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Media Studies - Hollywood Film
Seminal texts - Thriller
Watch the following clips/trailers. Make notes on how the genre has developed over time.
The Lodger
This early film (1927) is regarded as one of the first thrillers, and was made by an architect of the genre Alfred Hitchcock. Hitchcock was known as the master of suspense, and his films often featured psychological themes. Pay attention to how typical iconography- clues, mirrors, beautiful women are used in this silent movie.
Gaslight
George Cukor’s Gaslight (1944) emphasised the psychological potential of the thriller. Consider how female psychology is central to the narrative in this early noir film.
The Hand that Rocks the Cradle
This 1992 thriller was typical of the era it was made, transposing specifically female anxieties to the suspense genre. What has developed and what has remained the same in terms of genre?
