Wexman, Virginia. “The Critic as Consumer: Film Study in the University, ‘Vertigo’, and the Film Canon.”
        Film Quarterly Spring 1986, 32-41. JSTOR. University of Pennsylvania Library, Philadelphia. 4 Apr. 2008.
        <http://jstor.org/stable/1212375>.

        Virgina Wexman discusses the varying types of critical response that Vertigo has generated, and how they ignore the commercial aspects of the film. According to Wexman, Vertigo “most owes its preeminence to the opinions of cinema scholars rather than the enthusiasm of less ‘committed’ film fans” (33). Critics tend to come from two folds. One line of approach analyzes Hitchcock’s artistic influence on the film. They feel that Vertigo is a demonstration of the director’s visionary genius. The other group of critics finds value in Vertigo’s skillful objectification of women. Regardless of their focus, both sets of critics refuse to accept the notion that Vertigo was made solely for commercial success. Upon further review it becomes apparent that Hitchcock was preoccupied with such a goal. The director exploited the “star system” with big names such as James Stewart and Kim Novak. In fact, he committed to the actors before the script had even been written. Hitchcock knew that Kim Novak could be employed as a romantic idol and utilized profile shots to capitalize on her unquestioned beauty. In addition to using stars, Wexman explains that Hitchcock increased the film’s commercial appeal through the use of extravagant settings. He was aware of the fact that audiences had an appreciation for traveling to far off, exotic locales. Viewers of Vertigo are treated as tourists as they are taken on a journey to all of San Francisco’s famous sites.
        According to the article, Hitchcock envisioned the stars, envisioned the settings, and had his writer fill in the rest. The article introduces the fact that there are two distinct types of criticism that have spawned in response to the film. One type focuses on the technical and aesthetic achievements of the picture, while the other type focuses on the film’s negative depiction of women.