Psycho (1960) First Image Analysis

This scene from Psycho (1960) illustrates how essential generic conventions are, as written in “Hollywood Genres” by film critic Thomas Schatz. This expressionist low angled shot of Norman shows his strength and dominance as the serial killer of the film. At this point, we have built up a sense of synthetic personalisation with Norman and feel sympathy for him as we discover his lonely world living with his mother and never exploring the world outside Bates Motel. His delicately spoken words draw us in and make us believe that everything about him is innocent. Marion had just hinted the idea of putting Norman’s mother into a mental institution. This ignites Norman to stand up and defend his mother and begins talking as if he knows exactly how it feels to be in a mental institution where they “clack their thick tongues and say ever so gently...” This suggests he has past experiences of this and makes the audience starts to feel slightly uncomfortable with the way he expresses his opinions on it.

We know that Norman’s hobby is taxidermy which is why he has stuffed birds around the room. The expressionist low angle shot of the owl looking down on everything, represents it’s lifestyle as a bird of prey. This could imply an anthropomorphic idea of that Norman is too a predator hunting his prey. Norman refers to Marion as “eating like a bird” which gives clues to what Marion’s fate might come to be. Her last name is “Crane” which is also a bird of prey. Hitchcock purposely done this to link in with the bird theme and thus deepen the connection and fascination that Norman has with her. The low key lighting also creates shadows on the birds, emphasising its size and power whilst also emphasising the sinister, enclosed location.