Blah Blah Blah…Hitchcock’s best…blah blah blah…Cary Grant rocks…blah blah blah…best mistaken identity movie…blah blah blah…awesome score…blah blah blah…you’ve heard it all before. And believe me when I say this film lives up to the hype! But I want to only talk about one thing…
Sketches from Alien...pretty phallic looking to me. Freudian Symbolism
There are phallic symbols and ionic symbols. Phallic symbols are those images that represent or resemble the male penis and its functions. Ionic symbols represent the female sexual parts and their functions. Whenever these are used, it’s usually done subtly and it is used to add either sexual undertones to a work of art or to blatantly call these things to mind. In the case of Hitchcock’s North by Northwest, it’s pretty blatant. These images are nothing new to the horror or science fiction genre. From knives to chainsaws, these penetrative phallic instruments are a staple substitute for the male penis violating the female body. Hitchcock doesn’t go that far. He’s more interested in giving the audience a good chuckle at the end of his tense thriller for those who get the joke.
There are phallic symbols and ionic symbols. Phallic symbols are those images that represent or resemble the male penis and its functions. Ionic symbols represent the female sexual parts and their functions. Whenever these are used, it’s usually done subtly and it is used to add either sexual undertones to a work of art or to blatantly call these things to mind. In the case of Hitchcock’s North by Northwest, it’s pretty blatant. These images are nothing new to the horror or science fiction genre. From knives to chainsaws, these penetrative phallic instruments are a staple substitute for the male penis violating the female body. Hitchcock doesn’t go that far. He’s more interested in giving the audience a good chuckle at the end of his tense thriller for those who get the joke.
Iconic scene on Mount Rushmore And I’m, only going to refer to one scene, the final scene. The good guy wins the day and has the girl of his dreams. They are married now and riding on a train. The final scene is in their sleeper car and they are apparently about to consummate their nuptials. The Hitchcock in a diabolical stroke of mischief uses as the last image we see in the film a train entering a tunnel. Train=male penis Tunnel= vagina. Not too subtle, but then again it completely fits with the racy tone and humor of the film! And that’s why Alfred Hitchcock is Alfred Hitchcock!
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Not all phallic symbols add anything to the story, but in a film whose last scene is one of such obvious eminent sexual congress…it works.
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