Psycho Essay Flashcards
(9 cards)
Introduction
-Title
-Name of director (Alfred Hitchcock)
-Plot summary
-Techniques used
-Refer to essay question
-Themes
Plot summary
The main character, Marion Crane flees Phoenix as she has stolen money from her work place. In her attempt to flee, she happens to find herself at the Bates motel with Norman Bates and what appears to be his mother. As the story progresses, Norman’s character starts to unravel and the audience finds out he has a split personality that causes Marion to meet her demise.
Techniques used
Lighting, mise-en-scene, camera angles and sound
Themes
Isolation, duality of man, voyeurism, american society/conformity
1st paragraph
Hermann’s non-diegetic score plays alongside diegetic heavy rainfall which builds tension and urges Marion to get to safety.
The non-diegetic score ceases as a “Bates motel, no vacancies” illuminated sign appears, almost from nowehere. The diegetic rainfall continues which foreshadows the events to take place.
Marion’s first impression of Norman is that of a young, nervous man. The mise-en-scene of their clothing shows the contrast, with Marion in a formal work attire and Norman in an open shirt and jacket. Since Marion is dressed much more formal than Norman, it suggests that she is the one in control in their dynamic and that Norman is non-threatening with an aloof, unkept appearance.
The actor previously played in romances, which further subverts the audience’s expectations, they think he will be a love interest.
2nd paragraph
There is a shot of the Bates house which is detached from the motel. There is low-key lighting creating many dark contrasts in the image, this setting creates a threatening mood and ominous atmosphere
Throughout the parlour scene, various stuffed birds of both predator and docile type are placed within sight around the room, this clever use of mise-en-scene is used as the stuffed birds symbolise Norman’s inner psychology. There is a war being waged within Norman’s psyche between the two identities of Norman as the innocent son and Norman as his homocidal mother. These props also suggest the predator-prey relationship which develops between Marion and Norman.
this use of mise-en-scene is used in a low angle shot where a predatory bird looms over Norman. It accentuates how Norman is trapped by his mother (in the same way that Marion is trapped by the birds, by Norman). This is only emphasised by the fact that his dialogue consists of being stuck in a trap and how that trap is his mother.
3rd paragraph
When Marion begins to talk about Norman’s mother and suggesting to “put her someplace”, there is a close up shot of Norman as he leans forward. Up until this point, there’s been a fairly calm back and forth middle shot of both Marion and Norman, but when the close up shot of Norman is shown, the intensity of the conversation increases as his façade of Norman unravels and he starts to become aggressive and hostile. This is further highlighted by the change of his facial expression and the twitching of his eyes. Whilst lighthearted and calm before, his face changes to become more serious and belligerent. This builds tension as Norman was previously portrayed as trustable and safe which hints at the duality of Norman as it reveals that there is a much darker side of Norman. This foreshadows the sequence of events that will play out. It also forces the audience to question whether Marion will be safe at this motel as the owner who seemed harmless started to become aggressive.
is further expressed through a low angle and medium shot of Norman surrounded by the stuffed birds. The low angle makes him appear threatening and shows that he is now in control and is the predator in his dynamic with Marion. The medium shot allows us to see the props of the birds yet unlike earlier in this scene where it was used to show how Norman is trapped by his mother, it is now being used to loom over both him and Marion and looking ready to attack as we now feel that Norman now may attack Marion. This again makes the audience fear Marion’s fate and whether she is safe in the Bates motel.
Tension is further built as Norman decided to watch Marion through a peep hole, we continue to see the unravelling of his character whilst also seeing the darker side of him, the audience now feels that Norman directly poses a threat to Marion. There is an intense low-key lighting with dark shadows being cast on Norman as he approaches the peep hole, it makes him appear as a dark, shadowy figure. This represents the evil that resides within him, the evil of his dual personality. It foreshadows what is about to take place, Marion’s death. This continues to explore the theme of duality through showing Norman’s duality. As Norman begins to watch Marion, there is a low-key lighting which puts everything other than Norman’s eye in a shadow, this is to emphasise the eye as the subject of that camera shot. There is also an extreme close up camera angle of the eye which further shows that the eye is the subject of the shot. This introduces the theme of voyeurism and it shows that the audience are the voyeurs, they are uncomfortably watching Marion as she gets undressed, an activity that is incredibly personal and should not be watched by strangers. It emphasises how creepy Norman is, this increases tension tenfold as the audience is now very concerned with what Norman intends to do, if he’s not against watching Marion, what else could he be capable of?
4th paragraph
there is no non-diegetic score which indicates that Marion will be safe in this scene as the non-diegetic score only plays as a morally dubious event takes place. This allows the audience to put down their guard and believe that nothing is about to happen. This is emphasised with the high key lighting and the fact that the bathroom is white, with little contrast. It helps the false sense of security since it is different compared to the general low-key and dark lighting of the rest of the film. The high-key lighting of this scene creates pressure and a subtle tension as it foreshadows the murder about to take place. As the scene progresses, the lighting becomes a lower key as the killer enters and is visible through a clear shower curtain. This immediately creates a shift in mood as the threat level to Marion increases. The shadows both highlight and disguise the murderer - there is a female outline (in terms of the dress and hair) but the face of the perpetrator is never shown therefore there is an ambiguity of the identity of the killer.
The mise-en-scene of the clear shower curtain creates more tension as the audience is able to see the killer entering the bathroom but Marion cannot. It creates this tension because only the audience is capable of seeing the killer, it shows the connection the audience has with the protagonist as there is almost a need to warn her of this unexpected danger but the audience is unable to help. The false sense of security that was previously built is shattered when the murder occurs because it is incredibly unexpected, this results in high tension during the murder. In this scene, there is a connection between Marion and the non-diegetic score with the music representing Marion’s point of view in this film. The only noise the audience is able to hear in the shower is the diegetic sound of the water dripping on the tiles, at this point, Marion is unable to see her killer through the curtain. It’s only when the curtain is being pulled back that the non-diegetic score begins, it is high pitched and comparable to a siren to represent Marion’s panic and unease. Although, as her life is seeping away from her, the score gets deeper in pitch and less lively and eventually stops as she passes away. This shows that the music comes from her point of view, this adds to tension being made in this scene as the music causes the audience to panic, like Marion. Whilst the scene remains a low-key lighting, there is a brighter light being placed on Marion’s dead body. This creates tension for the audience and highlights the death of the protagonist. It leaves the audience wondering what will come next. This touches upon the themes of voyeurism as the audience become voyeurs, they see and experience her death. The camera doesn’t look away from Marion as she slides down the tiles of the shower, with her life seeping away from her. The point in this scene where the light becomes brighter emphasises how the audience are the voyeurs.
Non-diegetic score alongside the choice for it to be filmed in black and white.
This film is iconic for its use of a non-diegetic score alongside the fact that it was kept in black and white (after the point where colour was introduced to film). Hitchcock chose for this film to be kept in black and white to emphasise the contrast between high-key and low-key lighting which adds to suspense and tension. This decision was made to overcome the cinema institutions at the time and was allowed to show more in violent scenes (the blood in the shower scene). This paired extremely well with Bernard Hermann’s praised non-diegetic score. It has been stripped down to only feature string instruments that mirrors the stripped back black and white feel of the film. It helps create to create the world of Psycho alongside the character of Norman.
