The Alphabet is a 1968 short film directed by American filmmaker David Lynch. The film recounts the alphabet and then shows a girl having these put into her head. Blood then comes from her mouth and the film ends there. Alphabet utilizes both live action and animation, again perhaps to create that idea of the real vs the foreign (especially considering the idea of the childish nature of learning the alphabet with the very graphic and violent imagery later on in the film), and and uses high-key lighting to create a fearful, spooky atmosphere. The film builds tension using the real, by having the girl in the bed recite the alphabet in an almost demonic way. Lynch said he based on his niece 'having a bad dream one night and was reciting the alphabet in a tormented way'. When this is used in the film, it creates an almost horror-like atmosphere which certainly disconcerts the spectator. The long shot of the girl in the bed at the bottom right hand corner of the screen with giant letters appearing is a particularly haunting one, with the girl almost being possessed, changing into lots of different positions. These edits are quick, adding to the weird and demon-like aspect to this. The final smile to the camera adds to the overall terror of the film. The narrative of the film has been speculated as showing an expression of a fear of learning, perhaps shown by the odd positions her body seems to take as the alphabet is recited. Some meaning behind the film, perhaps some form of fear helps to create a somewhat relatable nature to it. While these fears are not ours, we also have our own fears that may be similar in theme. Therefore, overall, I want to take the ideas of potential fears and perhaps explore them too. Something relatively plausible that an audience can relate to but still be jarring in some way. I would also quite like to incorporate some form of mild blood into the film, not necessarily just for gratuitous violence but to add to the shock value that many other Surrealist films also have.
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InfoBlog for A Level Film Studies. Consists of critical analysis of films from different time periods and genres. Archives
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