Alfred Hitchcocks Psycho
Submitted by freefortermpapers on 06/24/2008 03:00 PM
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Alfred Hitchcocks Psycho
1. What is it that makes Psycho a Hitchcock movie? What makes it a horror movie? What makes it a suspense thriller? Can we separate the two?
After viewing 3 Hitchcock movies, I started to notice an apparent trend. The movies all start out with average people and they continue to develop the plot. Hitchcock also has an obsession for perfection which I noticed in the gruesome shower scene. What makes Psycho a horror film is the unexpectedness of Madeline's murder. Norman seemed like a normal person when we first saw him, but he changes to a murderous character, and back to being normal. The presence of a psychologist adds to the mystery of Norman's homicidal situation. The aspect that makes it a suspense - thriller is the unexpected events of the movie. Who would have known that Madeline would wind up dead, or Norman would be her murderer. I don't think the movie would be enjoyable if you built up suspense in the audience, and didn't complete it with a thrilling ending.
2. Consider the character of Norman Bates and how he is presented. What moral position are we expected to take?
Norman Bates is first perceived to be your normal guy. He runs a motel that doesn't seem to get much business, and has a very objective mother. We later find out Norman Bates is a psycho with a split personality. We also find out his other has been dead for 10 years and the other half of his personality is his mother. The moral we learn is that looks can be deceiving. We later find out what he is really like, and it is nothing close to what we first perceived him to be.
3. With Norman Bates, Hitchcock creates a new kind of horror hero, not a creature of darkness like Frankenstein, and not other worldly but something scarier an ordinary person gone wrong. If our sympathies are aroused by Norman, what are we to makes of Maryanne? What do we make of Hitchcock's sexual politics?
I think Hitchcock did something...
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