1961
BEFORE THE FILM
The film is based on Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw.
It is important to discuss both text and subtext in the analysis of the film. Both are handled textually (i.e. in the script) and filmically (i.e. editing, photography, sound effects and so on).
There is a question of the reality of the supernatural in many horror films. Since the genre often is thought to deal with the “eruption of the repressed” the films can certainly have a psychological basis and in fact, if this defines the genre, then we may want to consider whether “monster movies” like The Beast from Twenty Thousand Fathoms or Gorgo or Gojira (Godzilla) are actually horror films or if they constitute a genre on their own.
Since there is a psychological base to the horror films defined as “eruption of the repressed” then we can expect to see psychological problems at the root of the subtext of the film. Certainly, Psycho, Cabinet of Caligari, The Haunting and many of the Val Lewton films are all films in which psychological difficulties are to some extent at the basis of the film’s horror elements – even when the supernatural is clearly evident in such films as Cat People. In all these films characters with some kind of repression are at the root of the difficulty. In some cases the difficulty may be harder to see as in Hitchcock’s The Birds, and in other films psychological repression does not lead to horror since it does not “erupt” in a particularly violent dangerous way (consider films like Snake Pit and Marnie).
The supernatural may be seen as real or as a perception of the world. Things are interpreted differently by different people.
Watch for standard horror genre bits often called "tropes"
Editing has an impact on pacing. Shortening sequential shots can accelerate the film, while lengthening them can slow it down. Ever shorter sequences can make audience nervous without knowing why. Deep focus and shallow focus and rack focus. Shallow focus tells the audience where to look, deep focus is not clear as to where the audience's attention is supposed to be.Harder for audience.
Close ups restrict view. Things can be happening near by and not be seen since they are outside the frame.
Questions of Perception and Interpretation
One of the questions that can be asked is whether the film deals with problems of perception and/or interpretation.
The "emic-etic" theory developed by Kenneth Pike says that events (etics) may have different perceptions ("emics").
Does this theory have relevance to this film?
Music
What kind of music? Sometimes children’s songs (Bad Seed, Beep Red, The Innocents)
Children seen as something horrific if not socialized. Children of the Damned, Bad Seed, etc.
Hitchcock audience knows something characters don’t
Chaney: out of context – clown in the moonlight
Compare the children in this film with those in Night of the Hunter
Language Use
Heightened or stilyzed language especially when used by children often seems out of place. AFTER THE FILM
Are the ghosts real?
How do you know?
Do you need to decide this to work out the subtext of the film?
What is the TEXT of this film?
A woman is hired as a governess to look after two children in an isolated estate. She comes to believe that they are possessed by the ghosts or spirits of the previous governess and her lover, the valet in the household. In attempting to exorcise the ghosts, the children are, in one case psychologically damaged and in the second case killed.
What is the SUBTEXT of the film?
A sexually repressed and frustrated woman projects her sexual frustrations on two young children believing them to be possessed by a wildly sexual couple who previously worked in the house. Her confusion about what she sees leads to the psychological destruction of one child and the death of the other.
How do we get from the text to subtext in the film?
How does the film open?
The scene moves to a room where Miss Giddens is being interview fro a job as governess. The first question is: “Do you have an imagination?” She replies “yes”.
Further information says her father was a parson.
There is much religious information in the first scenes.
Visual: openness of country; Giddens enclosed in coach, seen framed through coach windows.
Sounds of country – sounds and music slip away – hear voice calling “Flora”.
Visual: Image of Flora in water – not real Flora, image without substance
Dialog:
“I am glad to see you. Really, I’m glad”
Delivery of line has undertone – undercurrent of something else.
“Miles is coming”
How does she know this?
Use of worse “heaven” (house) “angelic” (children) “devil’s own eye” (Uncle)
Children=angelic, innocent.
Uncle (and sexually active adults) = sexual, dangerous, devilish
Visual: Inside the house flower petals fall. Things are dead.
Children appear precocious and also with a kind of precognition. Allows a link between them and adults – perhaps a supernatural link.
Origin of Images
What is on the screen? What dies the audience see?
Why is screen black at the start when we hear the singing and Miss Giddens saying she never meant to harm the children?
Are the images and sounds on the screen from an omniscient source?
Are they from inside Giddens’ head?
Listen to the sound track. When Miss Giddens has an "episode" (sees "someone" on the roof, or becomes "excited" when Miles rides the horse). Most diagetic sounds disappear. We hear a sound of wings beating.
How are we to interpret what we see?
How does this compare to Caligari?
Do lines have an equally plausible innocuous reading?
Miss Giddens first sees the photo of Quint before she sees his face in the window (as Mrs. Grose clearly explains). She also does not put a face on the man on the roof until after she sees the picture – and this is in a dream which starts with the image from the picture. Clearly she is dreaming about Quint. We also know that Flora is in the room with her and often hears her saying things at night. What? Isn’t this what Miles says about Flora when he talks to Miss Giddens on the roof of the tower.
What is the situation with Miss Giddens?
She seems to have some repressed sexual feelings as a result of her religious upbringing which are aroused by the stories of Miss Jessel and Peter Quint. She concocts a story about the corruption of “innocence” (hers) by these two deceased people projecting this on Miles and Flora.
Her involvement with Miles becomes more and more apparent and culminates in a final kiss. (His earlier kiss to her is a “good night” kiss interpreted as something more adultly sexual.
What happened to Miles at school?
An impressionable kid, upset at the loss of his “substitute” father has nightmares and cries out scaring the other children. They begin to have nightmares to and the school “expels” Miles since he is an “injury” to the other students and is “corrupting” them.
What happens to Flora?
Giddens has been warned from the start not to mention Miss Jessel to Flora. Mrs. Grose is probably correct in saying that she made her face up to “that bad memory”.
Where did Flora learn the terrible language?
Probably from Miss Giddens, possibly while Miss Giddens was sleeping. The "bad" words may be the mumblings she reports to Miles. She never spoke like that before Giddens came. Giddens use of language and her apparent sexual interest in Miles is in some way recognized by the children and causes Miles to say she s a hussy.
Does the film shows us the perception of the world by a woman who is demented?
As a result do you see why such a person perceives things as "reasonable and raitional" while others do not?
How does this relate to "emics-etics"
Visually: Chiaroscura lighting: pools of light surrounded by darkness. (Candles carried by person can create this effect) Images disorienting Sudden appearance of mask, overhead shot of Miss Giddens turning and turning