Psycho by Alfred Hitchcock

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Psycho by Alfred Hitchcock

Thesis Paragraph

The film Psycho by Alfred Hitchcock demonstrates the principal theme of multiple identities. The film shows various instances where either the characters have multiple personalities or they role-play. This is the film’s central message. Hitchcock delivers this central message subliminally. He delivers the theme through subtexts and images. The underlying story is the characters in Psycho habitually live their roles to play the roles of others. They live in schizoid realities. This theme is well displayed by characters like Norman Bates and Marion Crane. The movie shows Hitchcock’s extraordinary ability to master and use the art of interchanging character identification. Every bit of the movie helps in enhancing this theme to its viewers.

Body

The film Psycho shows a lot of continuity editing. This represents a shift in cinematic style. This type of cinematic style referrers to arranging the shots in a chronology that implies the scenes are related. This brings out a progression of events. Psycho brings this well through its rapid cutting. This is greatly seen in the famous shower scene. This allows Hitchcock to play with the psychology of his viewers. The identity of Marion Crane’s killer remains concealed. Hitchcock does not jump directly to reveal the murderer’s identity. This kind of mystery creates a bigger impact on the theme of multiple personality. When the character Norman Bates is first introduced to the viewers, he appears to be a motel manager complaining about his mother’s obsessive behaviour. He appears to be of no harm. The film brings him out as a courteous young man who is rather shy. Hitchcock maintains this perspective of him in the viewers’ eyes. The rapid cutting after the shower scene emphasizes on this. However, towards the end of the film, Bates’ personalities are revealed to the audience. The particular cinematic style of continuity editing has helped to build on the central theme of the film. It helps in creating an ideal view of Hitchcock’s narrative flow of events.

The film uses the device of voyeurism to build on its theme. This device is the pleasurable practice of watching an individual as they delve in either sexual activity or private activity. This is brought out in the opening scene where Sam and Marion are seen half-naked and passionately kissing one another. The camera movement enables the audience to spy on their activities. This introductory scene enables the viewers to have a feel of the relationship between the two lovers. This helps the viewers to be at par with the role plying that is carried out by Marion. She plays the role of a humble secretary, but when her boyfriend is in town, she switches to the role of a lover during her lunch breaks.

Objectification of Marion has helped Hitchcock’s to bring a sense of reality to the eyes of the viewer’s. Objectification of a female character in a film refers to giving female characters object like appearance that shows their vulnerability. Many times, they are also victimized and made passive in a film. In the movie Psycho, Marion is portrayed as an independent woman who fell victim to a sexually repressed man. By killing her, Bates takes away the character’s value. This is symbolic for punishing her. He takes away her sexual power and this can be equated to raping her. She is portrayed as the damsel in distress. Marion’s objectification helps us see Bates’ multiple personalities.

Hitchcock has used the stylistic device of voice over to create a realistic approach in the viewer’s eyes. After being given money to deposit by her employer, the film then follows the plot by narrating Marion’s thoughts through voice over. This helps to reveal her plans to the audience. The voice over takes us through her imaginary conversation with Sam. This reveals to us her plans to surprise Sam in California. At this point, she had decided to run away with the money. Hitchcock’s also uses the voice over to show Marion’s assumption on how her boss will react when he finds out that she had run away with the money. The voice over creates a realistic set up that the audience can identify with. It shows vulnerability and confusion that one normally feels after committing a crime. The voice over is a style that has been used to also shows her role-playing. This comes in with her desire to rendezvous with Sam. The voice over allows audience participation in the scene. It also builds on the viewers’ suspense. He emphasizes on this suspense by using subjective shots and close ups of Marion.

Another aspect of reality is brought out through the character of patrol officer following Marion after interrogating her. The film brings out the reality of a stalker. This can easily be identified with by the female audience. Marion is placed at a vulnerable position without her knowledge. The patrol officer has also been used to build on the theme of personality shift. Hitchcock moves his audience from viewing the patrol officer as the custodian of the law. The audience is allowed to see his concern for Marion. This is shown when he is rather surprised by the fact that she slept in her car. The patrol officer then suggests motels that he says are in plenty. He then shifts from this protective character to that of a stalker. He constantly follows her without her knowledge and his intentions are not known. This shift is from a protector to an offender.

The scenes in the film display the prowess of Hitchcock as a director. He is able to directly capture and convey the feelings of the characters without necessarily engaging them in conversation. In the scene between Marion and the patrol officer, there is a great use of silent pauses and simplified gestures. These help to give the scene a dramatic effect. It also shows Hitchcock mastery of the art of creating suspense. The money in this scene helps to build on the suspense. The camera movement also helps to build on this. At the end of his conversation with Marion, the patrol asks her for her license. The license is in her bag where the stolen money is. This heightens the level of suspense. At this point, the cameras allow us to see Marion removing the money from her purse. The angle is low, and we are not able to see the parole officer. The cameras continue to focus on Marion as she hides the money behind her bag and searches for her license. The cameras allow the audience to view the parole officer only after she finds the license. The skillful camera movement intensifies the level of suspense among the audience.

Hitchcock moves his audience to another level of multiple personality. After her conversation with the parole officer, she goes to exchange her car for another one. The film has used this symbolically to represent the acquisition of a new character and personality. She does this to cover her footsteps. She wants to conceal her act of stealing money from her employer. The change of personality is affirmed when she signs in the Bates’ register as Marie Samuels. This is a literal adaptation of a new character and personality. When she settles on a price with the sale’s man, she goes into the bathroom to count the money that was needed. Hitchcock builds the setting of the bathroom to enhance on his theme of multiple personality. As Marion is counting her money, her image is seen in a mirror that is right ahead of her. Marion’s other personality is schizophrenically reflected in the mirror.

Bates has been used largely to develop on the theme of personality switching. The character’s personality role-playing is explicitly brought to the viewers’ attention when the psychiatrist at the police station confirms it. This is towards the end of the film. The psychiatrist explained his need to occupy different personalities. Bates doubles as Sam. This happens when Marion arrives at the motel. The scene becomes a reincarnation of the times that Marion and Sam spent in cheap motels. Physically, Bates looks like a weaker version of Sam. Bates complains about issues to do with money just Sam was in the habit of doing. As Marion converses with Bates, she is subconsciously talking to Sam. The dialogue is an example of dual reality. It represents the literal reality of Bates and Marion conversing. At the same time, it also represents a dialogue between Marion and Sam. Marion advices Bates to run away from his mother who is rather domineering. This represents her desire to have Sam run away with her. Both Sam and Bates talk about the deaths of their father and stepfather respectively. Hitchcock has used the character of Norman Hitchcock to develop the theme of multiple personalities.

Conclusion

The film Psycho is a representation of art that has veered off the norm of filmmaking. Hitchcock, through the film has treaded over stylistic paths of voyeurism and continuity editing. These devices were uncommon in the 1960s. They have been used to build on a rather unconventional theme. This is the theme of multiple personality. The choice of theme ensures that the audience of the film is glued to the film. The attention of the audience is also captured through the expertise expressed in the camera movement and editing work. The film remains to be revolutionary.

Work cited

Anobile, Richard J. (ed.). Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. London: Pan Books, 1974.

Hayward, Susan. Key Concepts in Cinema Studies. London: Routledge, 1996.

Truffaut, François. Hitchcock. London: Secker & Warburg, 1967; orig. pub. 1966.