Essay Sample on Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho

Introduction

The United States has its fair share of "famous" serial killers that are known across the globe (Seltzer, 1998). This is not because America has the highest number of serial murders but because they have more public attention. America is famous for serial killers like Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy and John Wayne who are all known for committing many murders (Seltzer, 1998). These serial killers have inspired films, series, novels and documentaries. Because of their notoriety they did not only inspire popular representation of serial killers but also created a standard of their characterization in popular media. Hitchcock's film the psycho has also played a significant part in the shaping the portrayal of serial killers. The film was a big success and is even regarded as the first film in the slasher genre (Wood, 1989). The aim of this paper is to compare and contrast the film analysis of Norman Bates with his medical and psychological analysis. It will also look at how Norman's portrayal as a serial killer relates to real world serial killers.

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Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho is a story of a hotel owner, Norman Bates, who unknowingly commits murders. The first murder in the movie is that of Marion Crane, a girl who had stolen $40,000 from her boss in Arizona and was on her way to see her boyfriend (Thomas, 1997). Marion after a dinner with Norman and his mother, returns to her room for a shower where is stabbed to death by a female figure. This particular scene is an iconic one and an infamous moment in the horror film history. Another murder of a detective happens after he comes looking for Marion. When more people come looking for Marion, they learn that Norman's mother died over a decade ago (Wood, 1989). Norman had developed a split personality and the "mother" character was responsible of the murders. Norman had killed a total of four in his "mother" personality.

According to a psychiatrist in the courthouse, Norman killed his mother and her lover out of jealousy a decade ago. Unable to cope with the guilt, he exhumed her body and started to treat her as though she was still alive. Norman recreated her mother in his mind as an alternate personality (Thomas, 1997). He dressed in her clothes and even held conversations with himself in her voice. The "mother" personality would kill whoever got close to Norman out of Jealousy. Norman was labeled a psycho and was thrown in jail. The film ends with Norman sitting in a holding cell having a conversation with "mother" who is heard blaming Norman for all the murders.

From a medical and psychological perspective, Norman Bates had Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), formally known as Multiple Personality Disorder. DID is brought on by a traumatic event or abuse as a child. According to psychodynamic theory, these multiple personalities offer protection and are a defense mechanism from actual traumas that take place or from repressed thoughts. People with DID attempt to escape the traumatic event by embodying someone else. Common traumas causing DID include sexual or emotional abuse. In Norman's case there is no repetitive occurrence of trauma that took place. There is however the unhealthy relationship with his mother which could have been abusive.

A person with DID has two or more distinct personalities that are accompanied by changing behaviors, memory and thinking. Norman alternated between himself and his slip personality "mother". DID also causes problems social, occupational and other areas of functioning. This explains why Norman was antisocial and lived alone and outside the town. His "mother" personality also talked him out of getting close to anyone. Whenever he could get close to anyone his protective personality would kill them (Thomas, 1997). Another symptom of DID is amnesia. Norman had no recollection of his actions when the other personality took control. He does not remember killing Marion but remembers cleaning up the blood and disposing of the body.

Norman Bates was a not a Psycho but rather suffered from a mental illness. Psychopaths commit criminal acts without caring about the consequences. Most psychopaths kill for the thrill. The look of fear in their victims faces give them pleasure. Psychopath have the capacity for practical reasoning but lack empathy, conscience and guilt (Glannon, 2016). Although psychopaths are able to mimic human emotions, they are unable to express them and understand them. Norman Bates feels the emotion of guilt, something that a psycho would not feel because they are not capable of. Although Norman was sent to prison, it would have been better if he was sent to a health facility.

In most films such as Psycho and The Dark Knight, mental illness is depicted as violent, uncontrollable and untreatable (Simpson, 2000). Most of this films use mental illness as a trope to scare people, but in real life it is unlikely that people with mental illness will go to such extreme heights and would commit such acts of violence. These films misrepresent mental illness in many ways and this only makes people more ignorant to the truth about mental illness. Hitchcock portrayal of DID in Norman is mostly accurate and the film is very informative on the issue.

Hitchcock's portrayal of a serial killer is also very accurate and fits the description of the stereotypical serial killer. Since Hitchcock's film was the first slasher, Norman Bates character set the standard for the popular portray of serial killers in films. According to Seltzer, there is always a distinct divide between the serial killer's public and private sphere. There is always the friendly charming neighbor kind of guy and the monstrous serial killer behind the curtains (Seltzer, 1998). Any given killer has a pleasant non threating face which he uses in public and an evil face which he uses to terrify his victims. In Norman case, the distinction between his private and public persona is quite literally. Norman, like other serial killers, switches between his personalities.

Conclusion

Norman Bates like many serial killers suffer from mental illness. The film is not only informative about Multiple Personality Disorder but it also accurate. Although Norman was thought to be a psycho for committing thus murders, he was not and did not exhibit any senses of being a psychopath. Hitchcock representation of Norman as a serial killer matches the stereotypical characterization of one (Simpson, 2000). Mental illness is a real issue in today's world and it is important that people are aware of it. In some mental illness cases like Normans case, there can be uncontrollable disconnect between internal feelings and external behavior. Norman was a good person who had some unfortunate things happen to him. It is not his fault that he suffered from mental illness, and he needed to helped.

References

Glannon, W. (2016). Psychopathy and Responsibility. New Jersey: Wiley.

Seltzer, M. (1998). Serial Killers. New York: Routledge.

Simpson, P. L. (2000). Psycho Paths; Tracking The Serial Killer Through Contemporary American Film and Fiction. Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press

Thomas, D. (1997). On being Norman (Bates): Performance and Inner Life In (Alfred) Hitchcock's Psycho. CineAction.

Wood, R. (1989). Hitchcock's Films Revisited. New York: Columbia University Press.