Psycho: The character of Norman Bates

802 Words2 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.

Anthony ‘Tony’ Perkins was well known for his roles in romantic comediess. The attractive, shy, well-intentioned young man not only captured the hearts of many teenage girls, but the eye of Alfred Hitchcock when looking for the perfect Norman Bates. Hitchcock’s clever choice of actor immediately threw off the audience and made them ask what is Anthony Perkins doing in a horror film? Perkins' shy personality and slightly awkward movements did him well in his usual genre but did him even better when playing a homicidal schizophrenic. In fact, Perkins' portrayal of Bates made people second guess themselves as to who murdered Marion and Arbogast. This makes the movie significantly more thrilling.

The character of Norman Bates deviated from the book's original character, a forty year old pervert, to Anthony Perkins' character 'a tender vulnerable young man' one could almost feel sorry for. Perkins plays Norman Bates as if the role were written for him, with his nervous voice used throughout the movie and his awkward appearance and actions. A distinct part of Norman's character is his subtle lapses in which he shows signs of the ever present 'Mother'. The parlour scene is an excellent example of these lapses. The lines 'a boy's best friend is his mother' and 'we all go a little mad sometimes' are e...

... middle of paper ...

...and changed the horror genre forever. Alfred Hitchcock's use of actor, lighting, sound, scripting and mise-en-scène kept the audience on the edge of their seats and second guessing themselves. Hitchcock's idea of Norman cconnected with the audience and, even today, his character continues to deceive many. From Norman's nervous ticks to his murderous side 'Mother', it was planned flawlessly. Norman Bates was a combination of an author, director and actor, perfectly adapted to screen and perfectly portrayed.

Works Cited

http://cinephilefix.wordpress.com/2010/06/17/hitchcocks-symphony-psycho-a-shot-by-shot-commentary/ http://garbagedayreviews.wordpress.com/2011/10/04/birds-in-psycho/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Perkins http://www.angelfire.com/oh2/writer/anthonyperkins.html http://www.examiner.com/article/the-greatest-performance-of-all-time-a-horror-film

Show More
Related

  • Alfred Hitchcock Manipulates the Audience to Build Suspense in Psycho

    903 Words  | 2 Pages

    Psycho is a suspense-horror film written by Joseph Stefano and directed by Alfred Hitchcock. This film was loosely adapted from Robert Bloch’s 1959 suspense novel, Psycho. A majority of the movie was filmed in 1960 at Universal Studios in Los Angeles. Psycho is about Marion Crane (Janet Leigh), a secretary from Arizona who steals $40,000 from her employer’s client. She takes that money and drives off to California to meet her lover Sam Loomis (John Gavin) in order to start a new life. After a long drive, she pulls off the main highway and ends up taking refuge at an isolated motel owned and managed by a deranged Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins). In Alfred Hitchcock’s film, Psycho, symbols, character and point of view are three literary aspects used in the film to manipulate the audience’s emotions and to build suspense in the film.

    Read More

  • Rear Window And Psycho Theme Analysis

    1143 Words  | 3 Pages

    Alfred Hitchcock’s films not only permanently scar the brains of his viewers but also addict them to his suspense. Hitchcock’s films lure you in like a trap, he tells the audience what the characters don’t know and tortures them with the anticipation of what’s going to happen.

    Read More

  • The Alfred Hitchcock Signature in his Films, Shadow of a Doubt and Vertigo

    382 Words  | 1 Pages

    All directors of major motion pictures have specific styles or signatures that they add in their work. Alfred Hitchcock, one of the greatest directors of all time, has a particularly unique style in the way he creates his films. Film analyzers classify his distinctive style as the “Alfred Hitchcock signature”. Hitchcock’s signatures vary from his cameo appearances to his portrayal of a specific character. Two perfect examples of how Hitchcock implements his infamous “signatures” are in the movies, A Shadow of a Doubt and Vertigo. In these movies, numerous examples show how Hitchcock exclusively develops his imagination in his films.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho

    1736 Words  | 4 Pages

    The 1960s brought about what some have argued is the first slasher film Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. Hitchcock was able to cast major Hollywood stars to actor in his thriller. He cast a young, handsome Anthony Perkins in the lead and a major star in Janet Leigh, whom Hitchcock kills in the beginning of the movie. In that day it was unheard of now it’s done in movies such as Wes Cravens 1996 movie Scream killing off a major star such as Drew Barrymore. According to FilmmakerIQ.com Psycho “shocked audiences into believing horror could be more than B-Film Fare (14)”.

    Read More

  • Common Themes and Elements in Psycho and The Birds

    656 Words  | 2 Pages

    The two films Psycho and The Birds, both directed by Alfred Hitchcock, share similar themes and elements. These recurring themes and elements are often prevalent in many of Hitchcock’s works. In Psycho and The Birds, Hitchcock uses thematic elements like the ideal blonde woman, “the motherly figure”, birds, and unusual factors that often leave the viewer thinking. Hitchcock’s works consist of melodramatic films, while also using pure cinema to help convey messages throughout the film.

    Read More

  • Alfred Hitchcock's Main Themes In To Kill A Mockingbird

    738 Words  | 2 Pages

    Alfred Hitchcock developed his signature style from his earlier works The Lodger and Blackmail. These films were the framework for his signature films later on. His themes of “an innocent man who is accused of a crime” and “the guilty woman” were first seen in these two films and are repeated throughout Hitchcock’s cinematic history

    Read More

  • Norman Bates Case Study

    1075 Words  | 3 Pages

    The patient Norman Bates, eighteen year old male, shows signs of 300.15-Dissociative DO, Dissociative identity disorder (DID). He exhibits two know separate personalities, Normal Bates his normal functions as a teenager and he portrays the personality of his beloved deceased mother, Norma Bates. When transferring to his alternate personality of Norma Bates, Norman will suffer memory loss of any actions performed while in this state.

    Read More

  • Norman Bates In Psycho

    977 Words  | 2 Pages

    “He [Norman] only half-existed,” the psychiatrist stated after taking a look at Norman himself (Psycho). Norman Bates is a character in the movie Psycho, whose mental illness caused him to turn murderous. Psycho is not the only film that uses a mental illness to produce a villain. The Joker from the Batman series is diagnosed by the viewers to be psychopathic, and he is known to be a mass murderer. From the 1960 film to modern movies, many producers create their villains with mental disabilities. Because the mentally ill are portrayed as villains, this causes the viewers to classify them as capable of turning monstrous and harming those around them. This stereotype leads to the vilification of all those with a mental illness. Producers create

    Read More

  • Ted Bundy: Who Are The Most Faceful Serial Killers?

    2397 Words  | 5 Pages

    In Alfred Hitchcock’s famous “slasher” movie, Psycho, the audience is introduced to Norman Bates. Like many ot...

    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

  • Freudian Psychology In Rear Window, By Alfred Hitchcock

    712 Words  | 2 Pages

    Given that Norman Bates takes on the identity of his mother in response to a strange attachment that he has to her, as Norman himself says, “a boy’s best friend is his mother,” and that his mother is his “trap” that he “was born into,” it appears that Hitchcock’s lifelong interest in Freudian psychology is very intense in that Norman Bates had an Oedipus complex. If this is true, Psycho contains the emasculation of Norman at the hands of a woman, who happens to be his mother. The idea that Norman Bates remained in love with his mother and that Marion has the power to provoke this pathology, Psycho is another example of a female having power over a man, or a “boy”—in the case of Norman Bates.

    Read More

  • Psycho Movie Analysis Essay

    1082 Words  | 3 Pages

    The movie Psycho, is one of the most influential movie in Cinema history to date. The director Alfred Hitchcock, wanted to test many of the conventions of movie making that was common at that time. Alfred Hitchcock movie broke many cultural taboos and challenged the censors. Alfred Hitchcock showed a whole bunch of at the time absurd scene, for example: Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) dying naked while taking a shower, Norman Bates with split personality disorder, and the first ever flushing toilet shown in a movie. Because from the late 1920's to the late 1950's, movies were made usually go around the story, and usually with a lot dialogue. This movie gives the audience an experience that was much more emotional and intuitive. The viewers were caught up in a roller coaster of shock, surprise and suspense based on image, editing and sound.

    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

  • Duality In Alfred Hitchcock's Film Psycho

    992 Words  | 2 Pages

    Through the use of irony, mis en scene and recurring symbols, Hitchcock has reinforced the fundamental idea of duality throughout his film, Psycho. Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960’s American psychological horror thriller, was one of the most awarded films of its time, proposing contrasting connections between characters, Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh, and cinematic/film techniques to develop this idea. Irony identifies contrasts between the dual personalities of Marion Crane and Norman Bates, often foreshadowing the future events of the film. Mis en scene is particularly influential to enforcing the idea of duality, evidently shown through the music and diegetic sounds used. The recurring symbols including the mirrors and specifically the birds, underpin a representation of the character’s dual personalities. Hitchcock’s use of devices reinforces the dual personalities of characters Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh.

    Read More

  • Oedipus Complex Analysis

    1534 Words  | 4 Pages

    Norman Bates was an American serial killer and keeper of The Bates Motel in California. Bates suffered from Dissociative Identity Disorder and psychotic behavior, believing himself to be controlled by his mother. At the same time, he suffered from visual and auditory hallucinations, in which his mother apparently talked him into committing acts of violence to satisfy her. When his mother’s personality took over, Norman would fly into murderous rages targeting women who aroused him. He is known to have eventually killed his mother and kept her mummified corpse in the basement of his house for many years. He is the primary antagonist of the 1960 film, Psycho and appears as the anti-hero/protagonist villain. Lastly, Norman 's incestuous relationship

    Read More

More about Psycho: The character of Norman Bates

Open Document