The myth of Ixion, the doppelganger mytheme and the spiral fall image in Vertigo

Abstract

At the age of 65, Vertigo has been subject of criticism and film analysis able to highlight its audiovisual meanings. However, although marked by its groundbreaking narrative or technical and aesthetic solutions, Alfred Hitchcock’s film is inspired by an ancient symbolism. This mythical film criticism aims to interpret the film through the imaginary contents that dynamize the movie. We will try to demonstrate how the Greek myth of Ixion, the doppelganger mytheme, the life/death archetypal duality and the symbolic image of the spiral fall propose meaning to a story full of dizziness, obsessive love, betrayal, duplicity and death.