Jun 15, 2024
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Hitchcock: Bigger Than God?
by Ron Littke
Hitchcock hears something weird on set; according to writer Ron Littke, Hitchcock's horror is more frightening than the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse. photo: courtesy A. HitchcockI recently re-watched Hitchcock’s "The Birds", which makes it my sixth or seventh viewing. I saw it when it first came out and didn’t like it. I was a kid hoping to see a typical horror movie—something with a monster that would scare me and get the adrenaline pumping.
Instead, I saw something more like a real nightmare with no music to warn you that the monster was coming. I could deal with a monster, but a horror on the level of the cold war atomic bomb scare, or in my case—being raised as an evangelical Christian, the fear of the second coming, made me very uncomfortable. I wanted to get out of the theater—fast!
In high school, our class rented "The Birds" to show as a fundraiser, which brought angry parents storming the principal’s office the following Monday. They complained that the movie was not appropriate for students. Since then I have seen it a number of times, including once on acid.
During this period, I heard all kinds of explanations about its themes from “It’s because they have the birds in a cage,” and “It's nature getting back at us,” to “It’s about the bomb,” or “It’s about feminism." Indeed, the women are the powerful characters in the film, so we can easily add: "It’s about Mitch’s fear of women coming to power,” or “It’s about Mitch’s fixation on his mother who subconsciously summons the birds whenever she fears she’s loosing Mitch,” or “It’s about Hitchcock’s crush on Tippi Hedren."
Upon seeing it again last week, my take-away was something even more frightening. There was no reason for the attack of the birds—it was something that just happens. To quote Dylan, “Something is happening and you don’t know what it is…” which is the deepest primal fear imaginable.
Hitchcock’s genius is evident: he created a film like no other previously made. It was a monster-less horror film with no music and no ending—a snippet in time. It draws you into a nightmare you don’t want to have and leaves you there in a car driving slowly down the driveway and along a lonely coastal road.
It's no laughing matter: Hitchcock on the set of 'The Birds'. photo: courtesy A. HitchcockWhen you finally wake up, ie leave the theater, shut off the computer, you want to know what happened. You want an ending so you can go back to sleep or sleepwalking through life. You can make one up to make yourself feel better, but you’re never sure if you can get away or not. Essentially, "The Birds" is the first film about the apocalypse.
After being saved by atheism from my born-again upbringing, I continued to have a reoccurring dream of a beautiful day when suddenly things start going wrong. Strange clouds appear in the sky. Animals begin acting violently. The police ask you questions that you can’t answer, and when you ask them what is going on, they say, “Sorry, I can’t give you that information.” You turn the radio on and the only stations you can tune-in have preachers reading from "Revelations". I have always credited religion for this dream.
But, after my recent viewing, I’m wondering if the dream has roots in something even more frightening than religion: "The Birds"!
Posted on Jun 18, 2012 - 09:54 PM
by Ron Littke
Hitchcock hears something weird on set; according to writer Ron Littke, Hitchcock's horror is more frightening than the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse. photo: courtesy A. HitchcockInstead, I saw something more like a real nightmare with no music to warn you that the monster was coming. I could deal with a monster, but a horror on the level of the cold war atomic bomb scare, or in my case—being raised as an evangelical Christian, the fear of the second coming, made me very uncomfortable. I wanted to get out of the theater—fast!
In high school, our class rented "The Birds" to show as a fundraiser, which brought angry parents storming the principal’s office the following Monday. They complained that the movie was not appropriate for students. Since then I have seen it a number of times, including once on acid.
During this period, I heard all kinds of explanations about its themes from “It’s because they have the birds in a cage,” and “It's nature getting back at us,” to “It’s about the bomb,” or “It’s about feminism." Indeed, the women are the powerful characters in the film, so we can easily add: "It’s about Mitch’s fear of women coming to power,” or “It’s about Mitch’s fixation on his mother who subconsciously summons the birds whenever she fears she’s loosing Mitch,” or “It’s about Hitchcock’s crush on Tippi Hedren."
Upon seeing it again last week, my take-away was something even more frightening. There was no reason for the attack of the birds—it was something that just happens. To quote Dylan, “Something is happening and you don’t know what it is…” which is the deepest primal fear imaginable.
Hitchcock’s genius is evident: he created a film like no other previously made. It was a monster-less horror film with no music and no ending—a snippet in time. It draws you into a nightmare you don’t want to have and leaves you there in a car driving slowly down the driveway and along a lonely coastal road.
It's no laughing matter: Hitchcock on the set of 'The Birds'. photo: courtesy A. HitchcockAfter being saved by atheism from my born-again upbringing, I continued to have a reoccurring dream of a beautiful day when suddenly things start going wrong. Strange clouds appear in the sky. Animals begin acting violently. The police ask you questions that you can’t answer, and when you ask them what is going on, they say, “Sorry, I can’t give you that information.” You turn the radio on and the only stations you can tune-in have preachers reading from "Revelations". I have always credited religion for this dream.
But, after my recent viewing, I’m wondering if the dream has roots in something even more frightening than religion: "The Birds"!
Posted on Jun 18, 2012 - 09:54 PM
