1. Context of the film - Social and Institutional Context [Social Context - the 1960s] Psycho, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, was released on a year that marked the beginning of a decade that is, according to Grant, “a special, unique period in American history” which “brought the United States closer to social revolution than any time in the twentieth century (Grant 1).” Psycho denounced the previous social norms with its radical depiction of violence, sex, psychological disorders, and its “critique of the normal,” which were qualities that matched the characteristics of the cultural and social history of the 1960s, a “decade marked by social rebellion, insurrection, assassination, and mass murder (Grant 2).” A story led by a woman who had premarital sex with a divorced man and a murderous man who committed parricide out of jealousy, in which his mother-side is blamed for the murders, completely shattered the pre-existing notion of a picture-perfect “nuclear family.” The narrative also hints the destructive powers of financial pursuit, as Marion’s death was essentially the result of her theft, which was a desperate action driven by her motive to achieve happiness and stability with her boyfriend, Sam. The $30,000 that Marion stole is the Macguffin of Psycho, but after the death of Marion, its importance seizes and almost becomes irrelevant. Therefore, seen from the perspective of a Marxist-theorist, it can be said that the film text also criticizes the social norm of equating money to happiness. Aside from breaking the social norms, the film had also inspired a new sub-genre of the “slasher films,” with its iconic showerbath murder which Robin Wood in 1965 described as “probably the most horrific incident in any fiction film (Boyd and Palmer 229).” The evolution of a feminist movement marked the late 1960s, in which women began to challenge their exclusion from politics and workplaces, as well as their traditional sexual roles ("The Pill"). This rise of feminist actions later appeared in the field of cinema studies, as Laura Mulvey argued most cinematic text to be structured and perceived under the patriarchic subconscious of society. In her essay, "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema," Mulvey first coined the term "Male Gaze," which aided to point out the sexual objectification of women in films, and the scopophilic pleasure that they provided to the audience (Mulvey 835).
Focusing solely on the scene of analysis, the narrative is depicting the “dark side” of the American society, which was not commonly presented in films that preceded Psycho. The film handles the theme of gender, in which this scene plays the crucial role of identifying the male-female relationship as an equal to that of a predator and prey. The theme of voyeurism and scopophilia is also played out in the scene, as the audience becomes Norman’s partner in crime when he secretly peeps at Marion getting undressed. In this situation, the audience is observing the scene through, what Laura Mulvey calls as, the “Male Gaze.” Simultaneously, Hitchcock challenges the “Hays Code” by dressing Janet Leigh only with underwear. The Hays Code - its official name being the Motion Picture Production Code - was the set of guidelines of censorship enforced by the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA) in 1934 (Hark 7). By the time it reached the 60s, the code was easily ignored, and was abandoned in 1968.
2. Narrative After stealing Mr. Cassidy's $30,000, Marion escapes Phoenix and encounters Bates Motel in the dark. She is greeted by Norman Bates, the owner of the motel, who is a man of a tall, slender figure, with a bit of a boyishness. He insists that she use cabin 1, with the possible reason later being revealed in the analyzed scene. When Marion is left alone, she overhears the loud, condemning voice of Mrs. Bates denouncing her son's interaction with a girl. Norman comes back and invites Marion to dine in his office, and the two start a conversation that goes deeper than they expect. It is from this moment where the scene to be analyzed takes place. During the conversation, more is told about Norman's complex relationship with his mother, and Marion realizes the private trap she set herself in, and decides to redeem her mistakes. After Marion leaves, Norman quickly heads back to his office and secretly observes Marion getting undressed. After this has happened, the mother-side of Norman's psychology, becomes aware of Norman's sexual desires for Marion, and out of jealousy, stabs Marion to death while she is in the shower. The scene, happening between Marion's theft and her murder, is essential when regarding the entire film, as it hints the split personality of Norman and his complex relationship with his mother. Considering the film text, the scene reveals the way in which the film as a whole sees the male-female relationship, which is most evidently shown through its mise-en-scène, where displayed birds provide possible explanations of the personalities of the individual characters, as well as the gender dynamics in the film.
3. Film Elements
Motifs, symbols, and themes
Cinematography
Sound
Gender
[Motif of Birds (Bird Symbolism)] The film makes extensive use of bird imagery and symbolism. In this particular scene, the bird motif reveals the inner psychology of Norman and Marion, and foreshadows Marion’s brutal death. First of all, an important detail to notice are the names of both characters. Marion’s surname “crane,” is a name for a bird that has a long neck and long legs. Its thin figure projects an image of fragility, which Marion has as well. Norman’s surname, “Bates,” can have two meanings. One, in falconry terms, it can be defined as “an attempt to fly from the fist or perch when secured (Glossary of Falconry),” which is what Norman struggles to do. While the name “Norman,” suggests the word “normal,” his surname “Bates” also alludes the act of baiting a trap. This suggests the duality of Norman’s inner psychology, in which his own identity and his mother’s coexist; taking in the form of his innocent, neutral, and non threatening behavior, contrasted by the overcontrolling, dangerous, and murderous side that derives from the mother. Thus, a binary opposition of male vs. female exists not only superficially between Marion and Norman, but also within Norman’s psychology. This duality of Norman is symbolized through the birds which surround him, as well as constant reflections of him on glass or mirrors.
Throughout the film, Marion is often associated with song-birds. In this scene, there are pictures of song-birds hanging on the walls of Marion’s cabin. The association of song-birds to Marion reminds the audience her femininity, as the noun “bird” is also a British slang for a young women. Therefore, the bird imagery makes the audience associate Marion to a beautiful but weak figure. Also, when taking consideration of the fact that song-birds are generally short-lived, the comparison foreshadows Marion’s early death.
As Marion finishes her conversation with Norman and rises to leave, a crow is seen behind her, almost as if its pecking her. Given the code of a crow representing death, this can be foreshadowing Marion's death that will happen soon after she leaves.
Norman, on the other hand, is shown with an owl hovering above him behind the room. This provides a sharp contrast to the song-birds, as an owl is most notable for its hunting skills, in which the species even preys on domestic birds; this shows the possibility that Norman will hunt Marion. Most importantly, owls are nocturnal birds; meaning, they hunt during the night while being relatively neutral during the day. The nocturnal identity of the owl reflects Norman’s dual personality, and the correlation between the owl and Norman’s conditions foreshadows Norman’s murder of Marion.
Often, Norman is placed between a docile bird and an owl. The docile bird signifies Norman’s stabilized and unthreatening psychology, while an owl signifies his agitated and murderous side. In this scene, Norman is about to remove the painting to spy at Marion. In this moment, he looks at the docile bird and hesitates; this represents the inner conflict Norman is having. He then chooses his evil side, presented by the owl, and looks through the hole. As he is finished looking, the shot only shows the owl, signifying that his predator instincts won him over. Considering the individual meanings of the birds and their links to the characters’ personalities, it can be inferred that the bird symbolism further characterizes the male-female relationship as one of a predator and prey. [Theme of Voyeurism + Mise en scène] An iconic moment of this scene is Norman looking through a hidden spyhole to see Marion undress. In this scene, Hitchcock’s use of mise-en-scene heavily dramatizes the Voyeuristic theme of the scene. The painting that covers this spyhole, which is a copy of the 1731 painting Susanna and the Elders by Willem van Mieris. Susanna and the Elders depicts the story of Susanna, which is told in Chapter 13 of the Book of Daniel in the Catholic Bible. Susanna, a beautiful, married woman, is raped one day by two elders who had been watching her bathe in secret. When approached by her servants, the two elders then proclaim that they have caught her committing adultery with a young man. Susanna is then framed with adultery and is sentenced to death by stoning, which is prevented by Daniel and transferred to the elders. The moment of voyeurism in this biblical story closely resembles the act that Norman will do once he removes the painting from the wall.
The nude Susanna somewhat matches the half-naked Marion behind the wall, making it “Marion’s stand-in in this frame [which] will be confirmed when Marion strikes that figure’s exact pose (283).” Another detail of the painting is its relatively high degree of violence, compared to other versions of Susanna and the elder.
The image on the left is an Italian Renaissance painting of the same subject. The depiction of the moment tends to be more tranquil and pastoral, in which the painting only shows the act of spying while Susanna is in a completely oblivious state. The painting in Norman’s office shows the actual scene of the elder’s assault with a dramatic tone highlighted by Susanna’s body twisting in attempt to escape. The violence in this particular version of Susanna and the Elders prefigures Norman’s violence against Marion, where Norman is identified with the elders and Marion as the nude Susanna. When Norman is peeping through the hole, seeing Marion, the audience is sharing his point of view.
Therefore, the audience is identifying with the male gaze, which lustfully observes Marion’s half-naked body and gains sexual pleasure. Regardless of the individual’s sex, the viewer automatically identifies him/herself to Norman’s sexual desire towards Marion, and bears the same guilt of being a voyeur. The extreme close up of Norman’s prying eye makes it clear that his eye is ultimately the audience’s eyes.
[Cinematography/Lighting/Sound] Part of the mise-en-scene, the variations within the lighting and camera angles heighten the intensity of the scene as well as creating a sinister image of Norman. During the conversation when Marion suggests Norman to send his mother to a mental institution, Norman becomes defensive and almost seems to be angry. In this moment where the emotional intensity is heightened, the angle changes from a low-angle to a medium-angle, where Norman’s face moves towards the center of the frame and makes the shot a close-up shot. By doing so, Norman’s facial expression becomes more recognizable to the audience.
By making the shot medium-angled, the audience is seeing Norman from an eye-level of Marion, and by doing so, the audience identifies with Marion and becomes subjected towards the same emotions resulted from Norman’s suddenly changed behaviour: astonishment and fear. A shot that proceeds the shot of Norman pulling in is of Marion shifting towards the same direction.
This gives a sense that Norman has invaded her private space, and makes his presence look even more threatening.
After Marion leaves to her cabin, Norman enters his office and stands in front of a painting with an intention to remove it to look through a spyhole. Before he makes a move, Norman stands with light shining on him from his left, which highlights one side of his face, but casts a dark shadow on his other side.
This contrast between light and dark in each side of his face presents his duality, which can also be seen in his reflection on a glass panel.
When Norman is voyeuristically seeing Marion in her underwear, Norman’s face is completely consumed by darkness; this suggests the loss of innocence and purity in Norman, and the separation of his dual nature. The scene of Norman’s voyeuristic activity is accompanied by non-diegetic sounds of violin shrieks, with its note ascending when Norman looks at Marion, and descending when he pulls back. The same happens during Norman’s conversation with Marion; the note of the violin ascends as Norman is shown to be angered. Thus, the violin shrieks are mediums that help heighten the intensity of the scene, and provides a sense of thrill during Norman’s voyeuristic action. The sound can also be seen as a warning when Norman’s psychopathic side emerges.