Hitchcock is well-known for his distinct filmography and bold cinematic choices. One rationale for the specific expressionist themes found in his film The Birds (1963) is the exposure of superficiality of an interpretation that is simply psychological (Allen, 46). Meaning, a threat that has an actual physical presence could be perceived as much more horrifying. In this rationale, human beings become powerless against a powerful, potentially deadly force of nature (Allen, 46). This is clearly seen in The Birds, as the birds swooping from the sky represent these forces of nature which have rendered the humans powerless, whether it’s simply from fear, causing everybody to hide inside, pecking their eyes out of their sockets, or killing them in one fell swoop.
The way that Hitchcock showed emotion, specifically in Melanie’s phone booth scene, was authentic not mainly because of acting, but because of the editing. The camera angle positioned in the phone booth emphasizes the helplessness she feels. As the camera looks down on her face (01:27:02-01:27:05) it gives us a bird’s eye view and literally gives us the view of the birds that are whizzing through the air trying to attack her.
On page 72 of Visual Style, Allen states that the “death bird” has a very complex provenance in horror. We saw it most recently in Nosferatu and now, most blatantly in The Birds. The death bird in this film is not represented by a metaphor or analogy that zoomorphoses a human or monster; rather, the death bird is literally represented by the hordes of birds that attack the citizens of Bodega Bay. The “saving grace” for the bird species appeared to be the lovebirds, who countered the violent nature and force of the evil birds by representing a natural mating instinct and doing what they do best: love (Allen, 49).