/ Pete
  Dayton
• Judy Barton/ Madeleine Elster Renee Madison/
  Alice Wakefield
• Gavin Elster Mr. Eddy/ Dick Laurent
• Marjorie Midge Wood Sheila
• Plot Summary Theres no such thing as a bad
  coincidence.
• Part A Man in relationship with woman that is
  incomplete.
• Trial Man held accountable for womans death.
• Part B Man tries to recreate old relationship
  with new woman.
• Finale Fusion of A and B things turn out the
  same.

3

• Identity Issues in Vertigo and Lost Highway
• One woman becomes two, with distinct names,
  appearances
• brunette real (LH-love interest) blond fake
  (V-love interest)
• 3rd woman with similar appearance to love
  interest
• Dual names/identities
• Vertigo Madeleine/Judy John/Scottie
  Marjorie/Midge
• Highway Renee/Alice Fred/Pete Mr. Eddy/Dick
  Laurent
• Possession, fugue states Madeleine/Carlotta
  Fred/Pete
• Memory loss Madeleine Pete

4

• Comparison of Women in Vertigo
• Person Jilted Lover of --- Death
• Carlotta Valdez Unknown Suicide?
• Madeleine Elster Gavin Murder?
• Judy Barton Gavin, Scottie Accident?

5

• Psychological Ailments in Vertigo
• acrophobia df. an intense fear of heights
• voyeurism df. deriving (sexual) pleasure from
  watching rather than doing
• Scotties undressing of Madeleine is a form of
  necrophilia. (Hitchcock)

6

• Psychological Ailments in Vertigo, cont.
• Subconscious drives obsession/delusion/paranoia
• Madeleines amnesic fugues (memory loss,
  possession) suicidal neurotic
• Scotties fantasies turning subjective
  experiences into objective ones
• Scotties obsession with Madeleine grows as does
  her obsession with death
• Because of his obsession/love for Madeleine,
  Scottie has Judy change herself to become
  Madeleine
• Scotties acute melancholia together with a
  guilt complex
• Melancholia a mental condition characterized by
  extreme depression, bodily complaints, and often
  hallucinations and delusions esp a manic
  depressive psychosis

7

• Thomas Nagel, Sexual Perversion
• reciprocal desire a complex psychological
  interchange constitutes the natural development
  of sexual attraction (R 12)
• . . . some version of this overlapping system of
  distinct sexual perceptions and interactions is
  the basic framework of any full-fledged sexual
  relation and that relations involving only part
  of the complex are significantly incomplete. (R
  15)
• Complete sex involves a desire that ones
  partner be aroused by the recognition of ones
  desire that he or she be aroused. (R 15)
• Examples of perverse acts ( incomplete acts)
• narcissistic practices masturbation
• intercourse with animals or infants
• intercourse with inanimate objects necrophilia
• sadism and masochism
• voyeurism and exhibitionism

8

• Time and Fate The Redwoods Scene
• Madeleine I dont like . . . that we might have
  to die.
• Concentric circles of redwood cyclic vs. linear
  time
• circles, spirals vertigo, hair bun, redwood,
  staircase
• Fatalism, destiny, eternal recurrence, necessity
  of the past
• Scottie Theres a Chinese saying that once you
  save someones life, youre responsible for it
  forever.
• Note theater scene from Twelve Monkeys (fatalism,
  etc.), and allusion to Vertigo (Kathryn changes
  hair color)
• Note also that the beginning of The Matrix is an
  allusion to the beginning of Vertigo.

9

• Questions about Vertigo
• How does Scottie get down from the building? Why
  is he just left hanging? Is this a metaphor for
  something?
• Why acrophobia? Is this a metaphor for something?
  (Scottie has a fear of falling . . . in love (a
  fear of commitment)!)
• What is the significance of Madeleines loss of
  memory?
• Who does Scottie love Madeleine, Judy, or
  Carlotta? Is Scottie really in love? Is Judy? Why
  doesnt Scottie love Midge?
• What do the various references to circles and
  spirals mean?
• Discuss some explicit examples of allusions to
  necrophilia and voyeurism in the film. Why are
  these ailments significant?

10

• Comment on these passages from Vertigo
• Scottie I didnt know that you wanted to be
  taken home that way.
• . . . so I decided to undress you at my house
  instead!
• Madeleine Its too late. Theres something I
  have to do.
• Scottie Theres nothing you have to do. Youre
  not possessed by anyone.
• Judy What do you want?
• Scottie I just want to know who you are.
• Scottie Theres one final thing I have to do
  and then Ill be free of the past. . . . I need
  you to be Madeleine for awhile and then well
  both be free.
• Scottie I loved you so, Madeleine. . . . Its
  too late. Theres no bringing her back.

11

• Questions about Lost Highway
• What is the point of the circular theme of the
  film?
• Begins and ends with Dick Laurent is dead!
• Film as a Moebius strip. (Lynch and Gifford)
• What is significant about Petes memory loss? the
  video tapes? Petes parents?
• Who is the Mystery Man?
• What is the significance of the burning cabin in
  the desert? the Lost Highway Hotel? the picture
  of Renee (and Alice)?
• What is significant about the following real-life
  actors who play characters in the film Richard
  Prior, Gary Busey, Marilyn Manson, Henry Rollins,
  Robert Blake?

12

• Comment on these passages from Lost Highway
• Fred I like to remember things my own way.
• Fred How did you get inside my house?
• Mystery Man You invited me.
• Sheila Why dont you like me?
• Alice I was here earlier.
• Pete Yeah, I remember.
• Pete I killed him.
• Pete Are both of them you?
• Alice Dont you trust me, Pete?
• Pete I want you! I want you!
• Alice Youll never have me!

13

• Vertigo (1958)
• James Stewart .... John Scottie Ferguson
• Kim Novak .... Madeleine Elster/Judy Barton
• Barbara Bel Geddes .... Marjorie Midge Wood
• Tom Helmore .... Gavin Elster
• Henry Jones (I) .... Coroner
• Raymond Bailey .... Scotties Doctor
• Ellen Corby .... Manageress of McKittrick Hotel
  
• Konstantin Shayne .... Pop Leibel
• Lee Patrick .... Older Mistaken Identification

14

• Lost Highway (1997)
• Bill Pullman .... Fred Madison
• Patricia Arquette .... Renee Madison/Alice
  Wakefield
• Balthazar Getty .... Pete Dayton
• Robert Blake .... Mystery Man
• Natasha Gregson Wagner .... Sheila
• Richard Pryor .... Arnie
• Lucy Butler .... Candace Dayton
• Michael Massee .... Andy
• Jack Nance .... Phil
• Jack Kehler .... Guard Johnny Mack
• Henry Rollins .... Guard Henry
• Giovanni Ribisi .... Steve V
• Scott Coffey (I) .... Teddy
• Gary Busey .... Bill Dayton
• Robert Loggia .... Mr. Eddy/Dick Laurent