Duality in Psycho 1960 Essay

psychotic person is a 1960 horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock star Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles and John Gavin. The film is based on the 1959 novel of the same holler by Robert Bloch. The important theme that Hitchcock tries to express to the audience is dual or split personalities. Ein truthone has a subconscious battle with good and evil he shows this in many different behaviors using demoraliseing, different camera techniques, mise-en-scene and silence. Also he used a string orchestra to add tautness and drama as well as setting the tone for imminent violence.The movie starts with Marion Crane and her boyfriend surface-to-air missile Loomis in an intimate scene, earlier she has to go back to work. When she returns to work she is instructed to bank $40000 for her employer moreover decides to steal it and ignore town instead. Driving on a rainy night, she pulls into the Bates Motel where she meets Norman Bates. after(prenominal) being showed to her room the two have dinner and they talk well-nigh Normans ill overprotect. Later that night while Marion is in the rain shower a shadowy invention comes and stabs her to death. Norman bursts into the bathroom and learns Marions dead body so he wraps her in a shower curtain indeed dumps her body and simple machine in a nearby swamp. Marions sister Lila and boyfriend Sam are interested about her disappearance.A private detective named Arbogast is too looking for Marion. Arbogast finds the Bates Motel and notices Norman acting suspiciously. He mentions Marion meeting his mother, so Arbogast goes up to the house to find her that a figure emerges and murders him. When Arbogast doesnt return Lila and Sam call off the sheriff who is puzzled about Arbogasts claim that the mother died years ago. Sam and Lila rent a room at the Bates Motel and while Sam distracts Norman, Lila sneaks up to the house where she finds Normans mothers corpse. Norman Bates then bursts in, wearing a dress and wi g and tries to kill Lila but is stop by Sam. After Norman is arrested the psychiatrist reveals that Norman murdered his mother and her lover and then developed a split personality to extinguish the memory of the crime. The movie ends with Marions car being pulled from the swamp. (Ebert,1998)One of the briny techniques Hitchcock uses to express the theme of duality isthe use different lighting. This is evident in the parlour scene when Norman and Marion are talking about Normans mother. The light source in this scene is high on the wall and closer to Marion leaving Norman in the phantasma. The locomote light behind Norman is very sharp and it draws the audiences c formerlyrn to the large dead birds that Norman has but leaves everything else behind him very dark and dull to make it seem almost like hes lurking in the shadows. (Lamb,2013). Again in the parlour scene only half(a) of Normans face is lit insinuating that he has a dark billet but also that half of him is still good. This technique is used more than once throughout the film. In the same scene Marion is depicted as amiable and innocent with her full face being lit. She has a large binge light behind her leaving no shadows and lighting the entire wall. Its in this scene that Marion good side prevails and she decides to go back to phoenix and return the stolen money. other technique Hitchcock uses well in the film is in effect(p). The whip was written for a string orchestra by Bernard Herrmann even though Hitchcock initially requested a jazz score. However, after the films success, Hitchcock express thirty three percent of the effect of psychotic person was due to the medical specialty (Smith,1991, p.241). The title music which is a tense hurtling piece plays three times throughout the film adding tension to some of the earlier scenes. (Palmer,1990, p.275). He also uses silence to build suspense. For example, in the shower scene Marion gets undressed and begins showering with no background music this implies that something bad will happen yet, when the shadowy figure appears the violins are used in a screeching and stabbing sound motion of extreme viciousness. (Palmer,1990, p.277).The mise-en-scene is extraordinarily influential throughout Psycho but the best example of this would be in the parlour scene. One of the main objects in this scene is the milk jug that Norman carries on the tray. The rant is like an arrow pointing to Marion, This shows the audience that Norman has chosen her as his prey. Another obvious technique used in this scene is the position and place of the actors and also the body language used. When Norman and Marion are standing lining each other Norman is holding the tray with both arms devising it look almost like hes pointing at Marion reinforcing the nous that he has chosen her, while Marion stands with botharms by her side making her seem unaware and innocent. (Quality Teacher Program,2002, p.14). Also, while Norman and Marion are stand ing outside the office Normans reflection put up be seen in the window, which supports the idea of duality in the film.Camera burden and different camera movements are another fantastic technique that Hitchcock uses very well in Psycho to reinforce the theme of duality. This can be seen in the enterprisingness scene where the camera positions the viewer as a voyeur witnessing an illicit affair between Marion who is in her lunch buy the farm and Sam who is a divorcee. In the 1950s this was seen as pushing the limits of what is socially and morally acceptable. The shower scene also uses an extreme close up of Marion kernel which shows her guilt as well as her innocence. Her open eye suggests she didnt deserve to be killed by Norman but also by dying she has been punished for letting her evil side realise over and stealing the money. (Quality Teacher Program,2002, p.29)Hitchcock achieved his goal with Psycho by line drawing his main theme of duality in human nature. He make the t heme obvious to the audience and reinforced it in many different ways using a large range of techniques including camera angle and position, lighting, sound and mise-en-scene. From the thrilling and somewhat haunting music in the opening credits right up until the final scene where Marions car is pulled from the swamp the theme is very effective in a way that keeps the audience thinking long after the film is over.BibliographyA thematic Analysis of Alfred Hitchcocks Psycho.http//www.novelguide.com/reportessay/literature/novels/thematic-analysis-alfred-hitchcocks-psycho (Retrieved on 26/3/14)Ebert, R. 1998. Psycho Review.http//www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-psycho-1960(Retrieved on 26/3/14)Final Paper.http//www.docstoc.com/docs/147378225/Final-Paper (Retrieved on 25/3/14)Kato, M. n.d., Hitchcocks Psycho Analysis, University of Kyoto, Kyoto.Lamb, B. 2013, Mise-en-scene.http//lessonbucket.com/vce-media/units-3-4/narrative/mise-en-scene/ (retrieved on 26/3/14)Nixon, R. n.d. fun dament the Camera on PSYCHO.http//www.tcm.com/this-month/article/191164%7C0/Behind-the-Camera-Psycho.html (Retrieved on 26/3/14)Palmer, C.1990, The Composer in Hollywood, Marion Boyars, LondonPlot Synopsis.http//www.imdb.com/title/tt0054215/ (Retrieved on 25/3/14)Psycho (motion picture) 1960, Paramount Pictures, Los Angeles, Producer, Alfred Hitchcock.Quality Teacher Program, 2002, Critical Literacy in English eld 8-10, Quality Teacher Program, Sydney.Smith, S.C. 1991, A Heart at Fires Center The Life and Music of Bernard Herrmann, University of California Press, Berkeley