Alfred Hitchcock's Strangers On A Train

Humans are sympathetic creatures. It is a fact that differs us from many animals in the sense that our emotions, our idea of the construct of feelings, are imprinted on all the things around us. Our impressions can go as far to be characterized in art and music - these types of messages may not at all appear human but still invoke an emotional response. This response is so strong that even in the face of inhuman or dangerous circumstances, humanity still attempts to imprint human emotion on a scenario in order to relate. Even tortuous, gruesome people who have commit atrocities are in some way still relatable to the human sympathetic response. That response has become a focus of many people’s manipulation for the sake of entertainment, and none other than director Alfred Hitchcock is famed for his work in pioneering the thriller and horror genre. His use of breaking the barrier of comfort in his films has exploited his audiences emotions, making them feel vulnerable with fear or even identify with the villains of his films. Alfred Hitchcock as a filmmaker has become famous for his use of dynamic camera work to change how the audience feels emotion by utilizing voyeuristic tendencies. In the same way Hitchcock adapts Strangers on a Train he …show more content…
He even appeared in the films, a cameo, just as much as part of the world he created as the characters he placed into it. But Strangers on a Train is a special case, as the story is not his alone to tell. Patricia Highsmith was the first to tell the story, her narrative exploring the spiral into chaos out of emotional weakness. But the appropriate opposite to chaos is order, and in Hitchcock’s adaptation the duality of Guy and Bruno are only amplified through his take on the story. A true auteur, he uses his artistic direction to allow the choice of order to become an option in the face of