Voyeurism and The Male Gaze - HW

Shots and Angles used in Psycho & V for Vendetta shower scene 

Psycho:

During the beginning of this clip, there is a close up of Marion's face and the door. We can see she has shut the door for privacy as she is about to shower. The viewer can see that she is alone for a few moments and she thinks she is alone but the irony is that someone is about to interrupt her alone time. She is presented as a vulnerable character due to the fact she is not wearing clothes after she takes her robe off. We see a close up of her feet/legs and back which conveys her as an attractive character to male viewers. We as the audience are invading her privacy which reinforces the idea of the male gaze.

While she is in the shower the audience notices a shadow of someone entering the room. This is when we clearly understand she is not alone. The camera uses racking focus to draw the audiences attention to the shadow behind the curtain. The director has made the camera zoom in and out of the shadow to make it more obvious someone is there. The camera cuts off her face which could foreshadow her life is about to be cut off (end). The silhouette of the killer makes it look mysterious and it must be a man as he is penetrating her with the knife, even though he is dressed as a female. 

By the end of the clip, the camera uses pan to move with the water and blood flowing down into the drain. The camera uses an extreme close up of the plug hole which then turns into an extreme close up of her eye to emphasise her soul and life draining away from her. This type of method is known as graphic match. 

V for Vendetta:
The shower scene in V for Vendetta is not as intimate as the one in Pyscho. This is because there is not as many close-ups, and Lewis Prothero's body is not as revealed. The camera uses pan to follow his movements and racking focus is used to keep our attention on the background images as well which shows his a powerful man. 
The photo on the left shows a silhouette of a mysterious body entering his private space, creating suspense for the viewer. He is being interrupted by V, just like the man interrupted Marion in Psycho. The bottom left image shows a high angle shot over Lewis' shoulder, to reveal to the audience V's reflection on the TV. The TV is turned off to convey the idea Lewis' power has gone and now V is in charge of what will happen next. 

 Likewise, the image to the top right shows an high angle shot over V's shoulder to represent how vulnerable and powerless Lewis is. The bottom right image shows a canted, low angle of V's face to also reinforce the idea that he has more strength.



Overall, I would say that the shower scene in Psycho is more voyeuristic due to the fact it has more intimate, close-ups of the females body parts which reinforces a more sexual view to the male audience. For example, the close-ups of her feet, back and side-boob. In the V for Vendetta shower scene, the character is presented as more powerless and vulnerable, rather than sexual.