The Birds

The scene I chose was the Robins of Love scene (53:44)

The first shot of this scene is the outside of the hardware store in daylight. The front of the store looks old timey and cheerful, the perfect small town store. Then the shot cuts to the inside of the store where Jeffrey is on the phone with Sandy. Jeffrey is always plotting something, and this time he’s plotting a get together with Sandy in secret because her boyfriend is over at her house. Jeffrey is whispering the whole conversation for no apparent reason, other than to be sneaky I suppose. Jeffrey is wearing a dark grey shirt in the beginning of the scene, which is important to note, because as the night moves forward he will be shown wearing all black. I think the progression from light to dark in the whole scene emphasizes the contrast between good and evil and from the facade to the reality throughout the whole movie. There is a cut it the picture of Jeffrey on the phone to a man, presumably a lumberjack (wearing plaid) buying an axe. I think this is important because it reminds the viewer that we are still in the same place as the opening scenes of the movie, Lumbertown US of A.

After Jeffrey hangs up the phone, the scene transitions abruptly to a dark room where a red lampshade is casing a demonic glow on Jeffrey's face. This abrupt change takes us from dark to night instantly. The whole shot is just of Jeffrey sitting in a chair. He is very somber, and sinister looking. In the background there is a Lumbertown sign that is hanging on the wall. I think this is important because this is the second time in the same scene that the viewer is being oriented. Although it is darker and much more sinister than the first shot, the location of the action is still in Lumbertown. The camera pans in on Jeffrey, emphasizing the intensity he is radiating and forcing the viewer to get closer to Jeffrey despite his menacing demeanor.

This shot fades to reveal the next shot, and the smooth transition represents how subtly the transition from little to no light can be made, as opposed to the previously abrupt transition from full sunlight to darkness. In this part of the scene Sandy drives up and parks. I thought that the choice to have Sandy park in front of a church was very interesting. In the background of the car there is a church that is in complete darkness, and the only light of the scene is shining through the stained glass windows of this church. There is no talk of religion in the movie, so choosing to emphasize the light from inside of the church was a striking thing to me. In this scene we see Jeffrey dressed in all black and Sandy dressed in light blue. Now, the blue is different from the pink we usually see her in, and I think that this blue suggests that she is becoming more involved in the darker nature of the town through her interactions with Jeffrey. I did note however, that the blue she is wearing is not a saturated color; it is a pastel that suggests that while she is becoming more involved she is still relatively innocent and naive.

This is where it gets interesting. Sandy asks Jeffrey to tell her about what happened the night before in Dorothy’s apartment. So, Jeffrey just out and tells her very matter- of -factly with no emotion what so ever. Jeffrey seems completely in control the entire time he is speaking, he does not appear to be emotionally attached to his words at all, and in fact seems completely unchanged by his experience. He does omit the part about becoming physical with Dorothy. I think that this suggests that he both does not want to hurt Sandy, and plans for a reoccurrence of this action. The only time that Jeffrey shows any emotion is when Sandy asks if they should tell her father. Jeffrey is adamant that they should not, and almost jumps out of his seat in a very sinister way. (I’m creeped out writing about it) BUT, and here is the interesting part. Jeffrey’s reasoning for not wanting to tell Sandy’s father is to protect them. After witnessing what a horrible situation Dorothy is in, Jeffrey is only worried for himself and Sandy, and states that he does not want them to get into trouble. Jeffrey seems artificially concerned about the “trouble in the world” and genuinely concerned about saving his own ass from any repercussions of his actions.

After Jeffrey tells his story, it is Sandy’s turn to talk. She proceeds to tell Jeffrey about a dream she has where Robins save the world with love. In her dream “the world was dark, because there were no Robins, and Robins represented love” and then “suddenly” the Robins are “set free” and they bring a “blinding light” that saves the world from darkness. Sandy notes that the love is the only thing that matters. This just shows how naive she is. First of all, who had captured the Robins in the first place? Sandy attributes all of the world’s darkness to a lack of love. She does not account for action, responsibility of individuals, character, none of that, she puts the fate of the world in the hands of a Robin that represents love. From this I can see the blatant juxtaposition of her words of light and love and the darkness in the car, outside, and sitting right next to her. Then there is an awkward shot of the two of them sitting facing each other, both expecting the other to say something, but neither one talking. Then they drive off and we are again left with the sight of the church in the background with light shining through its glass windows.