The Act of Interpretation

Abstract

Abstract This article discusses various ways to teach Thornton Wilder’s script and Alfred Hitchcock’s film version of Shadow of a Doubt (1943). While serving as a metaphor for academic research, Shadow of a Doubt is also rich enough to present students with the question of interpretation: How can one work create multiple, even conflicting, meanings? After introducing basic film techniques and literary terms, more complicated interpretive situations, such as Hitchcock’s problematic representation of women or the differences between script and film, may be considered. Students, like the film’s heroine, must investigate the evidence to find responses to these issues.