Movies

The objective of this paper is to analyze the character of John Scottie Ferguson, the police officer who developed acrophobia or fear of heights and later on turned into a private investigator, in the film Vertigo. This paper also aims to impart to its readers the concept of deception in the film, the ways in which it was manifested in the story and how it affected and changed Scotties life.

Deception refers to the act of deceiving or misleading to bring about false representation, fraud or cheat. It does not always imply intention or aim because it may also be accidental. The act of deception can also lead to unlawful gain and advantage.

The title of the film Vertigo refers to a type of dizziness wherein there is a feeling of movement even while you are stationary. Scottie experiences this sensation or vertigo when confronted with heights. In the film, Scottie developed acrophobia from his job as a police officer when he witnessed a colleague die from a fall while fulfilling police duty. That single incident had left him a major trauma which later on caused him deception. Apparently, another character in the story had taken advantage of Scotties weakness and used it to accomplish a plot in order to save himself.

Any disorder can have a huge impact in ones life. It can set limitations and cause weakness. Worse, it can be used by selfish individuals to spare them selves from trouble and come up with a misleading story, or any other way to their advantage. A persons disability and weakness can become the source of his deception. It does not only impair his physical and mental state but also causes him to be left blinded. A person who is affected with a psychological condition, such as acrophobia, sometimes fails to see the truth because of the limitations imposed on him by his condition. This is exactly what happened to Scottie. His acrophobia had been used by another character to come up with a plan that will give Scottie misleading conclusions about an accident. As a result, he carried the burden of guilt in his heart and kept on blaming himself because his psychological problem had hindered him from saving the woman he had learned to love. He became a prisoner of his fear.

Just like Scottie, a lot of people are also suffering from different kinds of fear and trauma brought about by certain events in their life. Such psychological condition can cause paralysis of ones disposition. The feeling of helplessness arises in some situations wherein one has to face his fear but is unable to do it because even if the heart is willing to, the body and the mind cannot find the strength to do so. However, at some point, it is very important for every person to conquer his fear and find a way to overcome it. This is the only way to gain freedom and to keep people from taking advantage of his weakness and disability.

Fear can prevent a person from seeing what lies beneath. It can deprive him of his rights and peace of mind for the wrong reasons. Deception is easy to plot amongst people who are afraid and paralyzed by their fear. Scottie, despite being a strong-willed and intelligent person had fallen into the pit of deception because of his psychological condition or phobia. However, the truth has its own way of manifesting itself. Scottie, despite being blinded by his emotions for the woman who deceived him, had managed to discover the truth. His intelligence and memory of specific events that occurred in his past had shed light to the real identity of this woman. That discovery had finally freed him from the guilt, lies and deception that engulfed him. From this event, it is clear enough to state that fear, phobia, trauma or any related psychological disorder may occur to anyone but does not necessarily impair a persons judgement or perception of what is really true. Even if the truth is kept and replaced with deception, it will never cease to be the truth regardless of the circumstances. This is one important moral of the story.

Taking advantage of a persons weakness is not the only form of deception that is manifested in this film. Another act of deception was when the woman took advantage of Scotties strong feelings and emotions for her in an attempt to cover up the truth. Physical illness, mental incapacity and fear are not the only factors that can weaken a man. His feelings and emotions can likewise cause him weakness and blindness from the truth. Sometimes, when you a love and care for a person deeply, you see beyond what is obvious. You stop entertaining negative thoughts about this person. This is one of the natures of humans. Their feelings can be strong enough to erase any doubts and hesitations from their minds. That is why it is always being said that a person who is in an emotional state is blinded and paralyzed by his feelings. Scottie had apparently been played on in the story when he was led to believe in lies. The woman whom he loves had deceived him twice. She had taken advantage of his weakness in order to accomplish a plot and his feelings in an attempt to cover up who she really is. Regardless of what the woman felt for Scottie, whether it was true affection or not, she still played a major role in deceiving him that had caused Scottie to put the blame on him self and wallow in guilt and fury for his helplessness.

Deception can happen to anyone and it comes in many forms as well. It can happen within families, workmates and friends. No matter how smart you are, there are people who can see right through your fears and weakness and they are capable of deceiving you in many different ways, at times, in a positive way but oftentimes, in a negative way. People are not the only ones who can bring about deception your feelings, beliefs, principles, perspectives, ambitions as well as certain circumstances in life can also be deceiving. There are even times when what may seem right is actually wrong and what you feel would be good for you can actually be bad. You just have to rely on yourself in order to find out what is really more important  to find out what is true or to be contented with what you know. You also have to accept that sometimes, you have to perform difficult measures at the expense of your own happiness just to extract the facts and come face to face with the truth  if it is only in this manner that you will find a sense of freedom and peace of mind.

Being a victim of deception, in itself, is like being kept in the dark and being deprived of truth. In the movie, two examples had been clearly stated. The first one is that, a person can be deceived based on his incapacities and fear and the second one is that, a person can be deceived based on the strength of his feelings. In the movie, both had been encountered by Scottie who happened to be a smart, strong and sensitive man who is highly capable of being rational. Yet, despite all these qualities, he became a victim of deception and was not spared from its consequences.

Based upon the meaning of deception, it can either be intentional or accidental. The fact that Scottie had been used as an accessory to come up with a misleading story and had been led on to believe a lie is an example of intentional deception. Nothing had been accidental in Scotties case.

Deceit does not always imply a negative intention. It can, at times, also be used to protect another individual and spare him from pain and having a ruined life however for the wrong reasons. Applying this concept of deceit in the story, Scottie had been a victim of one of the worst kinds of deception when his acrophobia was used by another character in order to mislead him. His second encounter of deception, which was with the woman he loves, was mainly to protect him and spare him from the pain that the truth holds.

However, near the storys end, Scotties emotions became far stronger than his acrophobia. He was able to conquer his fear and did not experience vertigo on his way up a staircase. His hunger for the truth overcame his fear and he finally got what he wanted only to lose everything again in the end  the woman she loves and most likely his regained strength. These points remain to be questionable at the end of the movie. It is up to the viewers point of view on how they will assess the ending and its implication to Scottie.

In conclusion to the aspects of the film that were discussed in this paper, it is necessary to regard the many faces of deception. It can happen to anyone under any circumstance. A persons fear and feelings can keep him from seeing what is true. However, conquering your fears and not allowing your feelings to get the best of you will allow you to see clearly. You can always end up saving yourself from deception. In the movie, Scottie had been a victim of deceit for quite some time. However, because of his hunger for the truth and refusal to remain troubled by guilt, he was able to fight off his fear and sacrifice his own feelings only to lose again everything he gained.