Honestly, I haven't seen much of Alfred Hitchcock yet, this is actually my first one to complete. The Birds is/was (apparently) mostly regarded as a natural horror movie. Which it is, no doubt. But I find it severely funny, which goes beyond the dated 'special effects'. Dark ornithological comedy might be a more appropriate label for this flick imo. It's Jaws but with birds.

Stream it here on yts.

A movie needs to reach a certain believability threshold for a human to buy into its story. I've made a lot of movies with a neighborhood friend as a teenager and I know how terrible movies can become when you don't hit that threshold. But fret not, those failures were extremely funny to watch.

Continuing on Jaws, a lot of folks will agree that sharks are dangerous and lethal. Though obviously some nuance is necessary around these predatory fish, as most species are probably harmless, and even the nastiest of their class rarely devour humans. Yet, such a beast lurking in the murky depths of the ocean is a scary thing. You might just go swimming on the wrong day of the week and become a shark's amuse-bouche.

A certain Canadian professor of psychology once mentioned that such a predatory threat is actually an archetype, that symbolizes the fear of the unknown. That might be true. Note that the ocean is also an archetype and represents the unconscious and the realm of feelings. Hence, Jaws is a mythological story about traversing our own inner depths and encountering horror and danger in the pursuit of finding treasure that lies at the bottom of ourselves. A similar point I made on Journey to the Center of the Earth

But then birds? WHAT?!

Fortunately, I have actually a lot of experience with birds, pigeons in particular. I feed them daily, they perch on my hand, and I frequently invite people to have them on their hands too. It is in this practice that I discovered that people exist (I was fully unaware of this previously) that have strong anxiety around birds. I've seen muscular men avoiding them, or see them shaking in their boots when a dove wants to perch on them. Women, screaming and running from an animal that eats only nuts and grains.

These experiences, and the fact that The Birds was considered by some a real horror movie, makes me rethink previous hypothesis. Yes, fear of birds is real and it's called ornithophobia. Some people I helped couldn't even answer why they were frightened (and hats off to the ones who did decide to challenge their beliefs). Some also believe these winged creatures are a hotbed of all kinds of diseases, and should therefore not be touched. Yet, in practically all cases these worries are not justified and only spring from (a fear!) what they do not know (or know wrongly).

But the bird is also an archetype in itself and it represents the soul and the achievement of flight and freedom.The ornithophobiacs might just be unconsciously dreading the connection with their own spirit, with their animal self. This might sound farfetched, but in a lot of religions the bird is holy for this very reason. Hitchcock thus might have layed bare a loss for not living a true life, to be caught in a cage, and to lose the link with nature; AND THUS THEY NOW FEAR IT.

Today, we see the final form of what this ornithophobia has become. It has transitioned to a glossy CGI sci-fi movie where aliens invade the Earth (because that we do buy). I.e. it's just another form of Unidentified Flying Object that strikes the same phobia, a threat from the sky, and an anxiety for the unknown. Whether they are the depths of the ocean, or the far reaches of space, it is the same angst. In that sense, the Birds was just an early avant-garde ufo invasion blockbuster. Though admittedly, with a wink.

Hope you'll enjoy The Birds.