Dialogue should simply be a sound among other sounds, just something that comes out of the mouths of people whose eyes tell the story in visual terms.
Alfred HitchcockRead
Seeing a murder on television can help work off one's antagonisms. And if you haven't any antagonisms, the commercials will give you some.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Hitchcock humorously suggests that violent content can alleviate one's frustrations, or that advertisements can create new ones.
In this quote, Alfred Hitchcock is reflecting on the darker aspects of television consumption. He implies that witnessing violence on screen, while unsettling, can paradoxically have a cathartic effect, allowing viewers to release pent-up frustrations. Moreover, he adds a satirical twist by suggesting that even viewers lacking such frustrations can find them stirred up by the incessant barrage of advertisements, highlighting the manipulative nature of media.
Themes
TelevisionViolenceFrustrationMediaHumor
In practice
Example use cases
During a film analysis discussion on the impact of media on emotions.
More from Alfred Hitchcock
All quotes βLuck is everything... My good luck in life was to be a really frightened person. I'm fortunate to be a coward, to have a low threshold of fear, because a hero couldn't make a good suspense film.
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I can't read fiction without visualizing every scene. The result is it becomes a series of pictures rather than a book.
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I am a typed director. If I made Cinderella, the audience would immediately be looking for a body in the coach.
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There is something more important than logic: imagination
Alfred HitchcockRead
One must never set up a murder. They must happen unexpectedly, as in life.
Alfred HitchcockRead
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