Most Alfred Hitchcock films are nail-biters, full of tosses and turns that are all too unpredictable. And “North by Northwest” is no different. Roger, just an ordinary man, finds himself lost in a secret battle between government agents and a crime organization. He has nothing to do with it. A few thieves misinterpret him for someone else, and he soon becomes a pawn in their game. I could go on and on about the rest of the plot, but that’s not what makes this movie interesting. It’s that even though Roger is still ordinary Roger, he becomes the figure for which he is mistaken at the beginning of the film. He becomes this adventurous agent who roams around in no particular direction, him versus the bad guys, him trying to win the girl. Not only the audience but also Roger himself forgets who Roger even is. It’s as if he’s this unrealistic agent/spy/hero all along. At first he just wants to be Roger. He doesn’t want to meddle with these crooked people or be a pawn in their game. But then he settles into his new life. This is something that often happens to us on campus. We all go through something unfamiliar or uncomfortable, classes, experiences, decisions alike. We may not be happy with something required, but it’s required. We have to accept it, deal with it, and keep moving. Of course, Roger is wrongfully wanted all over the country, so his situation is much more dramatic. But like many of us he accepts the challenge and plays the game until the end.