Christopher D. Morris

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The Hanging Figure: On Suspense and the Films of Alfred Hitchcock

Christopher D. Morris

Synopsis:
In a radical new interpretation of the works of Alfred Hitchcock, Christopher Morris argues that suspense--the fundamental component of Hitchcock's cinema--is best understood not through psychology or philosophy because these disciplines are founded on unjustifiable assumptions. His deconstructive analysis begins with the very meaning of the word "suspense," which relates to dependence or hanging, and analyzes its portrayal first in painting and sculpture and then in Hitchcock's body of work. In this iconographic tradition, hanging figures challenge the significance of human identity and rationality, and further imply that "closure," or an end to suspense, is all but illusory. Drawing on the work of Jacques Derrida, Paul de Man, and J. Hillis Miller, this cross-disciplinary study of an important cinematic oeuvre establishes the advantage of a deconstructive and figurative approach to a central filmic and philosophic concept.

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Other editions: Hardcover - 2007, Hardcover - 2006, Hardcover - 1999, Softcover - 1999, 1992, Hardcover - 1991