Alfred Hitchcock not only made the traditions in cinema going unconventional but he also added many new cultural taboos that shocked audiences as well as critics. One critic said in a report, “I have just seen one of the most vile and disgusting films ever.” And these were the comments that “Psycho” widely receive from the film critics. But to put these reports to the public would not strengthen their case as the public usually see criticism as a chance to see this film for themselves and make their own judgment. Another reaction ended in a critic being so disgusted that they quit their job as a film critic, “ ‘who does he think he is’ Caroline Lejeune (film critic) repeated as she was left shaken and shocked- and she promptly handed in her resignation from the Observer.” But before “Psycho” even got to the cinemas it had to get passed the censors, and in that time the censors were stricter. But again by using tactics and techniques he defied convention by jumping the hurdles of the censors by using his skill in editing, to make some of his more touchy themes less obvious. And also by making deals with the censors such as, “if you let this bit stay in, I’ll take out that bit”. But the reason he wanted to keep certain part in is because they had a deeper more provoking meaning and they were vital to the point of the film. Some of the taboo themes he mentioned were nudity and sex in the characters of Sam and Marion in particular. But some of the most shocking were incest, Oedipal complex, Voyeurism, blood in the shower scene and hints of necrophilia between Norman and his mother. But the point that Hitchcock is trying to portray is that Norman is unable to outgrow his maternal dependency, but because he was jealous of his mothers relationship with another man, his guilt of killing the pair drives him into wanting to keep he “alive” and with him but as she takes over him his identity is overcome by his mothers. But by raising these themes, Hitchcock tapped into the subconscious of the viewer to identify disturbing flaws in society that lay beneath the appearance of normalcy and undermine previous conventions.
As well as involving the audience to live the experience in the theatre with lights and “stygian blackness” he also made them live through the story and empathise with the characters. In a classic Hollywood narrative you would follow one character solving an event or crime and ending with the conclusion (the solving of the event). But Hitchcock style was very different because he started off by following one particular character, Marion, and all seems very classic until she decides to return the money and she is killed off. After this we begin to empathise with Norman when he is watching the car sink. But we are empathizing with him sub consciously because we are now looking for another character to follow. We then are introduced to the character of Arboghast be he also is killed off very quickly so we are then left with Norman, his mother and Leila and Sam.
One Character
A B
Classical Hollywood narrative
Multiple characters
A B
C D
E F
E D
A D
Hitchcock narrative
And as you can see from the character lines above the classical Hollywood style was the narrative which everyone was familiar with but when Hitchcock introduced his new suspense ridden technique it was something very different. He wanted to create mass emotion within the audience and with his narrative style he left the viewers confused because just as Norman violated Marion with his knife, Hitchcock violated the audience’s security they had put in the cinema. And as audiences were accustomed to the traditional narrative style, they wanted a character they could consistently identify with, yet Hitchcock denied them that comfort by killing off the character they had briefly identified with and moving up a step for the viewer to not only identify with a murderer, but also with multiple characters, being Lila Crane and Arboghast as well as Norman Bates
In “Psycho” Alfred Hitchcock’s use of camera also defied convention in many ways ,and what he was trying to achieve was mass emotion in the audience, and in films prior they had not used this to entertain the audience. But used story and stars to insure success. As we can see very clearly Hitchcock’s use of camera took a lead role in creating this mass emotion he wanted. In the early part of the film Marion is sleeping in her car when a policeman confronts her at her widow. But unlike classical Hollywood, Hitchcock gives us an extreme close up of the policeman’s face from Marion’s point of view. And the way this creates mass emotion is by his use of the low camera angle looking up, which gives us (Marion) a sense of inferiority and a feeling of intimidation. And in perspective makes the policeman superior and menacing. His dark glasses also hide the “emotion” in his eyes which give him ruthlessness and no feeling. And again in another shot we see Norman’s view of the car going down which gradually zooms. This camera angle turns our empathy to Norman as we sub consciously side with him. This makes us feel uneasy as we are siding with the murderer and we want the car to sink. But as well as the camera angle, again we can see a link to his narrative technique, as because Marion is not there for us to identify with we only have Norman. And in the next shot of Normans view of Marion through the peep-hole we are plunged into guilt of practicing voyeurism as we watch Marion undress. And this is how Hitchcock created mass emotion through taboo themes. And also the rough edge of the small hole gives us a sense of enclosure, unable to escape the view and thought of Marion.
Another area of the film where camera technique, but also editing are predominant, is in the infamous shower scene. Alfred Hitchcock said,
“The point is to draw the audience right inside the situation instead of leaving them to watch it from outside, from a distance. And you can do this only by breaking the action into details a cutting from one to the other so that each detail is forced, in turn, on the attention of the audience and reveals a psychological meaning.” And what he did was split the shower scene into three very distinct parts. These parts being before the attack when she gets into the shower and is showering, the attack itself and the aftermath when Bates has left and Marion is abandoned, dead on the floor.
The significant shots of her preparation of getting into the shower are shots (2) and (13). In shot (2) just before entering the shower Marion shuts the door. This shot symbolizes a lot because even when she is in her cabin alone, she still feels the need to shut the door. This is because it gives her a sense of security, but in this case, due to the events that follow, it is false security. It also shows that we are most vulnerable when we are naked. And a link can also be made, as her action of shutting the door is the complete opposite of when Norman opened the window in her cabin. Then in shot (13) the camera focuses on, and zooms into the shower curtain whilst Marion is showering. And as the camera lingers on this shot it begins to build up tension in the audience as they become expectant of the consequent events that are to follow. And as the camera zooms closer it reveals the silhouette of “mother”, and then the curtain is ripped open, and she brandishes her knife.
Next come the shots of the attack and the most important ones are ((15) (16) (17)), (20) and ((20) (21)). The (15), (16) and (17) shots are in a sequences to magnify her horror. The first of the sequence is (15) and this shows her screaming. Her face and the top of her body are visible here. The camera then cuts to shot (16) which is a close up of her terrified face which leads to the most powerful shot of the sequence. Shot (17) is an extreme close up of Marion’s gapping mouth. This gives the viewer a greater feeling of her terror as the shot increases the dramatic effect of the sequence. The next shot is (20) and this is of “mother” and Marion struggling. In the build up towards the stabbing this creates tension and suspense in the audience as they wonder if Marion will be killed or not. The following two shots are the most important of the film. Because this is where Alfred Hitchcock showed his editing skills to their full extent as he cuts from shot (21) to shot (22). Shot (21) is of Marion and shot (22) is of “mother” stabbing her. As we see “mother” thrusting the knife towards Marion the camera cut to Marion flailing and taking the impact of the stab. This increases the emotion the audience feel for Marion (pain and fear) as they are in the thick of the action. And as the camera furiously cuts from one shot to the other it makes the action seem more realistic and makes the impact of the stab more forceful to the audience. The knife also is a symbol of phallus, due to the knife penetrating Marion. This becomes clearer because prior, when Norman spies on Marion he shows his sexual desire towards her, and “mother” is killing Marion because of her jealousy of Norman, just as Norman committed matricide because of his jealousy of her relationship.
In the aftermath of the attack we are left with some very powerful images of Marion dying. The first being shot (27). This shows Marion with her arm out stretched. This is showing us her desperation as she tries to hold on for her life and her cry for help which is in vain. But because her arm is reached out towards us it makes us want to help her but we can’t. The next shot (33) is of her blood swirling down the plughole. After the hectic action of the attack, the slow disappearance of the blood give the viewers time to contemplate on what they had just seen, as they realize the character they were following is now dead. The closing shot of the scene is (34). From (33) it cuts to this extreme close up shot of Marion’s eye and gradually zooms out. This gives the viewers confirmation that she is dead because if she had her eyes closed she may have been unconscious. The camera then pans across to the bedside table to remind us of the money.
In “Psycho” Hitchcock uses the devices of repetition and symbolism a lot and they are very effective in portraying psychological meanings. As I just mentioned in the close of the shower scene Alfred Hitchcock pans to the bedside table with the newspaper to remind us of the money, but throughout the film he repeats this object because then we can suddenly identify the object with the object we saw after the murder, thus always referring back to the murder when we see it. He also repeats shots of people looking into mirrors. This is because when you look into your own eyes you are doing it to judge yourself because of guilt; you want to know what you feel deep down, because your eyes are the “windows” to your brain. Another shot he repeats is of Marion packing her bags. It later shows Norman packing her bags after she has been murdered, and effectively he has “packed her” as well. But also as well as using repetition he also avoided it, so not to make the story too clichéd. He also uses a lot of symbolism the main being his use of black and white film instead of colour, which was fairly new at the time. One reason was so that he could show Marion bleeding, but the other reason being that it symbolized the whole story of the film. Because “Psycho” is a film of the bright and dark sides of life as well as personalities. But Hitchcock not only focuses on the split personality of a schizophrenic man, Norman Bates, but creates a whole world of contrasts, light and shadow. A great example of this being when in the beginning after just having made love, Marion is wearing a white bra, to show innocence and no wrong doing (although the subject of sex was not openly welcome). And then as she prepares to steal the money she is wearing a black bra, showing her darker, malicious personality. And also this is prominent in Norman obviously as he has the severe split personality, but the film also shows how Leila and Sam bring Normans dark side to light after they search for Arboghast and Marion. Furthermore, like Norman Bates, “Psycho” itself consists of two parts, a dark and a bright one. Lila's and Sam's search for Marion forms the "brighter" counterweight to the "dark" first part of the film. This means that the topic of the film and the search for a balance are also reflected in the narrative structure Hitchcock employs.
Irony features a lot in “Psycho”, and in a way in helps drive the plot along while creating mass emotion in the audience. Irony itself is hard to define, but, “Dramatic irony is created when an audience knows more about events than the characters in the film and can anticipate what is about to happen. Irony can also occur when something acquires a greater significance on second hearing or seeing because it seems to hint at what is going to occur later on.”
Many good examples of verbal irony are used in the film. And they cleverly hint at what is going to occur later. When Marion and Sam are together in the hotel room she says,
”Checking out time in these kinds of hotels is 3.30, and when your times up…” In this phrase “checking out” is a clear euphemism of death and “when your times up” is a connotation and euphemism of death also.
Another good example of irony is when the traffic cop says to Marion, “There are plenty of motels in this are…I mean…just to be safe.” This is ironic because we know on a second viewing that Marion gets murdered in a motel, but also the motel has symbolic value. This is because the neon signs of motels symbolize hope and shelter but Marion comes to her death in a motel so really it does not show hope for her fate.
Hitchcock also combines irony and taboo together to create deeper emotion. After Marion has stole the money she begins to imagine the reactions of her boss, Cassidy, “I’ll get it back and if any of it’s missing, I’ll replace it with her fine soft flesh.” The irony here is that no one will ever get the money, and the way he uses taboo themes to evoke the audiences emotion is in Cassidy’s voyeuristic thought of Marion’s flesh. And because the taboo theme of voyeurism was very unacceptable the audience felt uneasy that they were thinking of it.
And here in these two shots from the film we have examples of visual irony. First of all in Marion’s office the picture in the background portrays a swamp. This is ironic because her body ends up being dumped in a swamp. The next picture is of Norman standing in front of a weird tree. This is ironic as well as symbolic. The irony is in the shape of the tree because it is demented and twisted like Normans mind. But it is also symbolic of Norman mind because it is the “head” of the tree which is twisted. Also the way the tree seems to have two arms symbolizes the stronghold his mother has over his mind.
The music plays a crucial part in “Psycho” especially in the credits and in the shower scene. This is because the music is a contrapuntal sound, providing commentary to the image-reflecting the meaning and action of the scene. The way it does this is by the choice of instrument, because the orchestra chosen is only strings, it is high pitched. Because of this high pitch it evokes the stabbing action in the shower scene and Marion’s screams. But also in the shower scene the music reflects the editing, as the editing is fast and furious just as the violin strokes are. But in the credits and other scenes were there is no action the music heightens tension because of its high pitch. And also the credits slash on roll in sharply, and the music complements the credits to create a connotation of the shower scene.
Although some viewers and critics responded negatively to Psycho, their appraisal changed once they had time to reassess the value of the film. Nearly forty years after the film's release, Psycho is still cited as a masterpiece which has inspired many dozens of other films, and has set precedents in film making and is used as "a yardstick by which other thrillers are measured" Rebello 194. And since its release has changed the way in which people go to the cinema and the way we expect a film to be shown,” The effect both in the short run, in establishing Psycho as the ultimate thriller, and the long run, in altering the cinema-going habits of the nation, is indisputable" Clover 191. But as well as having made land marks in the areas of film making and cinema going it revolutionised the way that music accompanies a film and how it has such an importance that the music is now worthy of it’s own release. But also the way in which the story is told and the way it has an impact on the audience mentally and emotionally. Because Hitchcock wanted the audience to be involved in the film. So overall Hitchcock did defy convention, but in doing this he changed the way we perceive film and the way society functions today.
