Alfred Hitchcock

"If I won't be myself, who will?"(Hitchcock). Alfred Hitchcock wasn't  born a fantastic film director, and just as this quote depicts Hitchcock's entity, he stayed true to his past, present and future; this contributed greatly to Hitchcock's film career. Hitchcock was born in England on August 3rd, 1899 (Baugham). From a young age Alfred Hitchcock had a rough  strict childhood. From both the priests at schools and life at home; he was surrounded by resulted in fear profoundly present in his films.(Baugham). Hitchcock first  worked at Henleys advertising company; there Hitchcock discovered he wanted to be an artist (Baugham). Alfred Hitchcock has a huge range of achievements; he got knighted by the queen of England ("Alfred Hitchcock"); and achieved numerable highly honorable film awards, such as the AFI life achievement award ("Alfred Hitchcock"). Hitchcock is still considered one of the best film directors and, having stayed true to himself, he inspires others to follow their dreams. A hero is a figure that children dream of; and as children slowly grow older, heroes change from fictional characters to common humans. They once stood where everyone else  stood, yet their own perseverance and other qualities set them apart. A hero, must possess human qualities that are admired and are often strived for. Hitchcock represents a true hero by displaying an undying determination, has created a revolutionary path in his work; all while changing past negative experiences into beneficial ones.

Hitchcock used negative experiences from his past,  turned them into beneficial ones for his art. During Alfred Hitchcock's childhood he attended Jesuit School; a strict form of Catholicism. During these school years he was always aware of never crossing the line, because of fear of consequences: '" I was terrified of the police, of the Jesuit Fathers, of physical punishment, of a lot of things. This is the root of my work... But if you examine my films, I daresay you'll find very few where wrong has the ascendancy." ( Spoto pg.28) Hitchcock uses past fears, and anxieties, to give the audience a similar feeling of dread, which almost everyone is fearful of. Hitchcock channels past fears for his own better future,  resulting in a successful translation of fear to the audience. One particular moment in Hitchcock's life, is used in a movie: "Arriving from work one evening, Alfred found that artillery fire had exploded quite near his house, and he ran to his mothers room to find her in a state of fear and confusion, trying to struggle into her clothes while still wear her nightgown."( Spoto pg.38) Hitchcock used this moment of fear during the war for his film Murder!. He adapts the fearful situation into a work of art and uses his past personal experience of fear and of disarray to give the audience a relatable visual, and scenario. This truly takes a lot of courage to comfort ones own fears and to dissect them piece by piece to find out every fearful detail. Alfred Hitchcock did just that, all for the sake of creating a more relatable, genuine scene for the audience.

Determination and the driving will to accomplish something is another of the many countless qualities of Alfred Hitchcock. Throughout his childhood, Alfred Hitchcock was never surround by any artistic influence; and never displayed any artistic ability: '" Fortunately for Hitchcock, he seemed not be aware of, nor to demonstrate as yet, any artistic ability during his teen years, and his family certainly did not encourage him to entertain any notions of the artist's precarious livelihood."'( Spoto pg.35) As a child, with no artistic encouragement it's a wonder how Hitchcock ever had the courage to engage in such an activity. He didn't let his inexperience stop him from achieving, he let his determination guide him throughout a seemingly challenging road. During the making of Hitchcock's first film, a critic of all people noticed this desirable quality about Alfred Hitchcock: "...Cedric Belfrage wrote...'Hitchcock has such a complete grasp of all the different branches of film technique that he is able to take far more control of his production than the average director of four times his experience...'"( Spoto pg. 84) Cedric Belfrage a film critic, stated this after Hitchcock's first film The Pleasure Garden. This critic is sharing the facts that Hitchcock although fairly new to the film industry has an unwavering determination. Rather than using the advantage of experience, Alfred Hitchcock uses passion for film to motivate him to achieve and stride better. It is evident of his hard work, because Hitchcock did not limit his reach in film; instead he used his adaptable skills and eagerness to accomplish. Pushing past, having no support of the stressful experience; Hitchcock uses something few ever used. This was an unbreakable combination of both determination and passion.

Throughout Alfred Hitchcock's numerous years of contributing to the film industry, he has been a revolutionary individual. At the time Hitchcock first started working in the film business, there was no sound in movies. When the time came for sound, Hitchcock presented a profound way of including sound in the productions: " Not content simply to record dialogue, Hitchcock experimented with it to create and sustain in his audience the same dissociation a character feels. It is precisely this element that Hitchcock so masterfully controls by turning the cinematic screws."( Spoto pg.119) Alfred Hitchcock was one of the first directors to introduce sound to the movie. Hitchcock instead of settling for mediocre, he settled for revolutionary. Alfred Hitchcock broke the obstacle of adding sound in such a way that as a result the audience responded positively for now the story was more easily translated. Hitchcock's revolutionary actions have not only impacted the people of the film industry, but the film world directly: "...can define Vertigo shot (also known as dolly zoom) as a movement of camera on dolly while changing the focal length of the lens. In other words, moving the camera physically away or towards the subject ("dollying") while zooming in or out (changing the focal length of lens)... Anyway, this technique was firstly used, by Alfred Hitchcock in his film Vertigo. And it was used in such a way, that it helps to tell the story." (Stripek) The dolly shot a widely known and used techniques, was founded by Hitchcock. This shows that he didn't let restrictions stop his creative nature. Instead he revolutionized the barriers to let  creativeness flow. Alfred Hitchcock's movies not only satisfied audiences nationwide, his innovative and creative mind,  forever changed the way the film industry is till this day. Screens across the world  felt Hitchcock's revolutionary acts.

A hero is a superhero of real life, and their powers are the positive human qualities that many of us strive for. The basis of a hero is the ability to turn past negative experiences into beneficial ones, to have a resilient determination and to have the revolutionary attitude that sets them far beyond anyone else. Alfred Hitchcock displays all of these aspects of a hero through his past, and through his undying life preserved through his movies. Hitchcock not only accomplished greatly in his field of work, but he did so with the grace of determination. Alfred Hitchcock did not let anything stop him from his dreams and passion of film. He knew what he  wanted to do with his life, and did it. Coupled with the grace of determination, Hitchcock contorted negative experiences of his past, into positive beneficial ones for his future, and also his art. He took the courage and used what he knew about fear for the audience. On top of all of these, Alfred Hitchcock was revolutionary. He set new boundaries and destroyed others, all for the sake of furthering the film industry into its greatest potential. Alfred Hitchcock is an inspiration for all. An aspiring film director or not, Hitchcock is a model of accomplishment and a great hero. Alfred  Hitchcock completely changed the field of film. He inspires others to follow their dreams, and to strive for their  best. If Alfred Hitchcock hadn't been his solely true self, the movie industry would be entirely different today. A successful  hero like Hitchcock; its only imaginable the challenges that it took to get where he got. Once Alfred Hitchcock's personality is examined its understandable how he could overcome so many things. Alfred Hitchcock would not expect less than what he dreamed for. Hitchcock kept his dreams alive, in his heart, even through times where it seemed irrational. That undying dreamlike personality is what sets a man to be a hero, and causes others in the present and future, to gaze in wonder at the inspiration they have created. 

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