Alfred North Whitehead

What would you do if all the birds in the world started attacking people? Well, that's what happens in the movie and short story The Birds. The short story and the movie are very different, even though there are some similarities. One of the major similarities between the short story and the movie is that the radio was there the main source of information. In the movie between bird attacks, they go out to the car and turn on the radio to see if they can leave town. In the short story, they…

Peter Greenaway, author of Defining Narrative, studied narrative structure in films, explaining varying narratives. Within this analyzation, Greenway addresses the 1960 adaptation of Psycho. “Hitchcock makes masterful use of restricted narration, preventing the audience from learning one critical aspect of Norman's story-the true nature of his relationship with his mother-until the end of the film.” (Greenway 82). Although present in a majority of the film, three significant examples will be…

Testing Observations The DAS test was selected because of the ability to evaluate the verbal, nonverbal skills along with spatial skills. Because of the possible speech delays, the DAS was used because of the ability to measure his intelligence on non-verbal tasks along with verbal. On the testing, Julius appeared to do best on the testing. Overall his intelligence score (Standard Score) was a 109. This score indicates that Julius is intellectually functioning in the average to above…

Strangers on a Train In the film Strangers on a Train Alfred Hitchcock portrays the 1950’s stereotype of Homosexuals being a threat to society, with Bruno, the homosexual, being a dangerous character. In the beginning of the movie where Bruno and Guy first encounter each other on the train, Bruno seems to develop a homosexual connection with Guy. “it is evident that Guy, who is unhappily married to a conniving, promiscuous spouse, is fascinated by this fey, coyly ingrating creature-so much so…

Alfred Hitchcock’s utilizes elements of expressionism to suggest a brutal murder in his movie, Psycho. Revealing the perspectives of both the murderer and victim, Hitchcock’s use of exploitation, stylized acting, plot distortion, and symbolism evokes visceral emotions from audiences. As the scene opens, the audiences see the main actress writing on a newspaper, clearly trying to discern something. Turning away from the desk, the main actress decides to shower, firmly shuts the door behind her,…

The cheapest way to garner a scream is that of the “jump scare”, which is the sudden change in either audio or visuals usually through a loud noise to elicit fear, yet the Norman Bates reveal takes an opposite approach. Rather than using a “jump scare”, the reveal of Norma Bate’s corpse and Norman Bates himself are all forewarned early through audio cues or the slow movements. When Lila enters the basement and sees Norma Bates sitting on the chair, the audience senses that something is off due…

Nerve is a movie that asks the audience to think about how social media influences our decision making. I wanted to review it because of the message that is presented to the audience and the question that is asked by the makers. Are the choices that we make individual or collective choices online? If you succeed than you get paid and if you fail or snitch you will lose money. The ethos of the film is that the users and the watchers are always online. The camera establishes the image and ethos…

The Appearance of Reality: Reflection and Representation in Vertigo In Vertigo, Hitchcock’s use of formal technique emphasizes the nature of woman as both object and illusion, as both something that exists—meticulously crafted—and does not, simultaneously. As Tania Modleski points out, Madeleine Elster is first presented as an object in a conversation between two men, her husband Gavin and Scottie Ferguson. Gavin scrupulously describes Madeleine’s actions and eccentricities, but when these…

to the audience on the screen, should express and reflect the personality of the director. This policy later became known as the auter theory. These critics were renowned for their praise of some Hollywood directors, particularly Howard Hawkes, Alfred Hitchcock and John Ford who they admired for their individual styles. For the best part of a decade these critics argued their beliefs in the pages of cahiers du cinema. It was in their criticisms of other peoples work that subliminally they…

Spadoni discusses many of the elements of film in his book A Pocket Guide to Analyzing Films. One element he briefly examines is the utilization of the prop and how the prop becomes a motif. To further explore this concept, this essay will consider Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. In this film, Hitchcock subjects Marion Crane to the voyeur through his placement of the owl in the parlor scene at the Bates Motel. When initially entering the parlor, Marion Crane’s surprise at the number of taxidermy…