Foreshadowing In The Birds Essay

In Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds he uses the unreal intelligence of the birds to have the humans in the film be treated like animals. Having nature fight back for its place in the food chain. This all starts with the birds attacking Melanie in the boat in the beginning of the movie. In the scene the camera is in a high angle when the bird attacks, then the camera cuts to a close up of the drop of blood falling from her head. The way that the shot is framed with a close up of the drop of blood on her hand helps foreshadow the doom that is getting ready to come upon her and the rest of the town. This only being the first occurrence they find it not necessary to investigate any more, but is not until later during the school house scene that the

people of the town realize there is something very, very wrong. Again the scene first starts off with Melanie, she is sitting out side of the school house waiting to talk to Cathy.

The camera cuts back and forth between a medium shot of Melanie and the jungle jym. As the camera cuts back and forth between the two, more and more birds are landing on the jungle jym. This is another great example of foreshadowing the events that are getting ready to happen. After Melanie is done putting on her makeup she looks behind her and in a close-up the camera gets a great reaction of her realizing what is getting ready to happen. The birds also to have have realized something the loads of defenseless children inside the school house. The camera follows Melanie as she runs inside to tell Cathy about what is happening and that she needs to get the kids out. After the kids are only feet away from the school house the birds attack. Now with the kids running down the road the camera follows them as they are being attacked, mainly stays in a close up of the kids to show the pure terror within them. This scene really show the pure unreal intelligence of the birds, but it is not the only

one.
The intelligence of the birds throughout the film is only matched by their organization in their large numbers. The most informative scene about their intelligence would have to be the scene in the town. As the birds begin to attack the town they take out major hot spots like the gas station and use the peoples own weapons against them. Like using the gasoline to cause the town to practically burst into flames. Throughout these scenes there are a lot of POV or birds eye views of the town to show the mass chaos that is ensuing in the town. With it all starting in the dinner and people are arguing about why this is all happening. The camera then looks out side in a long shot of the gas station as the birds attack the gas station attendant and in the midst of getting attacked he drops the gas pump while it is still on. The camera follows in a long shot as people run out to help. After people leave the safety of the dinner they are immediately attacked. In the midst of the attack the trail of gasoline gets longer and longer until it is ignited by a man with a cigarette. Now with this happening the human race is having to fight two forces of nature. Being force to run around crazily as they are being attacked, being forced into makeshift cages like the animals they have become.
And animals they stay until the end of the film.

Through out the end of the movie most people are indoors with windows boarded up defining for their life. As in the scene with the Brenner they are caged inside their house trying to defend themselves from the attacking birds. It starts out with a long shot of the house as the camera starts to slowly track forward toward the house. Then the camera cuts to a close up of Mitch Benner putting the boards up on the wall as he patched the holes of the makeshift cage. They then retreat to inside the house where after the birds attack all power and communication is lost. With all ways to communicate gone they have no way to signal of help, they are now sitting ducks (or birds) in cage no way out. Another example of this is when Melanie goes upstairs, as she travels up the stair the camera keeps her in a low angle shot looking down on her to show the dominance in the scene goes to the birds. As she enters the room the camera gets a POV shot of Melanie as she looks up at the hole to see that the birds have gotten in. Then cutting back to a close up of Melanie as she is trapped inside the room alomost sucomign to her doom of being torn apart by the birds in the room. The birds almost have super human like abilities in this scene with the ability to break right through the roof of a

house.
These abilities lead the birds to pull of some unseen of feats, like also the power of being able to shred a wooden door to pieces after just minutes. With in the scene when they are trapped inside the is one of the main places the unreal abilities come into play. In one shot the camera is in a medium shot of the front door of the house and the birds begin to attack it, as the camera pull closer in the door begins to come to pieces. Hitchcock using this movement to convey suspense within the audiences. Hitchcock also making the audiences feel like they are in the scene. Like another example within the phone booth, Hitchcock leaves the view on the edge of their seat at the birds begin to attack the phone booth, using quick editing and closes up when the birds ram the glass. All of this making the audience feel as though they are in the scene with the character.
This unreal showing or power and organisation through the film is sign to the human race of the film that nature is not to be played with. The use of camera angle and only minor gore within the film makes the audience want to come back for more. Alfred Hitchcock leaving the audiences watching his film The Birds and a glimpse of what could happen when almost unreal intelligence of the birds have the humans be treated like animals. Having nature fight back for its place in the food chain.