“The Birds” Discussion Post

This is a discussion assignment for a film class. *NOTE* – you must watch Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds” or have already seen it in order to complete this assignment. Please do not be dishonest- I will be able to tell. Here is a free link to the movie- I tested it out. https://movies2watch.tv/movie/watch-the-birds-hd-17559
Here is some movie information- you will still need to watch it in order to understand* https://www.filmsite.org/bird.html

Instructions- Choose one of the following approaches to film criticism as discussed in A Short Guide to Writing About Film chapter 4: 1) History, 2) National Cinema, 3) Genre, or 4) Auteur. I have attached a PDF of the textbook- please check out chapter 4. The assignment only needs to be done on one of the four- either history, national cinema, genre or auteur. Choose whichever one you feel is the easiest
Next, use an academic search engine such as Google Scholar (scholar.google.com), to research material you would use to contextualize the film using that approach. For your discussion: Briefly summarize what you have found in your research.
History: Research the history of The Birds. When was the film released? What aspects of American history of the time may the film be commenting on?
National Cinema: Research American Cinema. How does The Birds fit into the history of American film?
Genre: What genre does the film belong to? Research other films in that genre. How does The Birds fit into that genre?
Auteur: Research Alfred Hitchcock. What is notable about his career as a filmmaker? How have scholars compared The Birds to his other films?

Post a summary of research conducted about the film and its context. This research should go beyond reading film reviews and include research on the director, the film’s time period, its production context, the genre, or anything that gives context to the meaning and purpose of the film.

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