Melancholy in The Birds (1952): Costume, Setting, & Film Design

The Birds (1952), a romance-horror film, illustrates Melanie's connection to Bodega Bay by meeting Mitch Brenner, bringing the "Love Birds" to Brenner's house, and experiencing a series of mysterious bird attacks. The film also accentuates Melanie's change and struggles by using mise-en-scene, specifically her costume, as a vehicle that coordinates & contrasts herself to the Bodega Bay and the Brenner's house.

When Melanie arrives in Bodega Bay, she wears a green suit with a fur coat that blends her into the rural setting. By wearing this costume at the marina and Annie's house, Melanie coordinates the setting because her fur coat's color harmoniously matches the surroundings, such as the marina color scheme or Annie's house door. However, her fur coat contrasts her because she is overdressed compared to the locals, such as the fisherman and Annie, since they both wear comfortable and casual clothes. By emphasizing Melanie's costume, the scene indicates Melanie's deviation from the locals due to her appearance and behavior as a confident, independent, and wealthy woman.

Although Melanie wears the same costume, the gradual absence of her accessories, such as the coats and necklace, shows Melanie's adaptation to Bodega Bay as a rural area and also the Brenner's house. Specifically, when Melanie first interacts with Cathy while playing piano, she removes her fur coat. By doing this, Melanie coordinates to Brenner's house background by blending the green chair's color and the house's woody atmosphere. She figuratively bonds with Cathy due to the complementary color scheme of Cathy's red costume. However, Melanie's fur coat's absence contrasts her with the background by grabbing the viewer's attention to Melanie due to her green suit with the gold necklace, which also increases Lydia's fear of losing Mitch. Then, Melanie also wears the same green suit without her necklace when talking to Lydia after learning about Mr. Fawcett's death. In this scene, Melanie's costume strongly coordinates Lydia's bedroom as a background by matching the natural colors such as the yellow wall, green plant, and woody-brown bed, which direct the audience's view to Melanie. Although the absence of Melanie's necklace and the coordination with Lydia's bedroom still grab the viewer's attention Melanie, this also suggests that Melanie becomes familiar with the rural environment and the Brenners, especially Lydia. Consequently, Melanie's costume creates meaning by coordinating her to the setting color scheme and figuratively contrasting her behavior and adaptation to Bodega Bay.

Melanie's iconic green costume