1. Review of Ideas Referential meaning: plot and setting
Explicit meaning: superficial narrative purpose
Implicit meaning: deeper narrative purpose which is possibly generalized beyond the narrative
Symptomatic meaning: social purpose

2. Major Terms
norms
conventions
genre
narrative and non-narrative

3. North by Northwest
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Release date: 1959

4. Characters Roger Thornhill Eve Kendall Phillip Van Damm Leonard
“The Professor”
Mother
George Kaplan

5. Roger Thornhill/Eve Kendall

6. Philip Van Damm/Leonard

7. The Professor/Mother

8. Note on Cary Grant
Hitchcock is playing off Cary Grant’s established film persona from earlier work.
cf. James Stewart

9. 1939/1954

10. Content 1. Why do Van Damm’s men think he is George Kaplan?
2. Why don’t Van Damm and Leonard believe that Thornhill is telling the truth? Why do they think he is Kaplan?
3. Why is Thornhill put in jail by the police?
4. What does Thornhill discover in Kaplan’s hotel room?
5. How does Thornhill escape from New York? Where is he going? Who helps him in his escape?
6. How does Thornhill escape from the train?
7. Where does he plan to meet Kaplan? What happens in the farm field?

11. Content
8. Whom does Thornhill see at the auction hall? How does Thornhill escape from the auction hall?
9. Whom does Thornhill meet at the airport?
10. Why does Thornhill agree to help the government?
11. How do Thornhill and Eve trick Van Damm?
12. How does Thornhill warn Eve about the truth?
13. What is inside the statuette?

12. Narrative Structure
How does North by Northwest differ in its narrative structure from The Wizard of Oz?
What are the consequences of this difference?
How might both be diagrammed?

13. Story Lines What are the different story lines in the film?
Take a moment to diagram these, considering also the time line.
When, if ever, do they become one story (or, how many components comprise that one story)?
segments: (I) 5.15-, , (II)

14. Specifying Conflict When does the conflict begin for Thornhill?
What other conflicts are taking place at the same time?
Can these be organized in a hierarchy? Or, is there an implied hierarchy? Does Hitchcock suggest any irony in his representation? Or criticism?

15. Form and Time
North by Northwest, though possibly to represent as linear, manipulates time and presents simultaneity of action.
What is the impact on knowledge? You might argue that this film is really about knowledge, at least in its symptomatic meaning.

16. Exposition
Reconstruct the history of Van Damm, Eve, and the Professor before Thornhill enters the narrative. When and how do we acquire knowledge about the events which happen before the film begins?
Between the opening credits and the kidnapping, what pieces of exposition do we get?
How do we fill in the gaps so that we are not confused?
When is the exposition really over?

17. Motivation
What are these characters’ motivations and goals? Note that these motives may change during the movie (especially for Thornhill).
Roger Thornhill
Philip Van Damm
Eve Kendall
The Professor

18. POV
Thornhill, Kendall, Van Damm, and the Professor have different points of view on the events in the story.
Do any of the characters know everything?
What is the level of the spectator’s knowledge in relation to the characters?
Does this have a literary counterpart?

19. Conflict Describe the conflicts between these characters.
Thornhill and Kendall
Thornhill and Van Damm
Thornhill and the Professor
Van Damm and the Professor (symbols?)
Do any single pair of conflicts lead to an overall conflict in the film?

20. Note on Conflict/Motive
What potentially undermines the whole idea of conflict and motive in North by Northwest?
This problem differs from about every other film we watch—does it undermine the narrative?

21. Complications and Repetition
How does complication and repetition differ from that found in The Wizard of Oz?
Or, does it substantially differ?

22. Journey/Quest Theme
Compare or contrast the theme of the journey (or quest) in the films.
Are the complications/threats raised by the obstacles similar or basically unrelated?
What reward do they expect to receive for successfully completing the quest?

23. Heroes and Villains
Cary Grant is the hero in this film; James Mason is the villain. How are the hero and the villain coded?
Compare this hero-villain pairing with the same pairing in The Wizard of Oz.
What type of hero is Grant’s character?

24. Antagonists as Symbols
Consider the major antagonists (Wicked Witch and Philip Van Damm) as symbols.
How and why do these symbols differ in complexity and function?

25. Superficiality and the Reluctant Hero
What does Roger Thornhill do for a living?
How is the question of truth and identity ironic when we consider Thornhill’s profession?
How does Thornhill change over the course of the film?
Think about his commitment to others, to the community, and to truth.

26. Mother-Son Relation Characterize Thornhill’s relation with his mother.
Why is it unusual?
Or, possibly, for you it isn’t—though I might not admit this publicly.

27. Settings
The settings move from urban to rural to wilderness. What’s the distinction?
Is there any meaning in this change of setting?
Where and what is Mt. Rushmore?
Why should this setting be significant or apt for the climactic action?

30. Critical Content
What are the attitudes of the government agents towards Thornhill and his problems?
Is Thornhill’s death a fair trade for the problems that van Damm may cause?
Is Hitchcock criticizing the government and its attitudes towards its citizens?
Why is this theme important during the time that film appeared (late 1950s)?

31. Parallel Worlds What two worlds exist side by side in each film?
How do characters “cross-over” from one to the other?
How do we get knowledge of the two worlds?
How do the rules or logic differ between these two worlds?

32. Some Critics
I’ll start introducing some critical views from this week on. If you want the journal essays I refer to, you can get them from me directly.
Debra Daniel-Richard
Christopher Morris
Nora Gilbert
Lesley Brill

33. Musical Score
“Hitchcock made a practice of consulting with his composers during filming and made specific suggestions, providing close direction, during the actual scoring process” (Daniel-Richard 53).
“The choice of a fandango, though unusual, is actually oddly appropriate. A fandango is primarily a flamenco-style dance with Spanish origins in which male and female dancers circle each other warily in a show of competition and courtship. As the dancers entice and seduce each other, they also challenge each other with the fluency of their footwork” (Daniel-Richard 55).

34. Interpretative Directions
Opening paragraph of Morris
Problem of title
Generally difficult—Derrida focus

35. Gender Dimension
Gilbert on the woman’s point of view—whose narrative vision do we get much of the time?
Can it be called masculine or feminine, or neither?

36. Brill’s Article Questions raised in the opening paragraphs of Brill
General discussion of function of romance theme
Homosexuality of Van Damm and Leonard
Connection between Van Damm and the Professor

37. Spike Lee

38. Response Guidelines Write on one of the topics.
Write at least 500 words.
Remember that I am not your specific audience.
Any use of sources must be properly documented and cited in MLA form.

39. Formal Guidelines
1. Spacing should be 1.5 or double spaced; margins should be 2.5 cm.
2. Use black, Times New Roman typeface and 12 point font.
3. Leave one space between sentences, not two. Leave no spaces between paragraphs.
4. Your work should have a title which follows title conventions.

40. Topic #1
Compare or contrast the role of two women characters from Sherlock, Jr., Rear Window, or Peeping Tom. You may wish to discuss the idea of active and passive roles or the objectification of women, but other approaches are certainly possible.

41. Topic #2
Explain the idea of identification between film spectator and film character as it is represented in Sherlock, Jr. You may wish to discuss whether you think this is a plausible representation of the spectator’s relation to film, and if not, to offer some criticism or explanation for rejecting it.

42. Topic #3
Explain how the character Jeffries in Rear Window resembles a film-viewer. Why does he watch the “movies” across the courtyard? What level of responsibility does he have for his voyeuristic behavior? What does he want?

43. Topic #4
Discuss The Wizard of Oz as an allegory. You must try to be fairly comprehensive by mentioning most of the major characters and the general scope of the film in your interpretation.

44. Topic #5
Discuss the idea of parallel worlds in two films. You may wish to write a comparison or a contrast paper.

45. Topic #6
Discuss the quest theme in one or two films. How does the quest organize the narrative?

46. Topic #7
Compare/contrast two antagonists in two films. Consider how the antagonists are identified, how they might function symbolically, how they problematize the hero’s status, etc., etc.—creativity helps for this topic.

47. For Next Time Watch: The Third Man
Reading: Turner (中)/52-74 (E); Bordwell (中)/ (E)
Response #1 due March 23