Irony portrays duality Essay Example

Irony portrays duality Essay Example Irony portrays duality Essay Irony portrays duality Essay By using irony Hitchcock is portraying the theme of duality because, irony has two meanings, which is similar to the theme of duality. In the parlour scene Norman says to Marion that it is a dirty night. This is ironic because Norman means that it is dirty because of the weather but Hitchcock knows that it is a dirty night because somebody, Marion, gets killed, this is dirty because her blood is spilled. Irony portrays duality because when Norman says dirty night he is viewed by the audience as a normal person as he is in his natural human form; however what Hitchcock is implying by dirty night, is what actually happens, when Norman is in his psychotic and murderer state. Therefore Hitchcock has used irony to portray the theme of duality. An example of how Hitchcock has used irony to portray duality can be backed up by what Norman says when talking about his mother. Norman wishes that he could apologise for other people, meaning his mother. This is ironic because Norman is his mother, it is he who is keeping her spirit alive by pretending to be her although she is dead, and therefore duality is shown by this phrase because it is ironic. Duality is also portrayed through the use of metaphors; Norman says to Marion you eat like a bird. This particular phrase shows duality because a bird is a predator to smaller animals and a prey to larger birds and animals. This is parallel to Marion because she is the predator when she steals the money and becomes the prey of Norman when he kills her. Here Hitchcock has used metaphors to portray duality by comparing Marion to a bird which has two sides to it comparable to Marion. Not only are the bird used to describe Marion but they seem to always be somewhere throughout the film. In the very opening scene the camera shot is a panning and reminds us of a bird, flying down towards the window of the motel. There are also birds in the parlour scene, which Norman has stuffed; they are in positions of flight and attack. The birds are a symbol of duality because they are in the film in a physical form, however as they are dead they are not actually involved. They see everything from a perspective different to that of the characters but the same as the audience; however they are in the film and not in the audience. They also portray duality by being in these positions of flight and attack because when an animal flies it is alive but since the birds are stuffed it is not really flying just being portrayed as alive. This shows two sides to the bird so therefore Hitchcock has used animal imagery to portray duality. Since these are just minor ways which portray duality, as an audience we can assume that the characters have a deeper meaning than what is shown. For example Norman is shown to be the owner of motel with an elderly mother, but the deeper meaning is that he is the killer of his guests to the hotel, and he is his mother. Psycho is probably most famous for its exceptional shower scene. It is here where a lot of the duality falls into place. The audience never actually sees the killers face. We only see a shadow. Through analysis we can assume that since we have seen shadows before, but with their owner, and now we see them alone, we are only seeing one part of the story. The human form has been lost. Since, we realise that Norman has killed Marion; we must assume that he is not in the state we have seen him in before, and therefore he must be in the state of the killer, mother and a woman. Hitchcock has used the mother to carry out the killing to show that there is a strong theme of duality in Normans head. Norman can not bring himself to commit the crime, so has used his dual side to so for him. The shadow Hitchcock has used to portray Norman is very dark, and shows up clearly against the white tiles, however the shadows of Marion is a lot lighter, it is almost a grey colour. The colour portrays that Marions dual side is not a strong as Normans as he has been living his dual lifestyle for so long that it has become a part of his life which is why his shadow is so dark. A reason as to why Marions shadow is so light could be because she is dying as well as her other side. Overall I think that Hitchcock has portrayed the theme of duality through the use of costume and colour symbolism of costume: white representing goodness and innocence and black representing evil and deceitfulness. Shadows and lighting are also used to portray duality, by giving Norman poor lighting and a large shadow Hitchcock has given him a larger secret to hide and a bigger dual side. In the car journey Hitchcock has used weather to portray duality, when Marion leaves her home it is sunny and when she arrives at the Bates Motel the weather is dirty and rainy. By giving Marion a new identity when she arrives at the Motel duality is shown and accepted by the character. However, it is probably in the parlour scene where most of the symbols Hitchcock has used to portray duality are shown. The use of furniture, irony, animal imagery and metaphors are used to portray the dual side in both Marion and Norman. By using so many conventions to represent the single yet complex film of duality Alfred Hitchcock has managed to create a film which will grip audiences for many years to come.

Nasim Pedrad, From Iran to SNL to Scream Queens

Nasim Pedrad, From Iran to SNL to 'Scream Queens' Nasim Pedrad, an Iranian-American comedic actress, portrays Gigi in the Comedy Horror television series produced by Fox. Pedrad left Saturday Night Live in 2014 after five years on the iconic comedy show. Her impressions of Arianna Huffington, Kim Kardashian, Barbara Walters, Kelly Ripa and Gloria Allred were highlights of the show. In 2015, she made two guest appearances on New Girl. Born in Iran, Nov. 18, 1981, she lived in Tehran with her parents, Arasteh Amani and Parviz Pedrad, until 1984 when they immigrated to the United States. She grew up in Irvine, Calif. Her parents, who live in southern California, met while both were students in Berkeley. Her father works in the medical field and her mother works in the fashion industry. Pedrad says SNL was a big part of growing up as an American. â€Å"I would watch those shows in an effort to understand American culture and assimilate, because I wasn’t necessarily getting as much of that from my parents as my American friends were,† she told Grantland, the entertainment/ESPN blog, in an interview. â€Å"I have early memories of watching the show, and knowing that it was going to help me stay in the know, even in the years when I was too young to fully understand what the sketches were about.† After one SNL show where she played the Iranian first lady, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejads wife, in a mock interview, she told the Iran News, â€Å"I love and am very proud of my Iranian heritage. Its shaped who I am as a performer, and if I ever poke fun at it, its coming from a place of love. She will join Mulaney, a new Fox sitcom created by ex-SNL writer John Mulaney, which premiers in October. She will play Mulaney’s wisecracking roommate. SNL producer Lorne Michaels will be the producer of the new show. Fox has ordered 16 episodes. Pedrad and her younger sister, Nina Pedrad, a writer for 30 Rock and New Girl, are both fluent in Farsi. â€Å"My parents did their best to speak to us in Farsi as often as they could when we were at home so we could grow up to be bilingual,† she told Grantland. She says she hopes to visit Iran some day. â€Å"My dads side of the family is still in Iran - there are so many cousins I have yet to meet.† She wrote a one-woman show called â€Å"Me, Myself and Iran,† and portrays five very different Iranian characters. SNL cast member Tina Fey saw the show and recommended Pedrad for SNL. Early Career Pedrad graduated from University High School, where former SNL cast member Will Ferrell also attended, and graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Theatre in 2003. She performed with The Groundlings, an improvisational comedy troupe based in L.A.. She frequently performed â€Å"Me, Myself and Iran† at the ImprovOlympic and the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in Los Angeles, and in the HBO Comedy Festival in Las Vegas in 2007. She guest-starred on Gilmore Girls from 2007 to 2009, ER, and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. She also did voices in Despicable Me 2 and The Lorax. She joined SNL in 2009. The show’s cast members have included other actors born outside North America such as Tony Rosato (Italy), Pamela Stephenson (New Zealand), Morwenna Banks (England), and Horatio Sanz (Chile). Iranian Immigration Pedrads family joined a large number of Iranians who immigrated to the U.S. after the Iranian Revolution of 1979. According to U.S. Census data and independent surveys done by Iranian-Americans in 2009, there were an estimated 1 million Iranian-Americans living in the U.S. with the largest concentration - about 520,000 - living around Los Angeles, particularly Beverly Hills and Irvine. In Beverly Hills, about 26% of the total population is Iranian Jewish, making it the city’s largest religious community. There are so many people of Iranian-Persian descent living around Los Angeles that the city is often referred to as Tehrangeles by those in the community. Iranian is a nationality; Persian is considered an ethnicity.