Analysis of Hitchcock's ''The Birds''

<Remember to watch and analyse the trailer>

The basic plot of the film is as follows : A wealthy San Francisco socialite pursues a potential boyfriend to a small Northern California town that slowly takes a turn for the bizarre when birds of all kinds suddenly begin to attack people there in increasing numbers and with increasing viciousness.

In what ways is ''The Birds'' an archetypal thriller?

The birds is an archetypal thriller because it uses suspense and slow build up to tell the shocking story of how birds turn on mankind and attack them. The plot is delivered relatively slowly but when the birds start attacking the audience has no way of knowing how the story will actually end. There is usually an external threat to the protagonist(s), in ''The Birds'' it is nature, which is actually not typical within a thriller. 

Hitchcock has given the characters nowhere to hide, meaning they are at the complete mercy of the birds. 

however, there is a part of the birds that does not fit the idea of an archetypal thriller. The external threat in this film is nature, not a powerful villain with many minions and henchmen at his disposal. this is an interesting twist in the thriller genre.

There is also a well used example of dramatic irony found within The Birds, the lady who claims to be an expert when it comes to birds, does not believe that birds have been gathering and attacking people, she claims the idea to be outrageous, however the audience knows that it is true because of the schoolyard scene that was shown just beforehand. 

When the birds begin to attack, the high angle shot is almost like showing the point of view of a pitiless God who does not want to intervene because he feels as though the characters involved do not deserve any sympathy for taking nature for granted. 

It is often said that the thriller is a villain driven plot, however this is not true for the birds as there are no real villains, the threat comes from nature. 

The ending of the film is also presented in an interesting and unusual way. It feels as though the film does not actually end. The ending scene is just the family surrounded by birds driving away from their home, we do not know what happens to them and we do not know whether the birds stop attacking or not, Hitchcock used this particular technique to give the impression of unending terror to the audience, with great success. 

The birds are portrayed as characters who are flocking together to seek revenge upon mankind, because they had been abused for years. The lady who claims to love birds is interrupted by an order of three southern fried chickens, which is ironic because that is an example of birds being abused and mistreated despite the fact that someone who claims to like them is the focus of the scene.