Robert Bly and the mythopoetic men's movement

In 'Teaching Men and Film', Matthew Hall references Robert Bly and the mythopoetic men's movement as a way of understanding some of the themes in 'Fight Club'.

From wikipedia:

The leaders of the mythopoetic men's movement believe that modernization has led to the feminization of men. Mythopoets believe that the rise of the urban industrial society "trapped men into straitjackets of rationality, thus blunting the powerful emotional communion and collective spiritual transcendence that they believe men in tribal societies typically enjoyed" (p. 20 Messner). Most importantly, the movement seeks to restore the "deep masculine" to men who have lost it in their more modern lifestyles.^[1] Other causes for the loss of the "deep masculine" include:

• Men no longer being comrades who celebrated their masculinity together. Rather, they had become competitors within their workplaces.^[2]
• Men spending more time in their houses with women than they did with men (in non-competitive terms outside of work). Excessive interaction with women generally kept men from realizing their internal masculinity.^[2]
• Feminism bringing attention to the 'feminine voice.' Through this, the mythopoetic men felt that their voices had been muted (though Bly and others are careful in not blaming feminism for this).^[3]
• The separation of men from their fathers kept them from being truly initiated into manhood, and was a source of emotional damage.^[4]
• Men were suffering further emotional damage due to feminist accusations about sexism. Men should celebrate their differences from women, rather than feeling guilty about them.^[4]
• Men being discouraged from expressing their emotions. Male inexpressivity is an epidemic and does not correspond to their "deep masculine" natures.^[3]

Robert Bly:

Much of Bly's writing focuses on what he saw as the particularly troubled situation in which many males find themselves today. He understood this to be a result of, among other things, the decline of traditional fathering which left young boys unguided through the stages of life leading to maturity. He claimed that in contrast with women who are better informed by their bodies (notably by the beginning and end of their menstrual cycle), men need to be actively guided out of boyhood and into manhood by their elders. Pre-modern cultures had elaborate myths, often enacted as rites of passage, as well as "men's societies" where older men would teach young boys about these gender-specific issues. As modern fathers have become increasingly absent, this knowledge is no longer being passed down the generations, resulting in what he referred to as a Sibling Society.^[12] The "Absence of the Father" is a recurrent theme in Bly's work and many of the phenomena of depression, juvenile delinquency and lack of leadership in business and politics are linked to it.

Bly therefore sees today's men as half-adults, trapped between boyhood and maturity, in a state where they find it hard to become responsible in their work as well as leaders in their communities. Eventually they might become weak or absent fathers themselves which will lead this behaviour to be passed down to their children. In his book The Sibling Society (1997), Bly argues that a society formed of such men is inherently problematic as it lacks creativity and a deep sense of empathy. The image of half-adults is further reinforced by popular culture which often portrays fathers as naive, overweight and almost always emotionally co-dependent. Historically this represents a recent shift from a traditional patriarchal model and Bly believes that women rushed to fill the gap that was formed through the various youth movements during the 1960s,^[13] enhancing men's emotional capacities and helping them to connect with women's age-old pain of repression. It has however also led to the creation of "soft males" which lacked the outwardly directed strength to revitalize the community with assertiveness and a certain warrior strength.

In Bly's view, a potential solution lies in the rediscovery of the meanings hidden in traditional myths and fairytales as well as works of poetry. He researched and collected myths that concern male maturity, often originating from the Grimms' Fairy Tales and published them in various books, Iron John being the best known example.^[14] In contrast to the continual pursuit of higher achievements, that is constantly taught to young men today, the theme of spiritual descent  which is to be found in many of these myths, is presented as a necessary step for coming in contact with the deeper aspects of the masculine self and achieving its full potential. This is often presented as hero, often during the middle of his quest, going underground to pass a period of solitude and sorrow in semi-bestial mode. Bly notices that a cultural space existed in most traditional societies for such a period in a man's life, in the absence of which, many men today go into a depression and alcoholism as they subconsciously try to emulate this innate ritual.

Also, read this article on the mythpoetic men's movement.

http://www.context.org/iclib/ic16/bliss/

Revisioning Masculinity

A report on the growing men's movement

By Shepherd Bliss

One of the articles in Gender (IC#16)
Originally published in Spring 1987 on page 21
Copyright (c)1987, 1997 by Context Institute

Shepherd Bliss. Ph.D., teaches psychology at John F. Kennedy University in Orinda, California. He edited The New Holistic Health Handbook and currently co-edits The Men’s Studies Review and hosts the "Changing Men" program on KPFA radio. Shepherd divides his time between Boston and the San Francisco Bay Area. This article first appeared in the Yoga Journal (November/December 1986) and is reprinted here with permission.

"MEN ARE SUCH INTERESTING CREATURES," I overhear the woman tell the bus driver in Atlanta, where I’m attending the 11th National Conference on Men and Masculinity. "They’re so mysterious."

"Yes," I nod to myself in agreement.

"Wild without being cruel, angry without being violent, sexual without being coercive, spiritual without being unsexed, and able to truly love" is how another woman, the feminist writer Starhawk, describes the men she would like to see emerging.

"Yes," I nod again in agreement.

Passionate. Sensitive. Unpredictable. Vital. Clear-thinking. Courageous. Willing to listen. Committed. Communicative. Your list might differ from mine. But, whether you are a man or a woman, you probably have your own image of how you would like men to be. Fortunately, more men are becoming aware of their masculinity and learning to develop and transform it, rather than merely inheriting the old masculinity of past generations.

Men in increasing numbers are assembling at local, regional, and national gatherings throughout the country to deal with men’s issues. In 1986 alone I attended such events in San Francisco, Florida, Boston, Minneapolis, and northern California’s Mendocino woods.

Each event has a distinct character: from the 700 men in San Francisco who came to spend a day with the elder poet Robert Bly, to the feminist men in Atlanta, to the smaller support groups that are now proliferating across the country.

In the Mendocino woods each year since 1982, nearly 100 men have gathered to spend a week together drumming, reciting poetry, learning aikido, playing volleyball, telling stories, making masks, listening to presentations by men like Robert Bly and psychologist James Hillman, and dancing a wild samba late into the night. In Florida I was invited to speak about the growing men’s movements to the Franciscans, a men’s community begun in the 13th century to continue the work of Francis of Assisi. These men, who live and work together, listened intently, bringing the wisdom of centuries of male community into the room.

Men are drawn to these gatherings for various reasons: to express their pain and grief, to have fun, to support women (and to complain about them), to improve their lives, to make music and dance, and just to hang out. Young adults, mid-lifers, and elders all participate. At the Mendocino gatherings, for example, the average age is late 30s/early 40s, but the oldest participants have been in their 70s and the youngest in their teens. At some gatherings, such as Atlanta and the annual California Men’s Gatherings, women also attend, although they usually comprise less than 10 percent of the participants.

"I’m here because I feel isolated back home," one man in Atlanta explained. "I don’t fit into the usual mold of what it means to be a man."

"Mendocino offers me a place away from work and women," observed another man. "I can just be myself here. There’s something very primitive about being out here in the woods with all these guys."

NEW IMAGES OF MASCULINITY

The consensus about what it means to be a man in America today is eroding, a development that some applaud and others bemoan. Two factors have been primary in altering traditional concepts of manhood: the women’s movement and changing economic and work situations. Women have demanded more access to traditionally male jobs, thus threatening the "breadwinner" image of men. Women have also demanded that men help care for children and do housework, thus threatening the image of the "king of the castle." Whereas men in America once tamed the wilds, moved West, and worked mainly with their hands, most men today work at jobs in which physical know-how and strength are not primary.

Yet the images of the old masculinity still prevail – from the Marlboro man on billboards to Sylvester Stallone on screen and Ronald Reagan in the White House. The man they assert is supposed to be tough, hide his feelings, and remain in charge.

As a result, many men feel conflicting pressures: on the one hand, to live up to these male stereotypes, and on the other to conform to the more realistic expectations of wives, lovers, and co-workers.

Groups of men first challenged traditional masculinity in the early 1970s, when men influenced by the women’s movement organized consciousness-raising groups, founded men’s centers, and hosted men’s gatherings. Berkeley, California, was the scene of some of the earliest of these pro-feminist gatherings, and many of the founders of this trend, such as writer and teacher Joseph Pleck, remain quite active.

The feminist men’s perspective is represented by the National Organization of Changing Men (NOCM), which hosted the Atlanta gathering. Its publications include Brother and Changing Men, and its activities include organizing demonstrations opposing male violence against women and supporting the rights of gays. NOCM describes itself as pro-feminist, gay-affirmative, and male-supportive.

In the early 1980s there emerged another alternative vision of what it means to be a man: the mythopoetic approach. This approach looks to ancient mythology and fairytales, to Jungian and archetypal psychology, and to poets and teachers like Robert Bly and James Hillman. The mythopoetic approach is advanced by such groups as the Minnesota Men’s Council and the Golden Gate Men’s Council in San Francisco, as well as at the annual men’s gatherings led by Robert Bly in northern California, Minnesota, and Boston. Its voices include Manalive, from Minnesota, and The Men’s Journal, from the San Francisco Bay Area.

The feminist and mythopoetic approaches contrast sharply to the prevailing images of manhood, and they differ also from one another and from the other alternative visions of manhood being advocated within the diverse men’s movement. Feminists want men to learn more from women, whereas the mythopoetic approach emphasizes what Bly calls the "deep masculine". Women and their agendas receive considerable attention from groups like NOCM and the California Anti-Sexist Men’s Political Caucus (CAMP); women are even welcome to attend their events. In contrast, the mythopoetic men concentrate more on their own psychological and spiritual needs, and their gatherings are all male.

In addition to these two primary trends within the men’s movement, other groups also exist. For example, the Free Men Coalition and the National Congress of Men represent the men’s rights advocates, many of whom are divorced fathers concerned with child custody issues. Many of these men are angry at women, whom they see as oppressing them.

Another significant recent development within the men’s movement has been the academic field of men’s studies. The women’s movement spawned hundreds of courses around the country on women, as well as hundreds of books and thousands of articles. Now the men’s movement has begun to influence the development of classes on men as men. About 100 such courses are currently taught in the United States, and a quarterly publication entitled Men’s Studies Review, now in its fourth year, focuses on this emerging field.

THE MYTHOPOETIC APPROACH

In this article, I will focus on the mythopoetic approach, at least in part. The men’s movement has developed from an early focus on political and personal issues to include a cultural dimension and a growing concern with larger spiritual and transpersonal questions.

The mythopoetic approach seeks to learn from ancestors and retrieve wisdom from the past that can be applied to the lives of men today. Rather than exploring rational, analytical, or political thinking, this approach thinks mythopoetically, i.e. using symbols, metaphors, and archetypal images.

Ancient myths, such as those of the Greeks, are studied not for their historical merit or for what they teach about literature or the outer world, but for what they tell us about the inner world of the male psyche. "Mythology is a psychology of antiquity," according to archetypal psychologist James Hillman, who has emerged alongside Bly as an elder spokesman for this approach.

Bly and Hillman are interested in the "deep masculine," the route which takes a man down into pain, grief, and ultimately ecstasy, rather than upward into denial and the abstract realm of ideas. "Grief rather than anger is the doorway to a man’s feelings," Bly asserts.

Bly and Hillman note that many men today act out of the puer aeternus (eternal youth) archetype, which can benefit from being balanced by the archetype of the senex (old man). But younger men now are often very hostile to older men. The puer lives a provisional life, often with a great deal of creativity, but he tends to lack discipline, commitment, groundedness, and the ability to persevere. In a famous essay entitled "Peaks and Vales," Hillman notes that our tendency is to rise up to the heights of the mountains, whereas we can also learn much in the depths of the valleys. Mythopoetic gatherings employ various routes down into the vales, including storytelling, ritual, poetry recitation, drumming, and dancing.

TWO ROLE MODELS

Two of the more prominent ancestors of the mythopoetic approach are Francis of Assisi and Henry David Thoreau. Both were poets, and both present a positive image of manhood within a larger spiritual context. Both the 13th-century communal Francis, traveling the countryside singing troubadour songs, and the 19th-century solitary Thoreau, writing alone in his journal by Walden Pond, contributed to our understanding of what it means to be a man.

Yet the lives of these two nature mystics were quite distinct from what we expect of men today. Most contemporary men seem to be out of touch with nature, which, according to deep ecologists and feminists like Susan Griffin (author of Woman and Nature), has been the basis for many of our problems. Francis and Thoreau, in contrast, deeply immersed themselves in nature. Francis, while living communally with the other brothers of his order, was drawn to the earth. He lived for periods in a cave, spent many hours communing with animals (which he addressed as "brother"), and frequently flung himself upon the earth in ecstasy. A man of great passion, he learned to channel his passion without subjugating or extinguishing it.

Though solitary, Thoreau was also a man of passion, and he frequently celebrated the "wildness" in man. "Give me for my friends and neighbors wild men, not tame ones," he writes, using a term now prized by Robert Bly. "All good things are wild and free," he observes elsewhere. "I would have every man so much like a wild antelope. The most alive is the wildest." And in a statement made famous by the Sierra Club, he prophesies: "In wildness is the preservation of the world."

But the wildness Thoreau recommends is neither savage nor brutal. In fact, when men are in contact with this primal quality in themselves and in nature, they are far less likely to be violent. By contemplating and integrating this wildness, such men are better able to understand and participate in what Thoreau calls the "higher laws:" the universal cycles of life and death, growth and decay.

KEY ISSUES

Men are drawn to the men’s movement for different reasons. I’ve participated in that movement for a decade now, having been influenced by various groups, authors, teachers, and ideas. As I reflect on what I’ve learned about men in that time and concentrate on the future of men in the 80s, a number of issues emerge as primary for the men’s movement to address:

1) The Father-Son Connection. The longing of men for better contact with their fathers is not new, though it seems to have grown worse since the Industrial Revolution, when men left the countryside for the city and the farm for the factory. A mythopoetic approach to men guides us back to ancient literature to better understand this phenomenon. In Homer’s Odyssey, one of the great father-son stories, the warrior-king Odysseus returns and reveals himself to his teenaged son Telemachus: "I am that father whom your boyhood lacked and suffered pain for lack of. I am he…" Throwing his arms around this marvel of a father, Telemachus begins to weep. Salt tears rose from wells of longing in both men. Studies reveal that most men today never have such a healing reconciliation with their fathers.

"The Odysseus myth points to a deep yearning for each other in both father and son, and it contains a lesson for our times," notes Sam Osherson in his book Finding Our Fathers: The Unfinished Business of Manhood. "Like many men, Telemachus spent his childhood among women. He was like many of us – his father was off fighting distant wars." According to Osherson, "For a man to grow up, he must find the good and the strong in his own father – he must find the heroic in the figure he hardly knew. The alternative is to be dominated by vile, degraded images of manhood." Such images, unfortunately, prevail in our culture today.

"We need the father who helps us define masculine strength in a changing world," Osherson continues," what Robert Bly has called ‘the moist father,’ strong and caring." Working on the father-son connection helps men to deal with their fears of each other, grow closer together, and develop deep, lasting male friendships.

2) Male Friendships. Men are kept apart by many things, including fear, competition, busyness, and homophobia. By homophobia I mean the fear of same sex contact, which includes the fear of homosexuality. Men are socialized to compete with and better each other, rather than to cooperate. One of the major accomplishments of the men’s movement has been to provide an environment within which male friendships can develop and flourish. Such friendships can draw men closer, not only to each other, but to women and children as well.

But the obstacles to male friendship are substantial. "Much of our heat had to do with unexpressed/unresolved competition, conditional trust, jealousy, and fear," writes one man of his friendship with another. "Is it that we went too far? In our male, awkward intimate ways, did we frighten one another and blow it?" How often in male friendships the first real conflict becomes the last, and one or both men back out entirely. Frequently the withdrawal is not even openly acknowledged, and the mistrust of male relationships deepens.

3) Men’s Health. In the U.S. today, men die an average of eight years younger than women, for various reasons. As a result, men’s health should be a primary concern to all who care for men. Men can do something about their health, including teaching each other how to stay healthy, learning from women, and taking better care of themselves.

4) Male Modes of Intimacy. We think most often in terms of face-to-face intimacy, such as sharing a meal with someone or making love. But men are also quite good at what I like to call side-by-side intimacy: running together, playing racquetball, gardening, working on long-term projects, or engaging in other activities in which the presence of the other is important, but the contact is not necessarily verbal. Back-to-back intimacy is also common among men, as when one man "backs up" another.

5) Male Modes of Feeling. We have been socialized to associate women with feelings, when in fact men’s feelings are just as strong. Men just express them differently. Men seem to have a tendency to hold their feelings "closer to their chests" than women, to practice what Robert Bly calls "containment," which is quite different from either repression or expression. Women often criticize men for not expressing their feelings openly enough, and although this may often be true, there is also a sense in which men have a unique "mode" of feeling that they must learn to understand and honor.

6) The Male Body. In his forthcoming book The Loneliness of the Male Body, bodyworker and author Don Johnson describes how men learn about their bodies almost exclusively from women – their mothers and lovers – rather than from men. Fathers and male friends seldom initiate men into the mystery of their bodies. Instead, men tend to base their body images on what they learn from women and see in the media.

But men can learn to be proud rather than ashamed of their bodies. And they can also work, individually or together, to change them, dropping the armor, increasing flexibility, or adding strength and self-confidence, as necessary.

These are certainly not the only issues facing the man’s movement today. Other key issues include male-female relationships, homophobia, domestic violence, and men and war. I’ve focused on these six because they’ve emerged as paramount among the many men I’ve encountered in my talks and workshops throughout the country.

The primary forum that men have developed for working on these issues has been the men’s gathering. As author Keith Thompson observes in a recent issue of Utne Reader (May 1986), men have traditionally needed a "lodge" where they can be together, a place of refuge, privacy, friendship, and camaraderie. At these gatherings, which last anywhere from a day to a week or longer, men can establish intimate relationships in the absence of women, dealing in a supportive environment with their deepest feelings of shame, sadness, anger, and grief.

CONCLUSION

My life and the lives of thousands of men in the United States have been permanently changed by the men’s movement. My father was one of the many classically absent fathers, off at work to provide for the family. The men’s movement has helped me to move beyond blaming him to understanding how he lived out the prevailing stereotype of what it means to be a man. As I reflect on my own personal decisions as an adolescent and young adult – such as going into the military and then to seminary – I realize that one motivating factor was my need to deal with my relationships with men. In adolescence, men are drawn to what psychotherapist Gordon Murray calls "buddies." Yet men seldom retain those friends into adulthood. The men’s movement provides a variety of ways for men to interact with each other and develop ongoing connections. Being with men can be healing, stimulating, or just old-fashioned fun.

The men’s movement also has the potential to impact our culture as a whole. If men were to place greater value on their relationships with other men, spend more time with children, have a better connection to nature, work with women for equality, and take better care of their bodies, society as a whole would almost certainly be transformed for the better.

Men are changing today, too fast for some and not fast enough for others. Though confusing to many, ours is a time for revisioning masculinity and redefining what it means to be a man.

Genre themes and ideas to write about in 'Fight Club'

• Masculinity, emasculation and homo-eroticism (fetishization of the male body)
• Loneliness and frustration with your life
• Identity 
• The lost 'everyman'
• Coming of age 
• Relationships and communication issues
• Nihilism
• The sexuality of destructiveness (Crash 1996 and Nightcrawler 2014 also fetishize death and destruction)
• Material possessions
• Parenting and abandonment
• The Hollywood love story subverted
• Satire - e.g. consumerism, the workplace, desire, sexual issues, relationships, support groups

Formula for success:

1. State your film: Fight Club (Fincher 1999)
2. Introduce your critical framework (genre) and explain how you are going to use it - you can use the quotations about genre from Neale or Tudor here and explain how you are going to view Fight Club; as a satirical comedy, or a 'coming of age' film, or both
3. Introduce one of the above themes (e.g. masculinity) in a new paragraph as a point for discussion.
4. Use an example(s) of how this theme is represented in Fight Club.
5. Support your example with a quotation(s) from the dialogue in Fight Club this shows that you know the film well).
6. Support your example with a point about the same theme from a critical writer (you can start your paragraph with the point from the critical writer if you wish).  You should name the critical writer and the essay, article or book in which they made the point.  A direct quotation from the critical writer is far more impressive (and accurate) than you paraphrasing what they wrote.
7. Relate your theme to genre by referring to similar themes and incidents in your other films -The Graduate (Nichols 1967), American Beauty (Mendes 1999) and Rebel Without a Cause (Ray 1955).  You can also reference Crash (Cronenberg 1996) and Nightcrawler (Gilroy 2014).

Repeat this formula (points 3-7) for your other themes.


Critical writers to use

• David Fincher, Edward Norton and Brad Pitt provide a critical commentary on the two disc edition (2004) of the film
• Matthew Hall - 'Teaching Men and Film' (2005)
• Brian Baker - 'Masculinity in Fiction and Film' (2008), especially the chapter 'The Psycho in the Grey Flannel Suit'
• Mark Ramey - 'Studying Fight Club' (2012)
• Robert Bly - 'Iron John: A Book about Men' (1990)
• Gavin Smith interviewing David Fincher in 'Film Comment' magazine (September/October 1999)
• Arthur Chu - 'Complaining like it's 1999: Fight club, American Beauty and the revolt of the cubicle drone' on the 'Daily Beast' (2014)
• Stephen Schaefer interviewing Edward Norton for 'Mrshowbiz.com'
• Philip French - 'You looking at me?' (The Guardian Nov 1999)
• Roger Ebert - review of Fight Club on rogerebert.com
• Jim Emerson - Fight Club: Punching in the dark (1999) on rogerebert.com
• Janet Maslin - 'Such a very long way from duvets to danger', review in the New York Times (Oct 1999)
• Kim Newman - Fight Club review in 'Empire' magazine (Jan 2000)
• Alexander Walker - review in the Evening Standard (1999)
• David Rooney - review in Variety magazine (Sept 1999)
• Peter Bradshaw - review in The Guardian (Nov 1999)
  

  
  

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Popular Film and Emotional Response Question - some more help...

This question is simply asking you to explain how two films use devices to manipulate the spectator (i.e. you) and provoke an emotional response (e.g. fear, sympathy, sadness, anxiety etc.).

Devices used to do this can be considered as belonging to one of four categories: camerawork, editing, sound and mise-en-scene.

Let's look at how each of the four categories are used to manipulate the spectator in our two focus films.

Camerawork in Jaws
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrEvK-tv5OI
The start of Jaws (Chrissie's death) uses careful camerawork to position the spectator (both in terms of your proximity to the action and your feelings).  First of all, the spectator is made to feel part of the beach party (MCU eye level shots make you feel that you are drinking with the characters).  Remember that 'horror' films appeal to a youthful audience and that drinking, smoking dope and flirting will be activities that many spectators will have indulged in.

The 'Male Gaze' can be seen with the young woman stripping off and running into the sea.

Remember the moral messages and values of American horrors that often link sex and death.

Spielberg positions the camera close to water level to enable the spectator to identify with her and experience the horror of her death.

However, there are also underwater shots looking up at the girl swimming on the surface.  These shots create vulnerability (she is naked and unaware of what is below her) and also represent the shark's view (we can see through the eyes of the predator).

 When the shark attacks, we don't see any teeth, bites or blood.  Everything is below the surface and therefore left to our imagination.  Bear in mind that there could be an enigma code operating here - what is attacking her?  However, there was so much hype surrounding this film that contemporary spectators could not have been unaware that the likely killer was a shark.

As Chrissie is pulled to and fro by pulleys, we imagine the shark tearing at her lower body.  At this point, the camera is positioned at water level and very close to the attack; so much so that waves caused by the struggle threaten to swamp it.  It's very unsettling viewing.

A particularly poignant moment is when she clings to a buoy, desperate for the trauma to stop.  The spectator probably feels the same way but is forced to continue to watch as she is dragged off again and pulled towards the camera.

She fills the frame, pleading for help (we can give her none) before her ordeal (and ours) is ended as the unseen shark pulls her under the surface.

Summary of devices used:

• Positioning and involvement
• 'Male Gaze'
• Identification through proximity
• Horror through proximity
• Shark perspective
• Representation of vulnerability
• Using our imagination
• Violence of struggle
• Moving of character towards the spectator
• Inability to give assistance (boy on beach and spectator)

Camerawork (and dialogue) in Psycho
The scene where Marion encounters the traffic cop is a good scene to analyse in terms of camerawork and its impact on spectatorship.  By this point in the film, you may already be aligned with Marion and hope that she achieves her goals.  If that is the case, you will see the traffic cop as a threat to her success and will feel as nervous as her when he abruptly appears.

In the previous scene we see Marion struggling to see the road ahead as she drives into the night to Fairvale and Sam.  Ellipsis is used because the first shot (an extreme long shot) in the next scene shows the specatator that time has moved on to the following morning and that Marion has parked up on a quiet rural road for the night.  Perhaps she felt that this road would be a good place to sleep without attracting unwanted attention.

A police car passes, stops and reverses.  The spectator feels anxiety because we are aware of the danger but she is not (dramatic irony).  The long take increases the suspense of the moment.

The patrolman taps sharply on the window of Marion's car but a point of view shot shows that she is still sleepy and does not react.  This creates more tension because she will need to be alert and skilful to get out of this situation.

She awakes and is startled by the patrolman.  She rises so that she is framed in a big close up, point of view shot which allows us to see just how alarmed she is.  The spectator is aware that she needs to be calm but she appears far from it.  Many spectators would be able to identify with her feelings.  An encounter with a policeman can be intimidating when you have done nothing wrong let alone when you have stolen $40,000.  All of  us know the feeling of looking guilty even when we haven’t done anything wrong.  But Marion has done something wrong and policemen are trained to sense guilt and catch criminals.  Will he sense her guilt?

The patrolman is shot with even tighter framing emphasising his impassive, authoritarian expression and the coldness of eyes hidden behind dark glasses.  His unsmiling face indicates that he might not be an easy man to appease.  The shot is Marion's point of view (note the slightly lower angle) and he seems very close to her which may make it easier for him to detect her guilt.

The shot reverses back to Marion and she panics, rushing to start her car.  The patrolman tells her to "Hold it there" after a cut to a two shot.  This is not a good start; her anxious actions are far more likely to arouse his suspicions and the sympathetic spectator will be urging her to control her emotions.

Cut to another big close up of Marion in which her wide eyes show that her alarm has not passed. She winds down her window (a sensible action) and the shot reverses back to the patrolman.  Again he is framed more tightly than her so that his head seems much bigger than hers and he is represented as a looming, powerful figure.  Half questioningly, half accusingly he says, "In quite a hurry?"  Marion responds with a plausible explanation; she slept longer than expected after pulling over the previous night after feeling drowsy.  However the shot again reverses to the patrolman who expresses surprise and concern that she slept there all night particularly as "There are plenty of motels in this area...you should of...I mean, just to be safe". (On subsequent viewings this statement may appear ironically foreboding to the spectator as the perceived 'safety' of a motel is proved to be false as Marion is murdered at the Bates Motel.)

There is a sub-text here too.  The patrolman seems also to be hinting at Marion's attractiveness by suggesting that her actions might have led to her becoming the unfortunate victim of a sexually motivated attack - remember that it was the screenwriter's (Joseph Stefano) intention that all the men Marion encounters before her death are attracted to her.  If you don't read the patrolman's words as attraction then an alternative interpretation is that he is genuinely concerned and softening his attitude towards her (pretty women are said to be able to manipulate policemen to their advantage). However, if she has this potential she spoils it with her next words:

Marion: "Have I broken any laws?"
Patrolman: "No, Ma'm."
Marion: "Then I'm free to go."

The words "Then I'm free to go" are said assertively as if she is making a statement rather than asking a question.  Marion is probably used to getting men to do what she wants but this is not any man, he is a policeman and it seems that she is telling him what is going to happen rather than the other way round.  He asks her if anything is wrong and she says no, but he is unconvinced and says that she is acting as if something is.  Marion then really gets under his skin by replying brusquely, "I've told you there's nothing wrong, except that I'm in a hurry and you're taking up my time".  With that, she tries to drive away but the patrolman, plainly irritated, stops her and asks to see her licence.  Marion's interaction with the policeman is designed to cause the aligned spectator anxiety.  We want her to get away with it but she doesn't make things easy for herself, or for us!

To find her licence, Marion needs to go into her handbag which also contains the money.  The suspense of the moment is increased by positioning the camera inside the car which positions the spectator with Marion and places the threat (the patrolman) outside the car but far too close for comfort.  The two shot enables us to see his proximity to Marion; surely he will discover her crime? She turns her back to shield what she is doing from him; will he see this as suspicious?  The spectator is privileged to see her take the money out and push it between her body and the seat.  The patrolman tries to peer around her but is obscured from seeing what is going on.

The patrolman checks the licence and her number plate in a point of view shot.  A close-up of the Arizona plate is significant to the plot because in the next scene Marion decides to trade her car for one with California plates in an effort to blend in more and throw off any potential pursuers.

The patrolman hands back her licence and without a word returns to his car.

As Marion drives off, the 'high anxiety' leitmotif begins and the patrolman follows her.  Then there is a wonderfully suspenseful sequence (over a minute long) where the shot mostly alternates between a fixed camera position looking directly at Marion and a shot of her rear view mirror showing the patrol car.  The medium close up shot of Marion is very personal and gives a direct mode of address so that the spectator feels that Marion is looking almost directly into our own eyes.  This makes the connection between spectator and character more intimate and enables the spectator to feel more aligned with Marion's emotional state, which is highly anxious.  She scans the mirror nervously, her furrowed brow and wide eyes communicating her fear.  The rear view mirror shot is Marion's point of view, so again the spectator is positioned in such a way as to experience what Marion is experiencing, both visually and emotionally.  Whenever, we are followed in our cars by police vehicles we feel a little nervous - 'Are they following me?'  Marion has even more reason to feel nervous as there is a genuine reason why she should be stopped.  Despite her crimes, many spectators will be rooting for her and hoping that she gets away with it.  These sympathetic spectators will breathe a sigh of relief as the patrol car turns off (Marion is also clearly relieved).

Summary of devices used:

• Ellipsis
• Early establishing shot sets time and place
• Appearance of police car is unexpected and creates dramatic irony
• Suspense and tension (the uncertainty of what will happen)
• Vulnerability (Marion is sleepy and off-guard)
• Uniformed authority
• Big close-ups / tight framing
• Good and bad, right and wrong is subverted so that we desire the criminal to succeed
• Alignment with a character we like
• Sunglasses add to the patrolman's intimidating representation
• Eyeline matches
• High and low angles (Marion sitting down, patrolman standing)
• Point-of-view shots 
• Two shots (proximity of characters)
• Shot-reverse-shot (between Marion and the patrolman and between Marion and the rear-view mirror)
• Marion's performance (alarm, panic, anxiety, rudeness)
• Framing the patrolman to make him appear bigger
• Dialogue creates suspense (and forewarns)
• Marion's attractiveness to men (Male Gaze)
• Spectator positioning and privileged information
• 'High anxiety' music
• Direct mode of address (connection between character and spectator)
• Past experiences that spectators might have had with the police (personal context)

Editing and Sound in Jaws

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2Ecwm7Alrc

'Alex's death' is a masterclass in editing and owes much to Hitchcock in it's carefully planned manipulation of the spectator.

The first image is like one of those naughty postcards that show a comic view of seaside activities.

It puts the spectator off-guard and the sounds are similarly fun - splashing, laughing, dog barking, music etc.  The dog and owner in the background will become more significant later on.

Without cutting, a tracking shot takes us away from the water as we follow Alex up the beach to his mother who seems over-protective.  Still without cutting, Alex's journey carries on up towards the beach huts to get his raft.  

This allows a transition (without cutting) to a pensive Chief Brody.  His eyeline is towards the water and he seems oblivious to the conversation going on to the side of him.  

The first cut takes us to his point of view shot which is of the fat lady in the water.  The water is calm and the boy and his dog run across the frame.  The atmosphere couldn't be more serene but Brody's unease is contagious and the spectator may feel that everything is too quiet.  Perhaps we are being set up here?

Alex runs past his mother and dives with his raft into the water, creating waves as he does so. 

Cut to the dog, paddling away furiously.  The sounds of the beach drop away from the soundscape completely, leaving just the splashing sounds of Alex and then the dog.  The splashes could attract the shark.

Cut to the fat woman floating.  The absence of any sound other than lapping waves adds to the unease.  Is this the quiet before the storm.

Cut to Alex paddling on his raft.  It feels like something is about to happen...

But then the suspense is broken by shots of the dog and his owner playing on the beach and the cheerful sounds of a radio.  Relax.

Cut to a medium shot of Brody, still watching the water anxiously.  A person passes in front of him, disguising a cut to a medium close up.  Another person passing disguises a cut to a close up.  Each shot brings us closer to Brody, literally and mentally.  He cannot relax and neither can we.  A reverse shot shows his POV which is of the fat woman continuing to float calmly on the ocean.  There seems to be no cause for alarm and another person passes him, disguising a third cut to a medium long shot. Our distance from him seems to be a coded way of saying 'There's nothing to worry about'.  The DJ's prattle on the radio also suggests that it's just a normal day at the beach.

A fourth 'wipe' transition, as another person walks across his eyeline, is followed by Brody's POV of the fat woman who is now more tightly framed so that the spectator can see a threatening black shape cutting through the water towards her.  

A reverse shot takes us back to Brody, who edges forward in his deck chair with concern.  

However, another reverse shot shows that the black shape was just an old man in a black swimming cap.

A fifth wipe transition is used as another person walks in front of Brody's POV and this allows an invisible cut back to a MCU reverse shot of the nervous Police Chief, looking sheepish about his voyeuristic obsession with the bathers.

Cut to a side angle two shot in which a local man tries to speak to Brody about a parking issue he hopes Brody can help him with. 

Cut to a an over-the-shoulder shot that shows Brody is pre-occupied.  The spectator hears the man's words from Brody's sound perspective and they seem to fade away as his attention returns to the water.  A reverse over-the-shoulder shot allows the spectator to see Brody's restricted POV, looking over the man's shoulder.  A female bather screams and seems to be dragged under the water.

Brody jumps to his feet but a reverse POV reveals that it is just two young lovers frollicking in the sea. This is a 'red herring' that plays on our fears (shared by Brody) that something bad is going to happen.

Brody seems to accept that he is being too anxious and allows his own children to go into the water which they do gleefully, again with lots of splashing which could attract a hungry shark.  There is a slightly comic interlude with the old man in the swimming hat, Harry, before Brody's wife tries to relax him with a shoulder massage.  A mellow song is playing on the radio and the tension is dropping for spectator and Brody alike.  However, we cut back to the children playing in the sea and the relaxing music abruptly stops.  Now we are aware of spashing and the children's cries.  A series of quick cuts emphasises the commotion and each cut takes place on a loud splash.

Then we see the young man calling for his dog which has gone missing.  He scans the sea anxiously and his actions are clearly designed to raise the question in the spectator's head of 'Has the shark taken the dog?'  A shot of the dog's stick floating forlonly on the water seems to confirm our fears.

Immediately, there is a cut to an underwater shot of the children's legs in the water and the Jaws leitmotif begins threateningly.  Remember that this music was not used for Chrissie's death so the spectator has not yet made the association between the leitmotif and death.  However, the music raises the tension significantly. 

As with Chrissie's death, the spectator is positioned as the shark and the camera moves steadily towards a raft as the music builds in intensity and pace, indicating an imminent attack.

Alex's death is sudden, bloody and swift.  In the space of ten seconds, he is attacked (with a fountain of blood) and dragged below the surface (we hear his gurgles).  The spectator sees the incident from the perspective of someone on the beach and from the perspective of the shark.  This killing is far more graphically violent than Chrissie's death which used our imagination to create the horror.

Our shock is shared by Brody (alignment), whose disbelieving stare is given extra emphasis by the famous Hitchcock-style dolly zoom and a two stage violin sting.  

During the aftermath of Alex's death, the soundscape includes the sounds of Brody shouting for people on the beach to get the bathers out of the water and music which continues to carry a sense of threat.  It is this ongoing threat that stops Brody from giving any assistance to the people (mostly children) in the water. He is a flawed 'hero'.

The music fades to a stop and Alex's mum moves into the frame calling for her son in a sad repetition of the earlier incident with the dog.  

The final shot of the scene has no sound other than the gentle lapping of the bloody waves as Alex's punctured raft is washed up on the shore.  This quiet moment allows the spectator some reflection time after this emotionally draining scene.

Summary of devices used:

• Ramping the tension up and dropping it down again to manipulate the spectator
• Using humour to diffuse tension
• Characterisation to engage sympathy
• Using beach sounds and music to create a feeling of normality
• Shots of Brody create anxiety
• POV shots allow us to share his anxiety (alignment)
• Changing the sound perspective so that the beach seems friendly (lots of ambient noise) but the sea is dangerous (lack of noise, i.e. isolation)
• The use of fake 'wipe' transitions to bring the spectator closer to Brody
• Shot-reverse-shots between Brody and the activities on the sea
• Mixing the sound to show Brody's concentration on the sea
• A 'red herring'
• The use of splashing and crying out to increase tension
• Cutting on the splashing
• The loss of the dog foreshadows Alex's death and indicates a genuine threat
• Shark perspective - positioning
• Shark leitmotif
• Use of blood (colour red) and violence
• The sounds of Alex's death
• Dolly zoom effect and two stage sting
• The incongruous combination of Brody's shouted instructions with his lack of help
• Alex's mother's worried calls foreshadowed by dog owner)
• The washed up raft, blood and sound of waves

Editing and sound in Scene 4 of Psycho

After leaving her apartment with her suitcase and the money, we see Marion driving across town (Phoenix in the state of Arizona).  The spectator is privileged to hear her thoughts for the first time.  This and the direct mode of address (she is looking directly at us) creates an intimacy with the character; the spectator is merging with the character.  (Later in the film, we also hear what Norman Bates is thinking.)

She is clearly still agitated by the decision to steal the money and is not reconciled to it.  Her thoughts are of Sam and what he will say when she turns up in Fairvale.  His imagined words to her confirm that it is her intention to go to him - some spectators might already have suspected this.  However, she has not made Sam aware of her plan because it's important to the plot that her disappearance later is a mystery.  She seems concerned by what Sam will think when she unexpectedly appears in Fairvale: "What is it Marion?"  She will have to tell him what she has done.  How will he react?

Lost in thought, Marion stops at a pedestrian crossing and is horrified to see Lowery and Cassidy pass in front of her vehicle.  Lowery acknowledges her courtesy in stopping and Marion smiles back (shot-reverse-shot).

Bear in mind that Marion told Lowery that she was going to deposit the $40,000 at the bank and then sleep off her headache; neither of which she has actually done.

Lowery seems puzzled and slightly irritated to see her.  It's unlikely that he would have any reason to think she had not deposited the money but Marion is driving and smiling when she is supposed to be unwell.  Some spectators might see her as a woman with the ability to manipulate men with her charm and good looks.  Lowery could view the encounter as evidence that Marion was feigning illness to get off work early on a Friday, hence his annoyed 'double-take'.

We have all pretended to be ill to get off school or work and experienced the guilty feeling when lying to teachers or bosses.  Even worse, is being exposed as a liar when we are 'caught in the act' as Marion is.  The sympathetic spectator will therefore feel sorry for her misfortune.  Another interpretation of events is that Lowery crossing her path is fate rather than accident and a providential sign for her to 'do the right thing' and return the money.  The 'high anxiety' leitmotif is used for the first time as Marion's already troubled conscience is given further woe with the unexpected meeting.

Marion's furrowed brow and wide-eyed distress show that she is not a hardened criminal.  This is tough for her and encountering Lowery has not made it any easier.  She seems to look straight at the spectator as if pleading for help.  But we can't.  We can only watch.  

Marion appears more innocent and child-like as she drives away from Lowery.  We hear only the anxious music, not her thoughts, but her thoughts are written all over her face; she is scared and deeply concerned.  The spectator may want to give her advice: 'Take the money back' or 'Get out of there, quick!'  

An 'out of town' insert shot establishes that she has not taken the money back.  Dusk starts to fall showing that time has elapsed and she is continuing to drive away from Phoenix.

A big close-up of Marion shows how tired she has become (elliptical editing suggests that she has been driving for a long time).  Her tired eyes are dazzled by the oncoming traffic and the high paced music slows to reflect the weariness that is overwhelming her.

Summary of devices used:

• Spectator privilege
• Direct mode of address
• Alignment with the character or even spectator interpellation (you adopt Marion's thoughts and goals as your own)
• Negotiated response - we are encouraged to interpret Marion's thoughts and non-verbal communication and make our own inferences and judgements (i.e. we make our own sense of what we see and hear)
• Point of view shots
• Shot-reverse-shot
• Shared experience (the spectator has done what Marion has done)
• Non-verbal communication (facial expressions and body language)
• 'High anxiety' leitmotif
• Pathos (our sympathy is engaged for Marion by her pitiful NVC)
• Enigmas (what will she do next?)
• Continuity editing
• Elliptical editing (time passing)
• Insert shot (indicates change in time and space)

Mise-en-scene and genre in Jaws

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMFyoBf0CWI

The scene in which Brody and Hooper hunt for the Great White shark at night is classic horror.

Brody is scared of the sea (like many people) but he is out on it at night, in a sea fog.  These factors make it even harder to see the threat.  A search light and the red lights on Hooper's boat add to the spookiness of the first shot.  It could almost be a ghost ship.

Brody has his life-jacket on and is drinking wine (perhaps he is only out on the ocean at all because of 'Dutch courage').  His performance suggests that he is trying to convince himself (as well as Hooper) that he didn't leave New York because he's a coward.

Hooper is scoffing pretzels; his boyish enthusiasm and unapologetic openness about his wealth adds humour to the scene and helps to offset any early tension.

Hooper's sonar starts emitting strange, 'other-wordly' noises.  This raises the tension and introduces an enigma to the spectator's thought processes: Is it the shark?  Hooper: "There's something else out there."  Horror films use dialogue like this to forewarn the spectator of a threat.  Thus we become more edgy and liable to 'jump' at an unexpected scare.

After the humorous opening to the scene, Brody and Hooper are now seen anxiously scanning the sea.  We don't get a reverse shot of the sea because restricting the spectator's situational awareness is an effective way (device) of raising tension.  The up-lighting on the characters' faces makes them seem ghostly and enhances their concerned expressions.

Hooper uses the searchlight to scan the sea and they see an item floating in the water.  An over the shoulder shot reveals a small fishing boat appearing out of the mist.  Brody recognises it as Ben Gardner's, a local fisherman. 

The boat is "all banged up" and Brody asks, "What Happened?"  The low angle and harsh key light allow the spectator to 'read' the men's faces and understand that Brody, in particular, is concerned for Gardner's safety.  The search light casts a spectral beam.

The lights from Hooper's boat bounce off the mist and create an ethereal atmosphere.  Hooper says he wants to check the boat's hull which is not what Brody wants to hear; he suggests towing it in but Hooper is young and fearless.

The spectator is privileged with a shot from close to the port side of Gardner's boat (the opposite side to the one closest to Brody and Hooper.  The shot reveals a gouge in the side of the boat that Brody, even with his searchlight, cannot see.

Note the use of swirling mist and low key lighting which are classic horror effects.  Brody's words and body language show that he is strongly against Hooper going overboard, but Hooper insists: "Don’t worry, Martin, nothing’s going to happen."  We know, as seasoned movie watchers, that when a character says that, something will happen.

A crane shot shows Hooper's boat in relation to Gardner's.  The lights cast onto the surface of the sea make the ocean look like another world; Hooper could almost be an astronaut leaving his spaceship. He breathes rapidly in preparation for diving in, which increases the tension further as rapid breathing is associated with threatening situations.

Underwater, the analogy of space seems even more appropriate; the lights on Hooper's boat's hull are like stars illuminating the dark mysterious world.

Hooper finds a hole in the hull of Gardner's boat and a large shark's tooth.  The spectator will already have felt trepidation when Hooper entered the water but the tooth confirms that the shark was responsible for whatever happened to Ben Gardner.  It could still be in the area which means that Hooper, who is a very likeable character, is in real danger (a possibility not lost on him).  Moreover, the spectator is positioned very close to the action which makes us feel that we are in danger too. While hooper is distracted by the tooth, he is not looking at what is behind him and we expect the shark to come out of the darkness of the depths at any second.  The twist is that the sudden appearance of something comes from in front of Hooper, not behind him.

Suddenly, a wildly staring head appears in the hole, giving an extreme fright to both Hooper and the spectator.  The death mask of the shark's victim is horrifying and as ghoulish as a Frankenstein movie but the real scare comes from our nervousness that something is about to happen and the screeching 'scare chord' that is combined with the sudden appearance of the head.

Summary of devices used:

• Brody's fear of water (many spectators will share this)
• The dark
• Mist 
• Ghostly searchlights
• Humour to diffuse tension
• Strange noise (fish finder)
• Ominous music
• Low key lighting and up-lighting
• Forewarning dialogue
• Forewarning objects (the bite out of the side of Gardner's boat and the shark's tooth)
• Privileged knowledge for the spectator
• Conflict between the sensible option and the brave (reckless?) option
• The sense of the ocean being a magical but dangerous world
• Mystery (what happened to Gardner's boat?)
• Hooper's heavy breathing and Brody's anxiety
• Isolation (Hooper in the water and Brody on the boat)
• Softer version of the 'Jaws' leitmotif suggests the shark may still be close
• Shock of head appearing
• Scare chord
• The ghoulishness of the head
• Hooper's fright (matches our own)

Mise-en-scene in Psycho (Scene 3)

After leaving the office, Marion is next seen in her apartment.

Initially, we might expect that elliptical editing has been utilised and that the event of her taking the money to the bank has not been shown because it is unimportant.  However, her fixed eye-line and troubled expression suggests that there is something significant off-frame.  The camera drops in height to reveal the envelope full of money and pushes in to emphasise its significance.  The nagging 'dilemma' leitmotif begins.  Notice that Marion's white underwear has now changed to black to signify her 'fall from innocence'.  (Once more, we could say that the 'Male Gaze' is in evidence here.) Her apartment is small and simply furnished; she is not a wealthy woman.  This is relevant because her financial position contrasts with Cassidy who boasts that he can afford to lose $40,000.

The camera then pans left to her suitcase which is full of hastily collected clothes.  The active spectator will appreciate that the amount of clothes suggests that she is going away for some time; perhaps even for good.

As she gets dressed, Marion can't stop looking at the money.  She is conflicted; on the one hand, the money offers her the opportunity to 'buy off unhappiness' but on the other hand, it doesn't belong to her.  It's important that we see her agonising over the decision because that shows us that she is not a bad person.  She does know the difference between right and wrong.  Could the spectator see her crime as justifiable in the circumstances?  Is love more important than honesty and integrity?

We see Marion pack more items of clothing into her full suitcase, even some slippers.  Is she really going to go for good?  But where?  To Sam?

She looks at herself in the mirror.  She seems to be questioning who she is.  Can she go through with it?  We talk about being 'unable to look myself in the mirror' after doing something wrong.  Is Marion asking herself this question?  Could she look herself in the mirror in the future after stealing the money?  Her duality is interesting in this scene.  The change in underwear colour suggests that she is not all that she seems and the mirror shot also indicates that her personality is not as clear cut as we have been led to believe.  Remember that at the start of the film she talks about respectability but is meeting her boyfriend to have sex in a cheap hotel during her lunch hour. Marion is an ambiguous character and her true personality is intriguingly elusive.

She looks away from the mirror and back to the bed.  A point of view shot shows the money.  It's inert, but powerful nonetheless.  The envelope draws her attention, again and again.  What will she do?  Return it or steal it?  The spectator is given the same dilemma because Hitchcock is manipulating us into taking sides.  If we disapprove of Marion's sexual liaisons and betrayal of trust then we will be urging her to take the money to the bank.  If our moral view is more liberal then we will be less inclined to condemn her relationship with Sam and see the theft as a 'necessary evil' that will enable the two lovers to be united.  Many of us will also have experienced a similar moral dilemma where our lives could have been improved by giving into a dishonest or irresponsible action.

The question of what Marion is intending to do is resolved quickly as we see her checking a folder for important documents, such as her driving licence.  If she is taking her important documents with her, it's unlikely that she is planning to return any time soon.  She places the document folder in her handbag and attempts to close her suitcase but her eyes are once more drawn to the money.  Has she had a final change of heart?  

Slowly and thoughtfully she walks around the bed towards the money and then sits beside it. Uncertainly, she looks into space as if attempting to make a final decision.  Finally, her mind made up, she opens her handbag, reaches for the money and puts it inside.  The envelope is so thick with notes that it doesn't fit easily into her bag  and she has to push it firmly down.  

She allows herself one further moment of reflective soul-searching, then rises quickly and grabs her suitcase, as if delaying any longer will cause her to lose her resolve.  She is dressed smartly; her dress is buttoned to the neck and has a waist belt.  Her hair is neatly styled.  She is the image of respectability but her actions are quite the opposite.  Framed photographs, presumably of family members, surround her.  What would they think of her behaviour?

Suitcase in hand and with her handbag over her arm, Marion takes her coat from the wardrobe (remember that it's a very hot day so the coat is for the future) and leaves.

Summary of devices used:

• Costume: underwear (sexuality - 'Male gaze')
• Colour black (corruption)
• The simplicity of her apartment (not wealthy - contrast with Cassidy)
• Props: framed photographs
• 'Dilemma' leitmotif
• Uncertainty about her intentions and resolve (suspense)
• Characterisation - internal conflict
• No dialogue.  Messages are created through non-verbal performance
• Spectator is encouraged to 'take sides'
• Significant props - the money, the suitcase, the documents
• The jumble of clothes (rushing to leave)
• Mirror (duality)
• Costume: her smart dress
• Hair and make-up: neatly coiffured hair 
• Costume: coat (unnecessary for that day; indicates leaving for good)

Music in Jaws (from Wikipedia)

Music scholar Joseph Cancellaro proposes that the two-note expression mimics the shark's heartbeat.^[78] According to Alexandre Tylski, like themes Bernard Herrmann wrote for Taxi Driver, North by Northwest, and particularly Mysterious Island, it suggests human respiration. He further argues that the score's strongest motif is actually "the split, the rupture"—when it dramatically cuts off, as after Chrissie's death.^[73] The relationship between sound and silence is also taken advantage of in the way the audience is conditioned to associate the shark with its theme,^[74] which is exploited toward the film's climax when the shark suddenly appears with no musical introduction.

John Wlliams talks about the Jaws musical soundtrack  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQKLJ2MuHvY

Music in Psycho

http://guru.bafta.org/behind-mask-music-psycho

http://filmsound.org/articles/hitchcock/makingpsycho.htm