"The Birds"

On Monday we saw the film "The Birds" by Alfred Hitchcock. This film was definitely interesting to say the least. To be honest I think I enjoyed wathcing "Rebecca" more because I was able to understand the plot better. "The Birds" takes an interesting view on the functions of individuals in soceity. At first I didn't really understand what role the birds were suppose to play in the film but that they must be a "reflection" of Melanie's personality. In other words, Melanie is seen as a very well put together individual. She is neither intimitated by others and is very sure of herself. However, once Melanie decides to pay a surprise visit to Mitch's house in Bodega Bay we then see a turn of events. All of a sudden birds are starting to form into giant masses and strangely begin attacking anyone in sight. Not much background is given on Melanie's character other than that she is a rich solcialite and always gets what she wants. Although, the one thing that Melanie most desires is the love and affection from her mother, who is no longer present in her life. The notion that I was getting throughout the film was that the birds symobolized the challenges we face in our everyday lives. As human beings we must play a certain role in soceity and that is exactly what Melanie is doing. She holds a particular status but once that is challenged (in this case Mitch's mother Lydia) Melanie no longer is seen as the confident and strong person. Towards the end of the film we see Melanie hold on dearly to Lydia in the car. Here we finally see Melanie put down her guard and lets herself become embraced by Lydia's touch.