The Role Of Identity In Hitchcock's Vertigo

Art can be utilized as the hammer by which to mold the way that society views the world. Asian American literature therefore has the power to shape and change society’s perspective of Asian Americans. The particular ways the narrative is presented visually and audibly can have certain effects on the way the audience takes in a piece of literature. Wayne Wang’s Chan is Missing and Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo are seemingly similar in that they are both detective noir films that aim to figure out someone’s identity. However, there exists a significant dissimilarity in the ways the narrative is presented – such as the strategy of the investigation, the auditory cues, motifs, and the resolution – which serve to reveal the everyday life of Chinatown
In Vertigo, Scottie follows the subject around secretly, spends time with her directly, and eventually ends up falling in love with her. However, in Chan is Missing, Jo and Steve’s strategy is to talk to other people all throughout Chinatown and ask them about their thoughts on Chan. The key difference is that Scottie’s subject is shown only through the perspective of Scottie and Madeleine’s relationship whereas Jo and Steve’s subject is shown through multiple unconnected perspectives. The audience also can physically see Madeleine, but is never able to see Chan. Even at the end of the film when Jo shows a picture of him and Chan, Chan is obscured by the shadows. This makes Chan a more enigmatic figure instead of a single defined character, and establishes that he will be tougher to figure out. Ultimately, the strategy in Vertigo gives a narrow understanding of the subject, and the strategy in Chan is Missing gives way for a much broader understanding of the subject. This way, it establishes that many people are interested in Chan, and many people have very different interpretations of him, as evident when Jo says, “Steve thinks that Chan Hung is slow with it, but sly when it comes to money. Jenny thinks that her father is honest and trustworthy. Mrs. Chan thinks her husband is a failure because he isn’t rich. Amy thinks he’s a hard-headed political activist…
The recurring motif in Vertigo occurs whenever Scottie has nightmares due to his obsession with Madeleine, in which the camera zoom is manipulated, and different colors are flashed throughout. The recurring motif in Chan is Missing is the use of point-of-view shots whenever Jo enters a new environment or when he is walking through Chinatown, in which the camera acts as the audience’s eyes and pans around as if they are looking around at the environment. The key difference in the two motifs is that Chan is Missing adds to the feeling of realism whereas Vertigo does the opposite. Dreamlike sequences, a zooming camera, and flashing colors do not occur in real life, therefore the audience grows conscious of the fact that they are watching a movie, and is pushed back from Scottie’s world. On the other hand, the point of view shots in Chan is Missing pushes the audience into Jo and Steve’s world. The use of handheld camera (holding the camera by hand instead of using a tripod or anything to stabilize it) mimics the movement of walking, giving the illusion that the audience is walking alongside them. By also letting the camera pan around the room, it allows the viewers to also see the stories occurring around them, which are the everyday lives in Chinatown. This motif makes for a more intimate experience with the world that the film introduces, and therefore