Why Is Alfred Hitchcock's Shower Scene So Revolutionary?

Psycho essay

Why is Alfred Hitchcock's shower scene so revolutionary? Hitchcock used a variety of shots to create the feeling of suspense and mystery. He was one of the first people to use nudity in a film which caused a lot of controversy, the way he used sound effects created a sense of fear to the audience.

In the shower scene a guest at the Bates Motel, Marion goes to her room to take a shower but little did she know what was coming to her. When the shower scene started off with a close up of Marion's face to show her emotions, then we get a high shot to show her stepping into the shower. Next we get an extreme close up of Norman Bates face that's still covered by the transparent shower curtain. The reaction shot shows her screaming. High shot of her stomach shows her vulnerability at that point,

another close up of the stomach shows us the blood seeping into the drain. The nudity in the scene shows us how vulnerable Marion really is at that point
Hitchcock gave us a birds eye view of marion to show us that she's down after she grabs the curtain.

Towards the end of the scene they give us a pan of all the blood. A crossfade tilt shows us the drain turning into her eye to symbolize how her life just went down the drain. As she lays there with her head out of the tub looking lifeless, resembling a bird. That foreshadowed when Norman was telling Marion about his hobby taxidermy and how he likes to taxidermy birds the most. Sound effects in this film were different than in any other, such as “re-re-re” that give the audience a sense of suspense and fear. Makes us want to know what's going to happen next, and when it happens it seems to shock everyone. Violins are used for most of the music. These violins helped create a frightening atmosphere for the audience. Without them, Psycho would not have received the same reactions of simultaneous entertainment and terror. In this esteem, the music made Psycho the film that it is. The shower scene is still important, since something as innocent as a bathroom quickly becomes tainted, but it’s the music that truly clinches the horror

angle.
The whole movie Psycho changed the way films were made then, and still affects the way people make their films and direct till this day. Especially the shower scene, most films did not have any nudity so that made psycho very talked about and popular. This influenced later films that came out such as Halloween, Jaws, Bonnie & Clyde, Fatal Attraction and even Scream. Changed aspects such as Violence, sex, “slasher film”, killer villain's point of view, humor, and use of music.
Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 film Psycho was revolutionary many years ago and still till this day. In aspects such as sound, violence, nudity, and the way things are shot. Without any of these Psycho would not of been the film that we know and love.