Rhetorical Devices in North by Northwest
by
Damon Wilkins
Professor Bradley
Southern Methodist University
English 1302: Images as Argument
6 March 2007
Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away, the war between good and evil continued to wage in eternity, the side of good seemingly at a distinct disadvantage to that of the deviously evil. Nonetheless, while many stories contain twists and turns with predictable outcomes, the admirable feat of storytelling comes to life through the mechanisms introduced to tell the story. Unlike in the days of olden, the modern day film through the will of the director, a modern day storyteller, portrays so much more than words on a page for our imagination to assemble visually.
The power of audio-visual rhetoric tells the viewer how to perceive the story as long as the viewer is open to the rhetorical devices employed by the film director. Director Alfred Hitchcock expertly utilizes this power of audio-visual rhetoric through the conjunction of various cinematic techniques in North by Northwest.
Sound is one of the most powerful forces in the universe through its production from the vibrating of energy waves. Hitchcock uses both diegetic (actual) and non-diegetic (commentary) sound in North by Northwest to effectively impart his story to the viewer. In the spirit of an expert storyteller, Hitchcock masterfully harnesses the power of non-diegetic sound with the film score in North by Northwest in order to elicit emotion in the viewer. As with many other Hitchcock films the orchestral score penetrates the audience in attention demanding fashion though not heard by characters in the film. Often Hitchcock accents the setting by increasing the volume of sound to washout or end scenes dramatically. Additionally, various traditional instruments are employed throughout the film as different plot twists take the viewer on the roller coaster ride of the story. In these ways, the musical score focuses on the mood to ensure that the viewer does not miss the point or purpose of each associated scene. Guided by orchestration, the viewer perceives a sense of imminent danger looming over the climactic Mount Rushmore chase scene as Thornhill and Kendall race with the statue to escape Vandamm and his goons (North by Northwest). Visually the audience sees that the situation is life and death for the protagonists but true feelings of distress flow through the audience as intense orchestration portrays the sheer weight of the situation. In this way, the audience empathizes with what happens to the actors and what they experience. The crop duster scene progresses in similar fashion but with more of a mixture of actual and commentary sound. While accented by orchestration, the sound of the circling crop duster interlaced with machine gun fire truly strengthens the urgency of this scene. This example demonstrates that other important sounds heard by both audience and characters alike include the diegetic settings that employ a sense of realism to the story upon the viewer. Beginning with the introduction of Thornhill on Madison Ave. as he imparts responsibilities upon his secretary, the random sounds of the big city with crowds and cars reinforce quite a busy life that Thornhill leads. Thus, the perceptive viewer sees firsthand the unique role of sound in any production as an important means to express information about the story to both the characters and audience.
In addition to the use of sound as a cinematic technique with great rhetorical effect, other notable rhetorical effects prove to be important in the telling of the story. Many other cinematic techniques function through different mechanisms than those utilized with sound. Another successful cinematic technique that Hitchcock impresses upon the audience with excellent rhetorical effect is the juxtaposition of character identity through reflection with appearance versus reality.
In North by Northwest, a huge clue of things to come begins with the opening credits when the audience learns the identity of the film through reflection of the credits on a building. While the credits appear correctly to the audience, only backwards projection upon a building creates this properly read perception. The stage thus becomes set as the implications of appearance versus reality highlight the use of reflection to relay identity. Similar themes of identity through reflection particularly haunt Thornhill throughout the film. Just after the opening credits, the audience knows Thornhill as quite a busy man. His identity is that of an advertiser but soon the flow of the story transforms Thornhill from a successful advertiser into a fugitive through progressive cases of mistaken identity. First, Thornhill is mistakenly kidnapped, thought to be a government agent named Kaplan, then mistakenly accused of slaying the real fellow named Townsend at the UN building. These predicaments seem to take away Thornhill’s identity as an advertiser as first demonstrated when he is in Kaplan’s hotel room with his mother. From the audience’s perspective, Thornhill has no reflection upon looking in the bathroom mirror. Thus, according to Hitchcock, the man with the mistaken identity has no reflection of his own, as demonstrated through his identity having been taken away. This same scenario occurs later when Thornhill is in Kendall’s room on the 20th Century Limited as he continues his attempts to track down Kaplan. The final reflective moment in the film occurs when Vandamm’s maid spots Thornhill sneaking out of Kendall’s room. Through the eyes of others, Thornhill thus gains back his identity when reflectively seen clearly by the audience for the first time near the end of the film. Once Thornhill’s reality has been restored, he gains back his identity. In this way, a reflection can sometimes truly be a false appearance rather than the reality of actuality.
As this tale of good versus evil reaches its final conclusion, the story fills the audience with relief and hope. Thanks to the masterful telling of the story, the twists and turns of North by Northwest are far from normal or predictable. Hitchcock successfully places his creation in the hands of viewers and ends up winning great acclaim from admirer and critic alike. North by Northwest is a film classic as told by a brilliant storyteller. Many of the techniques used by Hitchcock simply are not utilized in comparable fashion in more modern filmmaking simply for the fact that Hitchcock’s techniques have become outdated by more advanced technology. Regardless, through successful application of rhetoric devices, Hitchcock has earned his place in film and American history through his telling of classic, witty stories.
Works Cited
North by Northwest. Dir. Alfred Hitchcock. DVD. MGM Studios. 1958.