"Psycho"

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" seems to function on its surface as a morality tale of monstrosity and subsequent restoration to order. It looks at how, although the monster of Norman Bates is tracked down and rendered subject to psychological classification and incarceration by authority, the true story of the film is anything but a true restoration of coherent narrative and psychological order. It attempts to show how the film is a profound illustration of the inability of both the audience members observing the tale and the characters involved in the tale on screen to predict their own fates and to create a coherent sense of true morality, not only within the context of movie, but also in their own off-screen life.

From the Paper:

"By constantly subverting audience expectations with the infamous element of Hitchcock-ian surprise, Hitchcock, in "Psycho" created a new and more internal form of the conventional monster film. This new form was not relegated to castles in Transylvania or mad scientists. Rather the creation of monstrosity could occur within the structure of the everyday, familial home and the relationship of a mother and her son. The film tells the tale of the pilferage, absconding, and subsequent murder of a young woman at the hands of a man with a divided, or psychotic and schizophrenic personality."

More papers on "Psycho":

• Film Review # 96560 : "Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho"
• Analytical Essay # 138869 : "Psycho" and Music"
• Research Paper # 70252 : "Psycho-Social Assessment"
• Film Review # 137171 : "Hitchcock's "Psycho" and the Origins of Modern Horror"

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