Censorship In Psycho

340 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Censorship in television

As the 1960s started to progress, so did filmmakers lack of boundaries and chance to push the limits. We begin to see sexual standards and taboos begin to make their change. “Gone were the twin beds, and in to replace them came full-frontal nudity. Though this freedom was used by some filmmakers as an excuse for sexual titillation and spawned a successful independent cottage industry of hard- and soft-core fi lm pornography, it did permit a widening of the range of permissible film topics. American films now had a greater chance to convey aspects of human relationships that they previously had little freedom to depict.” (Quart 78). With one of Hitchcock’s movies, Psycho, he brings in his usual obsession of murder and psychosis and blends

Show More
Related

  • Production Policies in Hollywood and The Catholic Church

    1462 Words  | 3 Pages

    In 1929, America experienced a stock market crash that led the country into what is historically known as the Great Depression. Many industries across America experienced alterations in order to fit the social and economic changes that America was undergoing as a nation. Specific industries included Hollywood and the film industry. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, the movies that Americans enjoyed viewing were considered immoral at the time. This was f...

    Read More

  • Male Failure and Genre Affirmation in New Hollywood Westerns and Noir

    2198 Words  | 5 Pages

    Keathley, Christian. "Trapped in the Affection Image" The Last Great American Picture Show: New Hollywood Cinema in the 1970s. Ed. Thomas Elsaesser, Alexander Horwath, Noel King. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2004. 293-308. Print.

    Read More

  • Psycho Motifs

    644 Words  | 2 Pages

    Have you ever seen Psycho? I have, and in my opinion this movie is one of the best horror flicks ever. Part of the reason I think this because of the motifs Hitchcock added to the movie. Some of these motifs are the motion down, eyes, and circles.

    Read More

  • How the Movies of the 1970’s and 1980’s Reflected America’s Mood and Culture

    1565 Words  | 4 Pages

    Have you ever had one of those days that were so bad that you desperately needed a night at the ice cream or candy store? The 1970’s was that really bad day, while the night of self- indulgence was the 1980’s. Americans love to escape from our daily stress, and of all the products that allow us to do so, none is more popular than the movies. Movies are key cultural artifacts that offer a view of American culture and social history. They not only offer a snapshot of hair styles and fashions of the times but they also provide a host of insights into Americans’ ever-changing ideals. Like any cultural artifact, the movies can be approached in a number of ways. Cultural historians have treated movies as a document that records the look and mood of the time that promotes a particular political or moral value or highlights individual or social anxieties and tensions. These cultural documents present a particular image of gender, ethnicity, romance, and violence. Out of the political and economic unrest of the 1970’s that saw the mood and esteem of the country, as reflected in the artistry and messages in the movies, sink to a new low, came a new sense of pride in who we are, not seen since the post-World War II economic boom of the 1950’s. Of this need to change, Oscar Award winner Paul Newman stated,

    Read More

  • Hustler - Censoring a Film about Censorship

    3819 Words  | 8 Pages

    [3] Since the 1950’s, a sexual revolution has spawned in America, accordingly downgrading previous anathemas in society, like pre-martial sex, masturbation, and homosexuality. For example, according to an article describing the sexual revolution, “In the 1950s, less than 25 percent of Americans thought premarital sex was acceptable; by the 1970s, more than 75 percent found it acceptable” (Stossel 74). Norman Podhoretz recounts how in the early 1950’s obtaining pornography was like trying to buy illegal drugs. But Playboy changed all of that, as it emerged as an “acceptable” form of pornography in 1953.

    Read More

  • A critical analysis of the Counterculture Movement through film

    1759 Words  | 4 Pages

    In this essay I will be looking at the topic of the countercultural movement of the 1960’s through counterculture film. The 1960’s were an extremely interesting time in history not only in the United States but all over the western world, as we saw the rise of the counterculture generation. The counter was a group of movements focused on achieving personal and cultural liberation and was embraced in many different ways by the decade’s young people. I have chosen this topic as the 60’s stand out for me as a revolutionary and often misrepresented period in history. The films I have chosen to look at are The Baader Meinhof Complex from director Uli Edel, Woodstock from Michael Wadleigh, Pirate Radio from Richard Curtis, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas from director Terry Gilliam. I chose to analyse these films as I believe they clearly demonstrate the social and political issues of the 1960’s and societies response to them.

    Read More

  • Villainism In The Movie Psycho

    1059 Words  | 3 Pages

    The most effective villain, in terms of being frightening that we have witnessed in class would definitely have to be Psycho's (Hitchcock 1960) Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins). Norman Bates is a quirky young man. He lives in a stranded part of town with his 'mother'. He owns a stranded motel, the 'Bates Motel', and rarely gets any guests. When he does, strange things seem to happen a lot of the time, due to his mother not being very fond of anyone who goes. Throughout this film Norman's persona develops into something horrifying, making this villain figure the scariest one we have seen in class.

    Read More

  • The Two-Tiered System of Allusions

    1605 Words  | 4 Pages

    In recent times, such stereotyped categorizations of films are becoming inapplicable. ‘Blockbusters’ with celebrity-studded casts may have plots in which characters explore the depths of the human psyche, or avant-garde film techniques. Titles like ‘American Beauty’ (1999), ‘Fight Club’ (1999) and ‘Kill Bill 2’ (2004) come readily into mind. Hollywood perhaps could be gradually losing its stigma as a money-hungry machine churning out predictable, unintelligent flicks for mass consumption. While whether this image of Hollywood is justified remains open to debate, earlier films in the 60’s and 70’s like ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ (1967) and ‘Taxi Driver’ (1976) already revealed signs of depth and avant-garde film techniques. These films were successful as not only did they appeal to the mass audience, but they managed to communicate alternate messages to select groups who understood subtleties within them.

    Read More

  • Psycho, The Movie

    2312 Words  | 5 Pages

    Inspired by the life of the demented, cannibalistic Wisconsin killer Ed Gein (whose heinous acts would also inspire THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, 1974 and DERANGED, 1974), PSYCHO is probably Hitchcock's most gruesome and dark film. Its importance to its genre cannot be overestimated. PSYCHO's enduring influence comes not only from the Norman Bates character (who has since been reincarnated in a staggering variety of forms), but also from the psychological themes Hitchcock develops.

    Read More

  • Psycho: The character of Norman Bates

    802 Words  | 2 Pages

    Norman Bates is arguably the most unforgettable character in the horror genre. His movements, voice and aura at first radiate a shy young man but transform into something more sinister as the movie Psycho (Hitchcock, USA, 1960) progresses. How has the director, Alfred Hitchcock, achieved this? Norman Bates was a careful construct: the casting, body language, lighting and even the subtle use of sound and mise-en-scène created the character.

    Read More

  • Sexual Irreverence in Modern America

    1072 Words  | 3 Pages

    It may not be a 1960s sexual revolution but Americans' attitudes toward sex have certainly taken a dramatic turn toward sexual irreverence. American culture has lost all sense of discretion. We have no boundaries or sense of anything being a private matter. After we cruised through the conservative 50’s; we chanted and swayed through the sexual revolution of the 60’s. But we didn’t stop there. Now we’re riding the fiber optic wave of immediate and impersonal self-gratification. American culture is getting more accepting of provocative messages and behavior with each passing decade. What caused the drastic shift in attitudes from the 1950s to the 1960s? Do we owe today’s epidemic of casual sex to any one thing?

    Read More

  • Psycho Research Analysis Essay

    558 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the article, “Psycho at Fifty: Pure Cinema or Invitation to an Orgy?” by John A. Bertolini, he describes how the images and scenes throughout the whole movie and its more arguable parts are what made the film stick with the imagination of Hitchcock’s audience. He goes on to give an explanation of how Hitchcock is as well one of few directors who is able to mix a little humor to go along with his vicious plot. Bertolini speculates that the audience was thrown off by savagery depicted in this film and more concerned with the emotions that were created by Hitchcock’s movie. He also outlines how much controversy the film created Psycho by stating how it, “reflected the changes at work in the larger society, especially the increasing insiste...

    Read More

  • Film Bodies: Genre, Gender and Excess

    2633 Words  | 6 Pages

    Film scholar and gender theorist Linda Williams begins her article “Film Bodies: Genre, Gender and Excess,” with an anecdote about a dispute between herself and her son, regarding what is considered “gross,” (727) in films. It is this anecdote that invites her readers to understand the motivations and implications of films that fall under the category of “body” genre, namely, horror films, melodramas, (henceforth referred to as “weepies”) and pornography. Williams explains that, in regards to excess, the constant attempts at “determining where to draw the line,” (727) has inspired her and other theorists alike to question the inspirations, motivations, and implications of these “body genre” films. After her own research and consideration, Williams explains that she believes there is “value in thinking about the form, function, and system of seemingly gratuitous excesses in these three genres,” (728) and she will attempt to prove that these films are excessive on purpose, in order to inspire a collective physical effect on the audience that cannot be experienced when watching other genres.

    Read More

  • Psychoanalysis, Cinema, and Symbolism

    665 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the article “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema,” Laura Mulvey discusses the relationships amongst psychoanalysis (primarily Freudian theory), cinema (as she observed it in the mid 1970s), and the symbolism of the female body. Taking some of her statements and ideas slightly out of their context, it is interesting to compare her thoughts to the continuum of oral-print-image cultures.

    Read More

  • The Role Of Women In Guru Dutt's 'Pyaasa'

    1770 Words  | 4 Pages

    “The magic of the Hollywood style at its best arose… from its skilled and satisfying manipulation of visual pleasure. Unchallenged, mainstream film coded the erotic into the language of the dominant patriarchal

    Read More

More about Censorship In Psycho

Open Document