Feminism In Psycho
In the Psycho shower scene Hitchcock (the director) used techniques that changed film making and created well known conventions now used in a horror film. In the time period of Psycho many people were not desensitised to violence as many are nowadays. It was uncommon for any drastic violence to occur, and nudity in the film industry was a big taboo. Hitchcock broke many of these conventions just in one scene, which in this time was very controversial. In Psycho we believe the Protagonist to be the woman, who was played by a very famous actress, Janet Leigh. In her days she was a huge movie star, and therefore much of the audience expected her to be play the main role in the film, and was therefore shocked when the director cut her out of the movie so early on as it goes against the expectation of the genre. At the beginning of the film we see the character stealing money, and we can assume that as she has committed a crime she will be punished.
When the shower scene begins, the audience are confronted with conventions they had not seen before. The diegetic sound of the toilet is very intimate, as it is uncommon to see people going to the toilet in a film as it is a private activity; Hitchcock has already started to break the conventions of film in his time period. As the actress undresses the audience begin to watch voyeuristically; we cannot see any explicit parts of her body but we are aware that she is nude.
When the actress gets into the shower, she throws her head and neck back fully, which is resemblance of a sexual act. We are put in her point of view, and we receive a shot of the shower head pouring water down onto‘us.’ This is symbolic of her eye which we see at the end of the scene. Hitchcock has also used this shot to make it seems as if she is being watched, which is foreshadowing the trespassing of the murderer. She begins to caress herself whilst showering, which is a very intimate moment and seen as risky in this time period.
Hitchcock uses rule of thirds, putting the victim in the bottom corner, making her look small and vulnerable. The back light in this scene is important, as although we are unable to see the intruder through the curtain, the light change alerts us that the door has been opened and we see the murderer progressing towards the woman. The director deliberately makes the figure slowly approach in order to create tension in the audience, causing them to become actively involved and making them feel agitated as they know that the victim is unaware, and they want to alert her. As the figure approaches the woman moves out of the frame, so that the focus is drawn to the murderer. This tempo changes when the figure pulls back the curtain, which is sudden and creates a more shocking impact. When the curtain is pulled back the gender of the murderer is ambiguous, as the clothing could belong to either a man or woman. The hair is short, which is typically thought to belong to a man. However, the victim’s hair is short which contradicts this stereotype. We can only see a silhouette which is a convention of the genre, and causes enigma. The audience are immersed in the narrative and begin to want to work out what’s going on.
The knife in the scene is a phallic instrument. The downwards stab represents the penetration of the victim, and her belly button is seen as a vaginal porthole. This could mean that if the figure is a man, he has been emasculated by a woman, possibly his mother, and this is an act of him regaining his masculinity and with it his power.
The music in Psycho is used well to create a build-up of tension. To begin with we hear every day diegetic sounds, for example the toilet, the shower, taps turning etc. This leads the audience into a false sense of security. The murderer pulls back the curtain, which breaks the tension build up and is the typical ‘jump’ moment in a horror film, as it happens very fast. The high pitched and fast pace music then begins, adding to the trauma of the incident. The fact that the music if very fast is symbolic of the way the stabbing has been edited. The shots of the victim being stabbed are very short and cut from angle to angle very quickly, which is also demonstrated in the music and they work well together to create an impact. Once the shower curtain is pulled back we also hear the woman scream, which adds to the horror and excitement of the piece, and also helps to break the tension that was built as the figure approached. The violence of the stabbing is accentuated by the music, which changes from a high violin to a low cello. This quick and intense change in pitch and speed represents the quick brutal stabbing changing to her slow and painful death, exaggerating the horror of the scene. All of this non diegetic sound blends well together in order to complete the scene and give the full impact on the audience.
The woman begins to scream as she sees the intruder, and we then see a full close up of her face in order to show the audience the pure shock and trauma that the character feels. We sympathise with the character as her escape is blocked, the floor is wet and she is unable to get away from the murderer.
The extreme close up of her mouth shows her mouth wide, and this is a reference to oral sex, and implies the link between sex and violence. The dripping of the water from her mouth is portrayed as a sexual act, for which the audience are unprepared. We see the murderer from her point of view, who towers above her. This again makes the victim seem extremely vulnerable and helpless. The camera then moves to a high angle, in which we see that the woman is clearly naked. Although nothing explicit is shown, this is a taboo. It puts the viewer in power, as she is naked and being stabbed.
To begin with she is standing tall and tries to grab the knife, clearly struggling. However, she soon gives up as she is being stabbed. Her body language is now in a self-defensive position, hunched slightly. There is no confidence in her, stereotyping her as a weak and hopeless woman. In her last few moments,
the victim reaches her hand out, which looks as if she is reaching out for help. This makes the audience again feel more actively involved as they feel obliged
to try and help her. As her hand curves round to grab the shower curtain, there is limited depth to the shot. We are unable to decipher what she is reaching for as it is unclear. We are seeing that as she dies, she is losing clarity and awareness, and we do too. When the camera follows the blood down the drain it symbolises her life ebbing away as it’s washed down the drain. This then turns to a vortex, which dissolves to her unblinking eye. It is believed that the eye is a ‘gateway to the soul’ and we are therefore empathising with the character. The camera pulls back to show her face in the centre of the frame in order to captivate the audience. The men who were watching voyeuristically now begin to feel guilty, as they had found pleasure in watching the victim, who is now
dead.
Despite that when the film was made, having it in colour was available, Hitchcock decided to make the film in black and white. He did this so that it was less graphic and therefore the age certificate could be lower. By doing this they were able to make more of a profit from the film, as more
people are able to watch it.
When the shower scene begins, the audience are confronted with conventions they had not seen before. The diegetic sound of the toilet is very intimate, as it is uncommon to see people going to the toilet in a film as it is a private activity; Hitchcock has already started to break the conventions of film in his time period. As the actress undresses the audience begin to watch voyeuristically; we cannot see any explicit parts of her body but we are aware that she is nude.
When the actress gets into the shower, she throws her head and neck back fully, which is resemblance of a sexual act. We are put in her point of view, and we receive a shot of the shower head pouring water down onto‘us.’ This is symbolic of her eye which we see at the end of the scene. Hitchcock has also used this shot to make it seems as if she is being watched, which is foreshadowing the trespassing of the murderer. She begins to caress herself whilst showering, which is a very intimate moment and seen as risky in this time period.
Hitchcock uses rule of thirds, putting the victim in the bottom corner, making her look small and vulnerable. The back light in this scene is important, as although we are unable to see the intruder through the curtain, the light change alerts us that the door has been opened and we see the murderer progressing towards the woman. The director deliberately makes the figure slowly approach in order to create tension in the audience, causing them to become actively involved and making them feel agitated as they know that the victim is unaware, and they want to alert her. As the figure approaches the woman moves out of the frame, so that the focus is drawn to the murderer. This tempo changes when the figure pulls back the curtain, which is sudden and creates a more shocking impact. When the curtain is pulled back the gender of the murderer is ambiguous, as the clothing could belong to either a man or woman. The hair is short, which is typically thought to belong to a man. However, the victim’s hair is short which contradicts this stereotype. We can only see a silhouette which is a convention of the genre, and causes enigma. The audience are immersed in the narrative and begin to want to work out what’s going on.
The knife in the scene is a phallic instrument. The downwards stab represents the penetration of the victim, and her belly button is seen as a vaginal porthole. This could mean that if the figure is a man, he has been emasculated by a woman, possibly his mother, and this is an act of him regaining his masculinity and with it his power.
The music in Psycho is used well to create a build-up of tension. To begin with we hear every day diegetic sounds, for example the toilet, the shower, taps turning etc. This leads the audience into a false sense of security. The murderer pulls back the curtain, which breaks the tension build up and is the typical ‘jump’ moment in a horror film, as it happens very fast. The high pitched and fast pace music then begins, adding to the trauma of the incident. The fact that the music if very fast is symbolic of the way the stabbing has been edited. The shots of the victim being stabbed are very short and cut from angle to angle very quickly, which is also demonstrated in the music and they work well together to create an impact. Once the shower curtain is pulled back we also hear the woman scream, which adds to the horror and excitement of the piece, and also helps to break the tension that was built as the figure approached. The violence of the stabbing is accentuated by the music, which changes from a high violin to a low cello. This quick and intense change in pitch and speed represents the quick brutal stabbing changing to her slow and painful death, exaggerating the horror of the scene. All of this non diegetic sound blends well together in order to complete the scene and give the full impact on the audience.
The woman begins to scream as she sees the intruder, and we then see a full close up of her face in order to show the audience the pure shock and trauma that the character feels. We sympathise with the character as her escape is blocked, the floor is wet and she is unable to get away from the murderer.
The extreme close up of her mouth shows her mouth wide, and this is a reference to oral sex, and implies the link between sex and violence. The dripping of the water from her mouth is portrayed as a sexual act, for which the audience are unprepared. We see the murderer from her point of view, who towers above her. This again makes the victim seem extremely vulnerable and helpless. The camera then moves to a high angle, in which we see that the woman is clearly naked. Although nothing explicit is shown, this is a taboo. It puts the viewer in power, as she is naked and being stabbed.
To begin with she is standing tall and tries to grab the knife, clearly struggling. However, she soon gives up as she is being stabbed. Her body language is now in a self-defensive position, hunched slightly. There is no confidence in her, stereotyping her as a weak and hopeless woman. In her last few moments,
the victim reaches her hand out, which looks as if she is reaching out for help. This makes the audience again feel more actively involved as they feel obliged
to try and help her. As her hand curves round to grab the shower curtain, there is limited depth to the shot. We are unable to decipher what she is reaching for as it is unclear. We are seeing that as she dies, she is losing clarity and awareness, and we do too. When the camera follows the blood down the drain it symbolises her life ebbing away as it’s washed down the drain. This then turns to a vortex, which dissolves to her unblinking eye. It is believed that the eye is a ‘gateway to the soul’ and we are therefore empathising with the character. The camera pulls back to show her face in the centre of the frame in order to captivate the audience. The men who were watching voyeuristically now begin to feel guilty, as they had found pleasure in watching the victim, who is now
dead.
Despite that when the film was made, having it in colour was available, Hitchcock decided to make the film in black and white. He did this so that it was less graphic and therefore the age certificate could be lower. By doing this they were able to make more of a profit from the film, as more
people are able to watch it.