Alfred Hitchcock's Notorious is one of his standout works, and many consider it to be his best film created. He manages to create a film that doesn't have any gunshots, fight scenes, dead bodies, over the top action sequences, but still manage to have you glued to the screen wondering what will happen next. The man many consider a master of thrill and suspense might have created a perfect love story, while also throwing in cultural significance of what was happening in the world in 1946.
Notorious has a cynical view on patriotism. In 1946 when it was filmed, the world was war-weary and eager to toss out the romanticism of the past few years. Hitchcock shows this negativity towards nationalism by portraying the American agents as cold, controlling …show more content…
She gets no personal gain out of the experience and we don’t see any positive effects. To us, this looks like a lost cause and the absence of any gain shows Hitchcock’s bitterness towards nationalism. True, Alicia uncovers uranium in Sebastian’s house, a useful discovery for the Americans, but this victory is not sweet. It comes at the cost of her safety – Sebastian finds out about her treachery and decides to kill her. Her slow poisoning is a cruel, hideous fate for joining the agents’ cause. Though Devlin saves her, this shows the grim possibilities of fighting for her country. Notorious only shows the negative, dangerous side of working as a secret American agent. The film displays a tired, bitter view of …show more content…
In a film that at face value looks to be about espionage during World War II, it quickly makes you care less about the well being of the country and more about the feelings of the two protagonists. Nevermind that Alexander Sebastian is an extremely dangerous undercover Nazi agent. Nevermind that the ore that Devlin finds in in Sebastian's wine cellar could be used for an Atom Bomb. We, the audience, do not care. Our concern lies in Alicia and Devlin's eventual love. Hitchcock takes advantage of our infatuation of love stories and plays off it
Notorious has a cynical view on patriotism. In 1946 when it was filmed, the world was war-weary and eager to toss out the romanticism of the past few years. Hitchcock shows this negativity towards nationalism by portraying the American agents as cold, controlling …show more content…
She gets no personal gain out of the experience and we don’t see any positive effects. To us, this looks like a lost cause and the absence of any gain shows Hitchcock’s bitterness towards nationalism. True, Alicia uncovers uranium in Sebastian’s house, a useful discovery for the Americans, but this victory is not sweet. It comes at the cost of her safety – Sebastian finds out about her treachery and decides to kill her. Her slow poisoning is a cruel, hideous fate for joining the agents’ cause. Though Devlin saves her, this shows the grim possibilities of fighting for her country. Notorious only shows the negative, dangerous side of working as a secret American agent. The film displays a tired, bitter view of …show more content…
In a film that at face value looks to be about espionage during World War II, it quickly makes you care less about the well being of the country and more about the feelings of the two protagonists. Nevermind that Alexander Sebastian is an extremely dangerous undercover Nazi agent. Nevermind that the ore that Devlin finds in in Sebastian's wine cellar could be used for an Atom Bomb. We, the audience, do not care. Our concern lies in Alicia and Devlin's eventual love. Hitchcock takes advantage of our infatuation of love stories and plays off it