It's easy to get lost in a film. It is easy to completely immerse yourself in the plot, to experience horror and joy together with the characters. However, it's important to look beyond the screen when analyzing a film. Someone created what audiences see on screen, and sometimes it's important to ask why a movie looks or sounds a certain way. There are no accidents in the film; every aspect is carefully placed by the filmmakers. In most cases, the people behind the creation of a film are men. Therefore, a film is not a projection of what reality is, a film is the creator's vision of reality. With feminist film theory, it is possible to analyze how female characters in a film are treated while still recognizing that those who created the female characters and their stories are men. Hitchcock's films The Birds and Vertigo both show how men can create cinematic stories specifically to punish women they see as unruly or deviant. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The Birds, despite following a predominantly female cast, is a film about men. Men swallow the entire film, both on screen and behind the camera. The film's female protagonist, Melanie Daniels, and the film's two supporting women, Lydia Brenner and Annie Hayworth, are all consumed by the main male character, Mitch Brenner. Melanie falls in love with Mitch during the film and chases him throughout the film. Lydia, Mitch's mother, clings to Mitch as the last male figure in their family after her husband's death. She is afraid of being abandoned and surrounds her entire life around Mitch and, consequently, the women who surround Mitch. He begins to despise the women Mitch is attracted to out of fear and jealousy. Annie Hayworth, a teacher, is one of Mitch's former lovers. She moved from San Francisco to Mitch's hometown only because she couldn't bear to be away from him, even when they were no longer romantically involved. Throughout the first half of the film, this conflict between the three women over the male protagonist dominates the screen. This shows how important Mitch is, even when he's off screen. However, the director's male presence in the film is much more important, and this is best seen in the way the protagonist, Melanie Daniels, is treated. Melanie is playful and devious, and the first scene of the film shows her to the audience as she leads Mitch around the store, pretending to be a bird salesman but knowing nothing about birds. Her confidence in her lie is shaken when Mitch asks to see one of the birds, to which she enters the cage and fumbles embarrassingly. Mitch never loses his cool during the meeting. Melanie's punishment for attempting to display power over a man by playfully deceiving him is quickly punished by the men behind the camera, and only foreshadows what will happen later in the film. Melanie, now intrigued and attracted to Mitch, buys the two lovebirds he asked for at the store with the intention of delivering them as a joke. This brings her to the film's main setting, Bodega Bay. Her entire plan to deliver them goes well and she is calm and collected the entire time. We follow Melanie's point of view, watching from her perspective as Mitch runs around to find out who delivered the birds. At this moment, Melanie has a small victory. They both meet at the dock, Melanie with a confident and cunning smile, which is quickly replaced by shock as a seagull flies by and brushes past her head. This little moment of power in the hands of a characterfeminine is swept away in an instant, replaced by the status quo, as Mitch takes the injured damsel back to a restaurant to have her head checked. The action intensifies as the audience discovers more about the birds. They are violent creatures with no explanation for their attacks. Honestly, it doesn't need to be there, and in the end it didn't even need to be birds. The birds, through the lens of Melanie and her suffering, are merely the tool with which the filmmakers punish the female protagonist. As the film progresses, the male protagonist becomes much more active, fighting birds and fulfilling the "male role" of protecting the women in his life: his lover, his mother, and his sister. The house is boarded up and birds attack the house, leaving all the female characters in a state of panic and shock. It's no surprise that the male lead is ready to take action while sorting out some boarding after home. It is after the attack that the director's punishment is finally implemented. Melanie hears the flapping of the birds' wings and investigates, leading her to the attic where the birds have broken through the roof. Before she can react properly, the birds are upon her. The scene is framed erotically and ferociously, with images of her being attacked by birds, cut and bleeding, alongside the sounds of her moaning and calling Mitch's name. For the remainder of the film, Melanie's previously witty and compelling character is regressed to a speechless, doe-eyed figure stricken by the trauma of the event. The filmmakers properly punished Melanie and put her where they think she belongs. This trend of an ambiguous female character being "put in her place" doesn't just happen in The Birds. The female protagonist of Vertigo gets the same treatment. In Vertigo, the female protagonist, Judy Barton, disguises herself as Madeleine Elster to help Gavin Elster kill his real wife. Gavin wants it to look like a suicide and decides to trick retired detective John Ferguson (or Scotty) into witnessing his untimely demise. Judy, disguised as Madeleine, and Gavin convince Scotty that Madeleine's great-grandmother is possessing her and pushing her to kill herself. After following Judy for a while, he becomes convinced of the story and ends up falling in love with her. When the time for the murder comes, Judy runs up the stairs to the church tower. Scotty, suffering from vertigo due to his acrophobia, is stopped and can only watch in horror as Madeleine (the real one) falls from the top of the tower. After her death, he is obsessed with her and stops Judy, now out of her disguise, on the streets. He convinces her to have dinner with him because she looks so much like Madeleine. She begins to change parts of her appearance - her clothes, her shoes, her hair - to make her look more like Madeleine. It is only when Judy wears a piece of jewelry that Scotty knew Madeleine owned that he begins to see through Judy's plans. He forces her to drive with him to the clock tower where the real Madeleine died, causing Judy to relive those same events. At the top of the clock tower, Judy confesses everything, but at the last minute she falls in the same way as the real Madeline when she is frightened by the appearance of a nun also in the clock tower. His death is the end of the film. The audience sees Scotty looking over the ledge, the nun rings the church bell, and the Paramount logo appears on the screen. Death is important to Hitchcock, but with Judy's death there are no consequences for the characters. Madeleine's supposed death leads to the entire second half of the film, but Judy's death is the last scene. In this way, Judy's death means that she is punished for her actions. There., 2005.