‘How does Hitchcock use techniques to reinforce the idea of duality in Psycho?’
Duality within a person is the ideology that there is both a negative and positive contrast residing within everyone, which is usually referred to as the dark and light side of a person. The idea of duality is reinforced throughout Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 American horror thriller film, Psycho. Hitchcock portrays this idea of duality by utilizing the film techniques irony, recurring symbols and mise en scene. The film was produced in black in white to accentuate the concept of duality throughout the film. Hitchcock through the duality of the characters Marion Crane and Norman Bates influences the viewer’s emotions towards the moral choices being decided.
Norman
…show more content…
In the scene where Marion has her discussion with Norman while consuming sandwiches, the lighting takes on a major role in illustrating the dark and light in the two. When the camera is in a close up shot of Norman’s face, the lighting shadows most of his face, this symbolising the darkness that resides in him, while Marion is illuminated more so, showing how she is the more innocent of the two. This use of lighting also foreshadows Normans split personality between him and his mother, the shadow taking over more when Marion strikes a nerve. This use of light also suggests that Marion is in the killer’s or Norman’s sights, she is the one in the spotlight while Norman lurks more in the shadows. The placement of objects such as the birds and paintings also lays down the idea that there is more to Norman and despite Marion’s bad decisions, builds a sense of fear and concern for Marion, this changes the viewer’s view of her. Behind Norman are paintings that illustrate women being attacked, this brings to the surface what Norman is plotting to do to Marion, once he has the opportunity. The setting Hitchcock has created further reinforces the idea of the duality of people, by displaying the duality of the characters Marion and Norman.
Hitchcock in Psycho, presses the idea of duality in mankind with strong ironic and foreshadowing lines that evoke emotions in the viewers. Along with strong and recurring symbols, Hitchcock heightens the true nature one can hide and how one’s moral stance can change, this being due to the duality that resides in us. Mise en scene is important in Psycho additionally, as it further displays the idea Hitchcock is trying to press onto his audience, this being
Rear Window by Alfred Hitchcock is a fillm full of symbolism and motifs that provides viewers with a bigger meaning. It shows these rhetorical appeals through Hitchcok’s eyes that would not be recognized if not analyzed. Through these appeals I have recognized the window as being a symbol and marriage and binoculars as motifs. After understanding much more than what the eye anitially sees when viewing this film there is a fine line between understanding what is going on in the film and observing what the protagonist Jeff is viewing.
With Trouble with Harry, Hitchcock took melodrama out of the pitch-black night and brought it out in the sunshine. It is as if Hitchcock had set up a murder alongside a rustling brook and spilled a drop of blood
Alfred Hitchcock’s early life was filled with cinema and directors. He was born in London in 1899. As a young man he was very independent and went to movies and plays by himself, according to Senses of Cinema. As soon as he finished school he worked in cinema and made a name for himself directing thrillers. Hitchcock eventually became the highest paid director in England.
In Psycho, Norman Bates’ life is dictated by the personality of his mother, Norma Bates. This despotism causes Norman to commit atrocities that he otherwise would not commit had his personality been in control of his body. Displacement is a significant defense mechanism utilized in the film, Psycho. It serves to demonstrate the contrast between the selfish and the apologetic; that is Norma and Norman, respectively. The initial implementation of this defense mechanism can be identified when “mother” kills Marion Crane.
Alfred Hitchcock is remembered as the "master of suspense", most notably in one of his cinemas, "Psycho". Hitchcock used a variety of sensory details, to shock moreover frighten his audience. Three sensory details that he used, is when we notice a cop following Marion, we see that Norman is stalking Marion, and when a shadowy figure shows up while Marion is taking a shower. The first sensory detail that creates suspense is when we see the cop following Marion. We believe that the cop recognizes something is up furthermore, is going to assert Marion for stealing the money.
Exploring the world through the eyes of the anti hero Patrick Bateman, American Psycho exhibits a world in which society is centered around itself in such a scale that even a violent murderous psychopath goes unnoticed. Patrick Bateman is a narcissistic psychopath, who has no qualms about murdering homeless people, prostitutes, old women and even dogs, yet he seems like everyone else in the society. Everyone is so much alike that Bateman’s lawyer and even his colleague confuse him for someone else. In a country obsessed with American dream, director Mary Harron shows the grim reality of what happens once the dream is actualized. Bateman is a strange character.
The narrative of the film will focus on the character reactions and the feeling that the camera movement produces in the audience but the ending or the character´s interactions are not very significant. Finally, for German expressionism couple formation is relevant but not necessarily as a source of happiness but is used to support the idea of sadness. In the three Hitchcock´s films describe previously these elements are shown but in an ambiguous way, especially in Blackmail, where the happy ending is doubtful as both characters feel condemn with their feelings and their relationship. In The Lodger, both the couple formation and the happy ending are followed by an implicit prediction of
Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 film Psycho redirected the entire horror genre, and in doing so dismantled the prudent 1950’s societal barriers of cinema. Although unseen for its potential by the large studios of the time, Psycho became one of the crowning achievements of film history. While based partially on a true story of murder and psychosis from Wisconsin, the widespread viewing of this tale made way for a new era of film and ushered in a new audience of movie goers. The use of violence, sexual explicitness, dramatic twists, sound, and cinematography throughout this film gave Hitchcock his reputable name and title as master of suspense.
The Film Psycho, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, effectively presented the ideas of murder and schizophrenia through the use of characters, with the double-sided Norman Bates in particular, and visual techniques as well as sound techniques. The ideas of murder and schizophrenia were presented well in the movie "psycho" through the use of characters. The character of Norman Bates was the central character in the film and had a complex and differing personality. One moment he was shy, kind, lonely Norman Bates, a mother's boy, and the next he was a deadly jealous Mrs. Bates, his deceased mother.
Both of Alfred Hitchcock’s films, North by Northwest and Rear Window, were great movies with lots of suspense. The suspense, however, would not have been created without the entire mise-en-scene of the movies. Hitchcock was a master at using the elements of lighting, sound, and cinematography to heighten the suspense in his movies. The first key element of mise-en-scene that played a significant role in both movies was lighting.
However, film critic, Robin Wood, argues that ‘since Psycho, the Hollywood cinema has implicitly recognised horror as both American and familial’ he then goes on to connect this with Psycho by claiming that it is an “innovative and influential film because it supposedly presents its horror not as the produce of forces outside American society, bit a product of the patriarchal family which is the fundamental institution of American society” he goes on to discuss how our civilisation either represses or oppresses (Skal, 1994). Woods claim then suggests that in Psycho, it is the repressions and tensions within the normal American family which produces the monster, not some alien force which was seen and suggested throughout the 1950 horror films. At the beginning of the 60’s, feminisation was regarded as castration not humanization. In “Psycho” (1960) it is claimed that the film presents conservative “moral lessons about gender roles of that the strong male is healthy and normal and the sensitive male is a disturbed figure who suffers from gener confusion” (Skal, 1994). In this section of this chapter I will look closely at how “Psycho” (1960) has layers of non-hetro-conforming and gender-non conforming themes through the use of Norman Bates whose gender identitiy is portrayed as being somewhere between male and female
Alfred Hitchcock used various symbols throughout the film Psycho to allow the viewer to get an insight of what is happening in the film. Symbolism is an exceptional way to entice the viewer as it creates suspense and makes it better to understand the film. Alfred uses paintings as a symbol, which can be seen in multiple scenes, to symbolize a certain character in the film to the painting and foreshadow events in the film. This allows the viewer to get more detail on the character’s personality and what is about to happen.
This paper will discuss the motif of the double in Strangers on a Train. While the double is a recurring motif in Hitchcock’s work that he routinely employs in order to explore questions of moral responsibility, identity, and guilt, it receives its most overt and thorough treatment in Strangers on a Train. Studies of the film have consistently understood Bruno as a stand in for Guy’s unspoken desire, the chaos held at bay by societal order - Guy does indeed want to ‘get rid of’ his wife, but he transfers this responsibility (and associated guilt) to Bruno (Walker; Wood; Dellolio; Truffaut). As Walker notes, in Hitchcock’s films, the double most often serves as an ‘alter ego’ that enacts the repressed/disavowed/unpermitted desires of another character. Indeed, as Walker points out, There is little ambiguity that this is precisely what Hitchcock meant to communicate in the film, as he has formally stated this in correspondence with Francois Truffaut:
To the unknown eye, Hitchcock has carefully and skillfully used Mise-en-scene to his advantage, causing the audience to feel fear and a sense of caution towards the character of Norman Bates. It isn’t until we reflect back on the scene and notice how intelligently Hitchcock uses the positioning of props and the characters, lighting, camera angle and staging, that we notice how he has added meaning to his characters but has also to the film, creating suspense and fear from one scene to the end of the film. Ultimately proving the point that Hitchcock “the master of suspense” uses Mise-en-scene to not only help make a brilliant film but also uses it as his disposal to add meaning in his
The films, Vertigo and The Birds reflect elements from Hitchcock’s private and inner thought life. Hitchcock desires to have a beautiful blonde counterpart. He believes that the love he sought is unattainable, therefore he plays out his fantasies through fictional characters (Jhirad 31).