Apply the genre approach to film of your choice. Clearly, you should consider what genre the film belongs to (in some cases, the film could arguably conform to a combination of genres). You might want to consider how the film manipulates the different aspects of film style to conform to, deviate from, update, or play with familiar genre conventions. You should then try and construct an argument from that perspective. The next step is to analyze a sequence from the film in a way that supports that argument.

Topic: The Birds and the Horror genre Argument: Situating the film in the Fantastic blurs traditional genre boundaries of good/evil, natural/unnatural, thereby deconstructing the horror genre1. Monster good/evil?WHAT THE FILM DOES TO DECONSTRUCT THE HORROR GENRE

2. Deconstruction of horror genres3. Situating the film in the Fantastic (no explanation) > blurring traditional genre boundaries of evil/good natural/unnatural

4. Universality of Evil

The film is Fantastic (no explanation as to whether the attacks are the cause of natural or the supernatural).Universality of evil

1. Deconstruction of several horror genres creates ambiguity

There is deconstruction going on b/c (monster cannot be identified as a monster) and b/c (lack of a iconographic setting in which the audience can identity as where the monster originates/resides)

There is ambiguity as to whether the monster (the birds) are really monsters or theres some other force making them act this way

So what is the monster? Whats going on? No one knows. So anything can be a monster.---There is ambiguity as to when the monster/monstrous will attack b/c you cant easily identify them which suggest that theyre everywhere and can attack you at any time

1. Is the monster really a monster? Because it emerges from the natural order.2. When are they going to attack, b/c they can attack at any time.

SITUATED IN THE FANTASTIC.

Will discuss the deconstruction of certain horror conventions in The Birds

Argument: that the film illustrates the universality of evil/the horrifying

because of the see-sawing between the natural and the unnatural

Oscillation b/w (the natural order) and the uncanny? Fantastic

Argument: The Birds deconstructs horror conventions by turning the natural into the unnatural, showing that evil/horror can emerge

1. The monster (not supernatural)2. The setting (not the bad place but somewhere normal)

Monster1. No conventional monster > subversion No narrative explanation. [footnoteRef:1] > not exactly genre subversion but makes the genre more confusing? [1: https://books.google.com.sg/books?id=KNSye6mOdREC&pg=PA55&lpg=PA55&dq=hitchcock+omission+the+birds&source=bl&ots=UczuYoVoSx&sig=bMPVCJ58XjY1IoFPbJfDMbjOcv8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=zLQmVfv6IcmeugT_8oHYAg&ved=0CCAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=hitchcock%20omission%20the%20birds&f=false ]

Point of the film is to show how that horror films dont need to have a conventional monster, dont need to be situated in a specific place, and sometimes they dont have rhyme or reason2. Subversion of the bad place no specific site of the monster

There is no clear/fixed monster. The monster is the central figure of the horror film something that is unnatural and threatening Noel Carrolls definition of a monster: a being in violation of the natural order, where the perimeter of the natural order is determined by contemporary science.[footnoteRef:2] [2: Whatever, the book, page 40.]

But this is subverted in the film because the monster, the birds, emerges from nature itself Which makes it difficult to reconcile? Something natural violates the natural order of things? Or have they become unnatural? This dilemma is evident in the film: the film slips back and forth from normality (when the birds are not attacking) and from a disturbance of normality (when the birds are attacking) E.g. the first few times the birds attack, ignored and regarded as freak accidents the birds are not instantly regarded as monsters E.g. the first time that Melanie gets attacked by a seagull, and when one crashes into the door of Annie Hayworths house Poor thing. Probably lost its way in the dark. / But it isnt dark, Annie. Its a full moon. The bird only attacks in waves which means that the bird is only monstrous when it attacks so when it isnt attacking, the birds stop violating the natural order and become normal again E.g. in the last scene: the birds are not attacking, so the characters can just maneuver around them to get into the car theyre not a threat YET AND ITS THAT THEYRE ALWAYS A THREAT? Definitely had the opportunity to fucking sic them when they were walking out of the house but they didnt so???? Not a consistent, constant threat because of its links to the natural order unlike other conventional horror monsters which when recognized as a threat, stay as one until dealt with? Hence the horror is in not knowing when the birds are going to attack again How this affects the narrative: So doesnt follow the horror convention of stable > unstable with appearance of monster > stable with the temporary elimination of monster But keeps occurring over and over again. Stable > unstable > stable > unstable > stable

Birds not instantly recognizable as threats because theyre so commonplace: sparrows and seagulls and crows that are part of everyday life Another aspect is that its not just one bird (can be cast off as an anomaly, like the shark in Jaws), but ALL BIRDS. But unlike zombies? They return to natural order of things. Zombies cant return, theyre inherent unnatural.No explanation to their actions (adds to the inability to explain the nature of the monster cannot identify the purpose of their actions, cannot identify them themselves, the level of their threat etc.) Keep relating their actions to nature/environment: Melanie: Have you ever seen so many gulls? What do you suppose it is? Owner of the pet shop: Well there must be a storm at sea. That can drive them inland, you know.

Annie: Dont they ever stop migrating?

Deputy Al Malone (after sparrows invade the Brenners living room): Whats more likely, they got in the room and just panicked. Al (after the attacks at Cathys birthday party): Were the kids bothering the birds or something? Cause if you make any kind of disturbance near them, theyll come after you. Al: Now, Lydia, attack is a pretty strong word, dont you think? I mean, birds just dont go around attacking people without no reason. Kids probably scared em, thats all.

Mrs Bundy: I hardly think either species would have sufficient intelligence to launch a massed attack. Birds are not aggressive creatures, miss.

Yanal: The Birds is not about the fear of the unknown (which can be figured out), but the fear of the unknowable.[footnoteRef:3] Cannot be figured out! [3: https://books.google.com.sg/books?id=i-ekgB-LRWkC&pg=PA184&dq=%22the+birds%22+horror+genre&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Wn0lVeKuOIu6uASbroCwCw&ved=0CCAQ6AEwATgK#v=onepage&q=%22the%20birds%22%20horror%20genre&f=false 189]

The birds themselves are not supernatural. But something supernatural driving them maybe?

98601:20:37,227 --> 01:20:42,766Because there are 8,650 speciesof birds in the world today, Mr Carter.

98701:20:42,940 --> 01:20:48,694It is estimated that 5,750,000,000birds live in the United States alone.

Interesting mise-en-scene: that the humans are the one entrapped (like in their houses, in their cases) and not the birds anymore (the cages?)

Evil is ubiquitous and exists everywhere, and can and will intrude upon you when you least expect it = so evil is not segregated and can be avoided = GOES AGAINST IDEA OF THE BAD SPACE? Also goes against typical horror iconography?

Problems of explaining the reason for their weirdass behaviour science? Supernatural? Wtf?Something about the birds not being a singular threat BUT A MASSIVE PHENOMENON

Setting/mise-en-scene/cinematography: subversion of the bad place, mostly until the attic scene E.g. theyre attacked anywhere? At the playground, at the caf, in broad daylight, seemingly ordinary places The one time that it follows genre conventions is at the end, when Melanie goes up to the attic and gets attacked by birds (dark space, isolated from the rest) kinda asking for it or something E.g. of the playground Calm before the storm? Shes sitting smoking, the sky is nice and calm and blue, the children are singing, JUST CHILLING. Horror INVADES the scene because Melanie at the right side, and one bird perched on the jungle gym which is fine Cinematography the growing presence of the birds, until more of them start appearing they soon dominate the scene instead of Melanie And becomes more ominous

https://books.google.com.sg/books?id=--7dXqrSTnsC&pg=PA226&dq=hitchcock+omission+the+birds&hl=en&sa=X&ei=y7gmVcnNFcXbuQTSzIBA&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=hitchcock%20omission%20the%20birds&f=false