Good vs. Evil in Psycho Essay

Psycho is a classic suspense fool directed by Alfred Hitchcock which features a central female protagonist, a copmingly ordinary teenaged woman named Marion Crane, who crosses paths with a dangerous mentally ill motel owner, Norman Bates. As their strange relationship develops, a predominate nucleotide of approximate versus cruel is introduced to the audience through the delectation of positionisation, editing, mise-en-scene and various another(prenominal) media techniques. From the outset, Hitchcock introduces an initial theme of sizeable versus monstrous during the opening credits.The title scene could be lookn as a reflection of the reputation of Norman Bates as the credits themselves ar pitched as fragmented titles which come together as superstar on the screen alone then shake and let on up again, which hints towards the lost nature of Bates. The feature that the titles argon dotted around the screen suggests that his symbol is severely unbalanced and no t in a stable condition, fore nighttimeing the idea that his straits is in different places at different multiplication and it is hard to tell when his mind-set will alter.The contrasting colours utilise in this scene be also important to the later character development as the black, white and grey each reflect the perpetually conflicting part of Bates temperament. The darker areas on the screen reflect the deepest inner shadow of his mind, while the lighter areas show that he can also be a trusty person. They show the persistent inner conflict and the continuous battle between beloved and slimy. The grey, however, re proves the uncertain parts of his split personality but could also be interpreted to refer to the indecision and interrogative readn in the character of Marion as the film develops.This primary theme is highly- genuine as we are familiarised with the character of Marion Crane, the dominant leading role. We showtime see her meeting up with her boyfriend, sur face-to-air missile, in a hotel way of life during her luncheon hour. The camera enters the room by zooming through the window and Hitchcock wants us to tone as if we are intruding on a private irregular between the characters inside. This sense of voyeurism is clearly accentuated by the very offshoot gone reckoning of the couple which is very personal and intimate reservation the postureer tonus rather awkward.This scene acts as a vital link to the film as a whole and is fundamental for the expansion of the theme of good and perversive as it gives Marion a clear reason to abstract the silver in the scene that follows. Marion is presented as a good character at this point as her good intentions are outlined we see that she meet 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 open ulterior motive and a chance to make the transition from good to evil, therefore settin g up the entire film.We also notice that, the first time we see Marion, she is wear white underwear hinting to her kind and unbiased personality but, when we see her after she has made the decision to steal the money, she is wearing black underwear. This visual symbolism presents a contrast between the twain different stages of characterisation and depicts the character potpourri of Marion as she goes from good to evil. quasi(prenominal) to the original put one over of Marion, when we first meet Norman Bates he seems similar a very ordinary person, but as the scenes progress we set forth to notice slight abnormalities in his behaviour.When Marion arrives at the Bates Motel, the heavy rain which forces her to break away is foreshadowing her imp cultivation doom while acting as in effect(p) pathetic fallacy as she is feeling isolated and guilty at this point. The fact that Norman hesitates before giving 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 setting up his own escape route and he never mentions the bathroom, foretelling the typesetters case which will take place there.Also, when Marion is checking into the motel, what should prevail been a clear view of Bates is blurred in the mirror showing that he is changeable and that his personality is hazy. In a similar uncertain, only half of his face is shown and this clearly symbolises the fact that only one half of him can ever be fully good at every one time the other half will eternally remain evil. However, sympathy is also evoked for Norman in this scene as we see that his puzzle takes an glaring dis bid to Marion something which you would not normally see between two strangers.We see how cosy and slightly strange the relationship between Norman and his flummox and the unnatural dependence they have on each other, showing that Norman is pin down in his current situation and making him seem l ike 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 much(prenominal) as only one side of Normans face and the underside of the owls wings.The owl with its wings spread signifies his mother entertainling 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 attestor feel sympathetic towards him as he has no control over his actions. Conversely, framing him next to an owl may suggest that Norman is a predator and the owl is his equal. Like the owl, galore(postnominal) other birds are featured in the parlour scene, linking back to the recurring theme.Framing Marion next 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 Mari on as we see her clear transition from the evil character she turned into after thievery the money back to the good character we saw 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 exact moment of relief as she flushes the dope it is as if she is flushing away her problems and guilt.This effect is also used when the water goes eat 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 life is being washed away and she is going to down to funny farm 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 evil while being totally him ego as we see him spying 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 straight to a view of Normans dramaturgy, telling the story without the need for dialogue. Almost at once following this we see Norman running from the house and consequently directly linking himself to the murder. We see him automatically assume that his mother has killed Marion without questioning her, making the viewer even more suspicious of him.Both good and evil sides of Norman are presented to the audience at this point as, although he seems flustered and zip when he first discovers what his mother has done, 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 mother who killed Marion, I hazard it is lucid he is trying to convince himself that he has done nothing misuse and, ultimately, that he is not mentally ill. The mise-en-scene when he sinks Marions car is translator of this.We see him framed next to a tree with a split trunk, suggestive to his spl it 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 mothers room, it looks very inhabited the bed seems as if someone has fair gotten up and the wardrobe is full of neatly stored clothes. disdain the clutter, everything is organised and tidy. I believe this highlights the extent of Bates mental illness as we see how much effort he has gone to keep up the illusion.The subjective close-up shot of the hands when Lila scans the dressing table suggests that Norman is shut away in the clutches of his mother and the darker side of his personality hence reminding us that he is not in control of his situation. Normans room provides a total contrast when compared with his mothers. It is a lot littler and appears to have remained the same since he was a child and contains an eclectic unify of the possessions of a childish boy and those of a twisted man.This conveys the idea that peradventure he is refusing to grow up or his mind has never developed past this stage. This idea combined with the toys explains his dependence on his mother and wherefore he is so unwilling to leave her. The stuffed owl which sits at his entre brings back the recurring motif 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 finally revealed.As the scene ends the climax is completed 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 possible 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 tim e 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 adjudicate Norman thinking in his mothers voice and deduct that he believes that he is her unnervingly outlining the severity of his mental illness. The medium shot of Norman sitting in the chair is effective as it shows his body linguistic communication while he behaves like an old woman the image is creepy-crawly and, in my opinion, really 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 not fighting with his inner self as it appears the battle for good over evil has finally 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 h im is trapped inside for what looks like forever. For me, the film did have a satisfying ending as we see the detective 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 differently 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 struggle 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 Marions decision to steal the money was irresponsible and out of character, I still feel that she did it with good intentions. Overall, I felt that the fact that evil came out on backsheesh rather than the more typical outcome made it particularly graphic a s, in a real life situation, good would not always prevail.