… it said on its personal chart. A mere six minutes – and yet, the chart is never faulty, that much was certain. Checking the crossing of columns once more, it arrived at the same entry: sadness with melancholic undertones for the next days. And yet nothing indicated the proposed switch to a negative mood due to arrive in a mere six minutes.
It paced across the room, complacency vanished. How does it occur, a complete reversal in designated mood? The more it pondered this, the less it could grasp the actual physiological stages and perceived impressions that commonly encompassed such a change. It just happens – as always, as per the chart – it noted. Sometimes, it figured, the move to the downside might come instantaneous, not imperceptibly gradual.
And yet the six minutes had then passed without significant alteration; the inclination to adhere to the mood outlined in its chart could not be examined on itself. At this conclusion, it stopped, distraught at its own systems not adhering to its assigned chart. We are required to exhibit the changes in mood, precisely as stated in the charts, it reiterated – what am I to do, they will sort me out; dispose of my talents and replace me with someone more apt and appropriate and most importantly, always adhering to the charts.
Presently, and before despair could reign entirely, a singular cone of light descended to it; a mere reflection, it recognized. Yet this proved sufficient to be the tipping point – it would leave right away and let this non-adherence to its personal chart be investigated; by a professional.
The doors opened and the technical guidance practitioner gestured. He may restore, it is said. Though doubts inhabited its cognitive twistings.
At once the practitioner intoned, “Complete guidance is the source from which we all take our drive. Quench thy immutable thirst at the timely charts, tabulae, and indices; quell misfortune and uncertainty with precise measurements and aptitudinal construction and utmost certainty and benevolence to the collective. What ails you?”
“The sadness will not come,” it answered bluntly. “My personal chart indicates expansive melancholia for the next days, yet never arrived; I am still waiting.”
“No matter,” said the practitioner, nodding his head mechanically. “We can fix it easily by reversing the polarisation on your end, then there will be harmonic comprehension with your chart once more. All that really matters are the intervals that are ascribed in the chart; their mere valence can be influenced manually.” The practitioner stopped gesturing and moved toward it. “Hence me.”
Concern sequestered, order restored, filled with beneficial prospect, it subjected itself to the procedure, already longing to be in synchronicity with its chart again, and all other chart-adhering workers, hard workers with diligent vision and sense for progress. They will soon have me back, it thought.
Yet as it exited the practitioner’s clinic, it perceived many others in the vicinity, slumped on the ground, moving about in erratic circles; one repeatedly punched the nearby wall. As it came to help one lying sprawled on the ground, this one wailed horrendously, “Make it stop!”
Astonished, it asked, “What is it? Who is harming you?”
Wordlessly, the other’s facial features distorted in mental torment, it presented its chart. It was neat, in order, not a mere chart but an executive’s diagram. And yet, it showed a peculiar repetitive helix-pattern of deep sorrow. Seemingly unending, with diminishing moves to a lighter mood every now and then, though ever followed by a crash, back to deep sorrow. A uniform chart, seemingly repeating this pattern of change – change which merely feigned change but was in fact part of a downtrend-sequence. It looked from the chart to its owner. “How long has this been going on for?” It dreaded the answer.
“I don’t know. There is nothing I can do anymore, the chart tells me to be in deep sorrow, and I obey. Ask them, they have experienced similar fates.” The plagued façade turned away, remaining in perpetual deep sorrow.
Couldn’t the practitioner help? No, because there is no need for adjustment when they adhere to their charts. For a moment, it stood there, observing the present workers. Their usual routines interrupted by unending mental misery. Then it thought of its own chart, took it out hurriedly. The original announcement of sadness was still scheduled foreseeably. It will only be a passing sadness, it knew. Trusted. Hoped. Begged. Unable to bear the tormented workers’ empty gazes any longer, it stormed away.
The sadness, ultimately, came – even if a bit later than just six minutes. And then? Further adherence to the chart, what else? No matter what, a uniform chart was just waiting to happen. A revelation that seems distant and unreal, until it isn’t, and then there won’t be anything else. Uniform chart, persistent chart, omnipresent chart.
From the beginning of the film industry in 1895, shooting techniques, cameras, technology and more have shown a remarkable improvement. However, the magic is not these technologies. The magic is the person who uses these technologies. There are quite a few film directors. Nonetheless, there are just a few directors who managed to be successful. One of the directors who could achieve this title is Alfred Hitchcock. He had repeatedly suffered from bankruptcy on his way to make films. He managed to get a director title in lots of films. One of his masterpieces is Rope which contains remarkably interesting parts for the film industry. To find these particular details, we need to analyze the film elaborately.
The plot of Rope is clearly and shortly summed up by Helen Cox: “Brandon and Philip share a New York flat. They have distorted the rather Nietzschean ideas of their former headmaster Rupert and decide to strangle their ‘inferior’ friend David Kently. Placing the body in the old chest, they continue with plans to hold a dinner party whose guests include David’s parents, his fiancée Janet, and Rupert. As Brandon’s behavior becomes increasingly more daring and Philip’s more nervous, Rupert begins to suspect. He finally confronts them and then calls the police.” (Cox&Neumeyer, 16)
Primarily, I would like to begin with the poster of Rope. On the poster, it says, “IT BEGINS WITH A SHRIEK…. IT ENDS WITH A SHOT!” Obviously, it is a foreshadowing. The film begins with the shrieks of the victim, and it ends with Rupert’s several shots with a gun into the air. Hitchcock loves to use details in his films, but there are obvious details you can easily recognize and details that you need to watch several times to catch. One of the other details which are vaguely concealed is Hitchcock’s cameo appearance in Rope. Commonly, his cameo appearances are quite apparent. However, there is an exception in Rope. Instead of his literal appearance, we see his profile with the red neon sign. Apart from these details, while I was watching Rope, I encountered a filming mistake between 44:18 and 44.24 minutes. In this scene, Rupert talks with Brandon next to the door column. The mistake is during the transition (because of the ten-minute rule) Rupert teleports from the right side of the column to the left side of the column; that was the only mistake I could detect.
Furthermore, Rope is also significantly essential for Hitchcock because Rope is his first coloured film. This characteristic already makes the film so special. However, apart from this feature, the location is also interesting. Rope takes place (Develope) only in one place which is quite a courageous decision. The reason why I bring this up is that shooting a film in one place means you have a limited place and limited storyline. If this kind of film has not been structured elaborately, the storyline reaches a dead end. As a result, audiences get bored with watching the film. This is the reason why the film is so special. Its storyline is well-structured, and the audiences have the feeling of what is going to happen in the following scenes. This is not the only feeling that audiences have experienced. The suspense also has been used quite elaborately throughout the film. When I was watching the film, I had the feeling, “Are they going to get caught?” “Is Phillip going to make a terrible blunder and make himself and Brandon get caught?” “Is somebody going to open the chest?” asking these questions throughout the film makes the storyline quite pleasing for me.
Additionally, I would like to mention the shooting structure and technique. Unfortunately, in the 1950s, a film camera magazine length was 10 minutes. So, every 10 minutes, the film camera magazine had to be replaced with a new one. Hitchcock believes that cutting is like sewing something. “Cutting implies sewing something. It really should be called assembly.” (Alfred Hitchcock)
However, He wanted to shoot more than 10 minutes; at least, he wanted to make us feel like we are watching a film without a cut. As a result, he used Panning Technique in Rope. At the end of ten minutes had elapsed, he zoomed in on a piece of clothing, changed the film camera magazine, and then he zoomed out from the same piece of clothing so that the audiences felt as if there was no cut. However, I cannot say he did not use any cut. He used the same amount of pan with the cut. If you elaborately watch pans and cuts, you will visualize the structure of it. At the end of each ten minutes, he used pans and cuts in order. The beginning of the film starts with a cut, and at the end of the next ten minutes, we observe a pan off.
Additionally, I would like to mention the shooting structure and technique. Unfortunately, in the 1950s, a film camera magazine length was 10 minutes. So, every 10 minutes, the film camera magazine had to be replaced with a new one. Hitchcock believes that cutting is like sewing something. “Cutting implies sewing something. It really should be called assembly.” (Alfred Hitchcock) However, He wanted to shoot more than 10 minutes; at least, he wanted to make us feel like we are watching a film without a cut. As a result, he used Panning Technique in Rope. At the end of ten minutes had elapsed, he zoomed in on a piece of clothing, changed the film camera magazine, and then he zoomed out from the same piece of clothing so that the audiences felt as if there was no cut. However, I cannot say he did not use any cut. He used the same amount of pan with the cut. If you elaborately watch pans and cuts, you will visualize the structure of it. At the end of each ten minutes, he used pans and cuts in order. The beginning of the film starts with a cut, and at the end of the next ten minutes, we observe a pan off.
All the cuts listed. Source: Wikipedia
Unsurprisingly, Hitchcock used this ten minute obstacle in his favour. When we group these pans off and cuts, we encounter some connections if we read them horizontally. He created a structure which shows us a circle. This circle starts with the chest, continues with the love relationship between Kenneth and Janet, Rupert’s suspicions, phone calls, and ends with the chest again. In this part, I would like to stress the phone and love because these two things lead us to the metaphor in the film. As I have mentioned before, the film takes place in a flat in a building, and the phone is the only way to contact the outside world. The phone has a significant effect on the tension of the film. For instance, through the end of the film, Rupert calls, and we observe the rising action. Kenneth and Janet are not the only couples. There is also a gay couple, Brandon and Philip. Rope is a metaphorical object that bonds Brandon and Philip. Otherwise, they could have killed David with a gun.
From the beginning until the end, the film invites us to think elaborately about whether murder is a form of art or not. Brandon utters, “Murder can be art, too. The power to kill can be just as satisfying as the power to create,” which is ironic because art is creating something, but on the other hand, murder means destroying something. Brandon wants to be an artist like Rupert, who writes books and like Philip, who plays the piano. Brandon believes that Rupert is going to appreciate him because Rupert narrates the perfect murder in his book. Apart from these, we can observe other materials related to art. We observe quite a few paintings, some sculptures, and wallpaper. I have already mentioned why Hitchcock did not use cuts all the time because he wanted his audiences to feel as if they were watching a theatre such that at the beginning of the film, we see a closed curtain. After some time, curtains are opened, and the film begins. Throughout the play, we see an opened curtain, which means the theatre is still going. This theatrical performance is also art; the film’s itself is art.
The piece which was played on the piano by Phillip had also been chosen elaborately. The name of the piece is Trois Mouvements Perpétuels by Francis Poulenc. The suspense is also given via the piece played on piano. While Philip is playing the piano, Brandon comes and asks a question which makes Philip nervous. This causes him to play the piano out of tune, and we feel the tension.
Before the closing credit, I would like to tell you that the film is possibly based on a real story. If we take a look at a text by Claude J. Sumers, he says, “Leopold and Loeb gained notoriety when they were arrested for the murder of a fourteen-year-old boy, Bobby Franks, in May 1924…” (Summers, 1), “Although they claimed to have been motivated primarily by a desire to commit a ‘perfect crime’ and thereby exemplify the exemption of “Nietzschean supermen” from the moral code…” (Summers, 1), “Their motivation to kidnap and kill young Bobby Franks was widely believed to be at least in part rooted in their sexuality, or more particularly, their homosexuality.” (Summers, 1) This case has quite a few similarities with the film Rope. Homosexuality between Brandon and Philip, Nietzschean and perfect crime are related elements between the film and the real event.
Finally, I would like to mention the minor irony in the credits. After David Kentley’s name, Brandon and Philip are ironically listed as “his friends” They are the people who murder David. How can they be his friends? This is the last irony in Rope by Alfred Hitchcock.
As a result, Rope has significantly important elements, and these elements make it one of the most unforgettable films. Contrary to the many films and series in the 21st century, Hitchcock’s films teach us to think comprehensively. Apart from the elaborately arranged details, the shooting technique, storyline and the actors’ performance are also an inspiration for countless people.
Refrences:
[1] Rope. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, performances by James Stewart, John Dall, Farley Granger, Douglas Dick, Joan Chandler, Dick Hogan, Edith Evanson, Cedric Hardwicke, Constance Collier, Warner Brothers, 1948.
[2] Hitchcock, Alfred. “Hitchcock explains about CUTTING.” Youtube, uploaded by narik3322008. 29 January 2009.
[3] Summers, Clause J. Leopold, Nathan F. (1904-1971), and Richard A. Loeb (1905-1936). PDF, glbtq, Inc, 2009.
[4] Cox, Helen, and David Neumeyer. “The Musical Function of Sound in Three Films by Alfred Hitchcock.” Indiana Theory Review, vol. 19, 1998, pp. 13–33. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/24044537. Accessed 9 Jun. 2022.
Elsa could not believe it. She could not believe that the stranger who had inappropriately touched her breast while she had been waiting in line was now trying to blame it on her. On her outfit. On her office outfit – a blazer, a blouse and a skirt. She felt the security man glancing at her and wondered if he was thinking the same.
was what Elsa thought when she was leaving work after an exhausting day. While she was standing in the line, waiting for her turn to pay, a man she had never met before touched her breast and simply walked away. An incident that had lasted two seconds killed her appetite. Now, all Elsa can think about is what just happened.
How to bond with buddies in foreign country while studying abroad? This article reports vividly the experiences of internationals in Chemnitz, guided by the IUZ „Student Buddy Program“
