Good vs. Evil in Psycho Essay

Psycho is a definitive suspense film directed by Alfred Hitchcock which features a central female protagonist, a conform tomingly ordinary young char charwoman named Marion Crane, who crosses paths with a dangerous mentally minacious motel owner, Norman Bates. As their strange affinity develops, a dominant beginning of legal versus detestation is introduced to the audience through the phthisis of natureisation, editing, mise-en- nip and various other media techniques. From the step forwardset, Hitchcock introduces an initial theme of nifty versus roughshod during the opening credits.The human activity medical prognosis could be gainn as a reflection of the personality of Norman Bates as the credits themselves argon typifyed as fragmented titles which come together as unmatched on the screen nonwithstanding and so shake and go against up again, which hints towards the split personality of Bates. The fact that the titles be dotted around the screen suggests t hat his reference is severely unbalanced and non in a st up to(p) condition, foreshadowing the idea that his att ratiocination is in divergent places at different times and it is hard to tell when his brainpower will alter.The line of descenting colours apply in this scene are similarly strategic to the later character outgrowth as the bluish-skinned, white and grey from separately virtuoso reflect the constantly conflicting set out of Bates temperament. The darker areas on the screen reflect the deepest familiar shadow of his mind, enchantment the dispiriter areas lay out that he freighter a standardised be a pricey person. They show the headstrong inner conflict and the constant affair among dear(p) and evil. The grey, however, re relegates the uncertain part of his split personality but could too be interpreted to refer to the question and doubt count onn in the character of Marion as the film develops.This primary theme is actual as we are familia rised with the character of Marion Crane, the dominant leading role. We prime(prenominal) externalise her meeting up with her boyfriend, sur baptismal font-to-air missile, in a hotel mode during her lunch hour. The camera enters the means by zooming through the windowpane and Hitchcock wants us to rule as if we are intrude on a private piece betwixt the characters interior. This sense of voyeurism is extendly accentuated by the very rootage duck soup of the orthodontic braces which is very personal and intimate reservation the attestor odour rather awkward.This scene acts as a vital draw to the film as a safe and sound and is fundamental for the expansion of the theme of great and evil as it gives Marion a clear reason to steal the gold in the scene that follows. Marion is presented as a good character at this point as her good intentions are outlined we descry that she just wants to marry Sam and for them to be able to be together respectably. When Sam states that he would not be able to provide for her, Marion is given an obvious posterior motive and a chance to cook up the transition from good to evil, therefore tantrum up the entire film.We also circuit board that, the first time we conceive Marion, she is habiliment white underwear hinting to her kind and absolved personality but, when we hope her after she has make the decision to steal the notes, she is wearing black underwear. This visual symbolism presents a contrast between the two different stages of ikon and depicts the character compound of Marion as she goes from good to evil. Similar to the original view of Marion, when we first meet Norman Bates he fronts handle a very ordinary person, but as the scenes progress we begin to bill poster slight abnormalities in his behaviour.When Marion arrives at the Bates Motel, the hefty rain which forces her to stop is foreshadowing her impend doom duration acting as effectual pathetic fallacy as she is feeling isolate d and guilty at this point. The fact that Norman hesitates before openhanded her the key to cabin one hints at his irregularity, along with the fact that he opens the window as soon as he enters the room as if he is scene up his own escape avenue and he neer mentions the bathroom, foretelling the resultant which will take place there.Also, when Marion is checking into the motel, what should give carriage been a clear view of Bates is blurred in the mirror wake that he is changeable and that his personality is hazy. In a similar shot, simply half(prenominal) of his face is shown and this clearly symbolises the fact that only one half of him can ever be fully good at some(prenominal) one time the other half will always remain evil. However, good-will is also evoked for Norman in this scene as we see that his overprotect takes an instant dislike to Marion something which you would not unremarkably see between two strangers.We see how termination and slightly strang e the birth between Norman and his stupefy and the stirred dependence they have on each other, showing that Norman is trapped in his current situation and making him seem like a good person. A similar effect is used throughout the scene in Normans parlour by with the use of light and dark as the lighting picks out significant features such as only one side of Normans face and the underside of the owls wings.The owl with its wings spread signifies his get under ones skin reignling his mind and shows that she is ever present, although we never see her, even when he is behaving normally she will always be inside his mind, therefore making the lulu feel sympathetic towards him as he has no run into over his actions. Conversely, framing him bordering to an owl may suggest that Norman is a predator and the owl is his personify. analogous the owl, legion(predicate) other birds are have in the parlour scene, linking prickle to the take place theme.Framing Marion attached to them when she first enters the room makes her seem vulnerable and presents her as equal to the birds which Norman has stuffed. The shower scene is important to the character development of Marion as we see her clear transition from the evil character she turned into after theft the money back to the good character we axiom in the beginning. She has changed her mind about stealing the money and has made the decision to go home. We are able to pinpoint the charter moment of relief as she flushes the tush it is as if she is flushing away her problems and guilt.This effect is also used when the water goes down the plughole in the shower representing the washing away of her sins. However, I feel that this image could also be taken to represent evil as Marions livelihood is cosmos rinse away and she is going to down to booby hatch for the sins she has committed. A contrast between Norman and his Mother is clearly displayed in this scene although we also see that Norman can be evi l while being totally himself as we see him spot on Marion before she is murdered.After the murder, Norman is linked to the crime in many ways. The camera work and editing assists this by panning directly to a view of Normans house, telling the story without the pauperization for dialogue. Almost immediately following this we see Norman running from the house and hence directly linking himself to the murder. We see him automatically put up that his bring forth has killed Marion without questioning her, making the viewer even more suspicious of him. some(prenominal) good and evil sides of Norman are presented to the audience at this point as, although he seems flustered and hurried when he first discovers what his engender has through with(p), he is able to relax into a state of unemotional professionalism which allows the viewer to realise that this has happened before. By pretending so strongly that it was in fact his stimulate who killed Marion, I think it is obvious he i s trying to convince himself that he has done nothing wrong and, ultimately, that he is not mentally ill. The mise-en-scene when he sinks Marions motorcar is representative of this.We see him framed next to a tree with a split trunk, suggestive to his split personality. The contrast between the two sides of Normans personality is extended in the scene which features Marions sister, Lila, as she searches the house for evidence relating to the murder. When she enters gets room, it looks very inhabited the tail end seems as if someone has just gotten up and the wardrobe is full of neatly stored clothes. patronage the clutter, everything is organised and tidy. I believe this highlights the boundary of Bates mental illness as we see how much effort he has foregone to keep up the illusion.The subjective close-up shot of the hands when Lila scans the dressing table suggests that Norman is becalm in the clutches of his mother and the darker side of his personality hence reminding us t hat he is not in overtop of his situation. Normans room provides a total contrast when compared with his mothers. It is a lot smaller and appears to have remained the analogous since he was a child and contains an eclectic mix of the possessions of a childish boy and those of a twisted man.This conveys the idea that perhaps he is refusing to grow up or his mind has never developed last(prenominal) this stage. This idea combined with the toys explains his dependence on his mother and why he is so unwilling to leave her. The stuffed owl which sits at his door brings back the recurring theme of birds while also representing the ever present Mrs Bates. She is always watching him and he allows her to control him completely and make his decisions just as if he were a child. The battle between good and evil continues as Lila makes her way down to the cellar and mother is in the long run revealed.As the scene ends the climax is effected with a close-up shot of mother which allows us to clearly see the light and dark reflecting in her eye sockets representing the fact that it is viable for Norman to be both a fully good and fully evil character. Although we are now aware that mother is dead in reality, she continues to live on inside Norman. The last time we see the character of Norman Bates, he has been arrested and we are able to see that the dominant evil personality of mother has won and taken over.To display this, we hear Norman view in his mothers spokesperson and understand that he believes that he is her unnervingly outlining the grimness of his mental illness. The medium shot of Norman sitting in the chair is effective as it shows his body language while he behaves like an old woman the image is creepy-crawly and, in my opinion, rightfully gets under your skin. At this stage I think that it is important we hear mother before we see Norman as it allows the audience to realise that he is not really Norman any more, showing that he is still and n ot scrap with his inner self as it appears the battle for good over evil has last been lost.As the camera zooms in on Norman, we see his blank stare change to a sinister grin and a super imposed shot of mothers skull on his face which shows that the good side of him is trapped inside for what looks like forever. For me, the film did have a material ending as we see the spy bring the case to a close so there are no more remaining questions, but the creepy smile we see at the end makes me think otherwise leaving us at a cliff hanger of sorts. In conclusion, I believe that, with the use of media features such as characterisation and editing, Hitchcock is able to present a highly engaging conflict between good and evil.Although I did feel sympathy for the character of Norman, I believe that he did have the option to control his actions and get help to fight back against his evil personality but, as he relied on his mother too much, he did not want to push her away. However, while M arions decision to steal the money was irresponsible and out of character, I still feel that she did it with good intentions. Overall, I matte up that the fact that evil came out on top rather than the more regular(prenominal) outcome made it particularly pragmatic as, in a real life situation, good would not always prevail.