“Psycho” and Psychoanalysis

In the long history of cinema, there is no other cinematic work quite like Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. The film was released sixty-four years ago, after the massive success of his 1959 movie North by Northwest. Written by Joseph Stefano and based on Robert Bloch’s novel of the same name, Psycho has become an all-time classic and is often considered to be one of the greatest films ever made. Hitchcock brought a new level of violence and sexuality to the silver screen, which made the film highly controversial and receive mixed reviews from critics at the time. Psycho is one of the earliest influences of the slasher genre, opening a new era of horror movies. The film is also a great example of a psychological horror thriller. Alfred Hitchcock used psychoanalytic theories and horror elements to explore the mind, personality, identity, and sexuality of Norman Bates, the antagonist of the film.

Alfred Hitchcock and Janet Leigh on set of Psycho (1960)

Psychoanalysis is a therapeutic method founded by Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud to treat mental disorders and a set of theories which examine the conscious and unconscious elements in one’s mind (Doughty and Etherington-Wright, 156). Though the “Father of Psychoanalysis” was a controversial figure during his lifetime, Freud’s works are major influences on many fields. In cinema, filmmakers have used his concepts to construct stories, develop characters, and further explore the human mind.

Sigmund Freud (1856 - 1939)

One of Freud’s most familiar concepts is the Oedipus complex. The name is taken from Sophocles’ tragedy Oedipus Rex. In the play, Oedipus unintentionally kills his father and marries his mother, Jocasta. Using the model of this Greek tragedy, Freud explained the child’s need for its parents and how the child’s sexuality develops as its desires change from infancy to adulthood (Doughty and Etherington-Wright, 160). In case of the male child, it realizes that it does not have the full attention of the mother when it gets older, and since the father is rightfully allowed sexual contact with the mother, the child becomes hateful towards the father. In Psycho, we are introduced to Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) who has a split personality. At the end of the film, it is revealed that Bates killed his mother and her lover years ago. The reason behind their murders is Bates’ jealousy. Bates had such a close relationship with his mother when he was a child. The film informs that Bates’ father passed away when he was five, which is during a child’s phallic stage (three to six years old). This is the third stage of psychosexual development. Bates went through this time of his life without his father’s presence, which meant there was no one who Bates urged to replace. He then overcame the fear of castration. Bates was able to fulfil his Oedipal fantasy until his mother had a lover. It is here when the anger and jealousy took over him. Bates experiences this stage of life at an older age, which causes him to have an even stronger sense of possessiveness toward his mother. Bates thinks that his mother abandons him and leaves him for her lover. This leads to his violent act against them.

The “Mother” (Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures)

Repression, another well-known Freudian concept, was also applied in Psycho. Repression is when the mind avoids processing or revisiting a traumatic event in the past (Doughty and Etherington-Wright, 159). This process is non-conscious and a way for one to deal with guilt. It becomes Bates’ defense mechanism to cope with the fact that he killed his mother. Bates keeps his mother’s corpse inside their house, pretends that she is still alive, and starts developing the personality of the “Mother”. The psychiatrist speaks of Bates near the end of the movie:

“…He was simply doing everything possible to keep alive the illusion of his mother being alive. And when reality came too close—when danger or desire threatened that illusion—he dressed up, even to a cheap wig he bought. He'd walk about the house, sit in her chair, speak in her voice”.

Bates’ guilt comes back to his mind whenever he falls for a woman. Since he has an incestuous love for his mother, he feels like he is betraying her, so he lets the “Mother” take over and kills the women to protect their “relationship”, or in other words, protect his own illusion.

Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates (Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures)

Throughout the one-hundred-and-nine minutes of Psycho, there are many details that explore the Uncanny. According to Freud, the Uncanny happens when normal places and objects in everyday life are made unfamiliar, which causes anxiety and strange, uncomfortable, creepy feelings (Doughty and Etherington-Wright, 161). One of the major elements of this concept is “The Double” or Doppelganger. In Psycho, the doubling can be seen in Bates’ personalities, Norman and Norma (his mother). Moreover, we follow two main characters in the film: Marion Crane in the first forty-five minutes and Norman Bates for the rest of the runtime. Their lives share no similarities, but they cross paths in the middle of the movie, and somehow, mirror each other. Firstly, their first names have almost the same letters: “Marion” and “Norman”. Furthermore, mirrors can be spotted multiple times throughout the film, which indicates the duality and how one’s journey reflects the other. Mirrors are also used to compare, contrast, unite and separate as well as reflect one’s identity and emotional/psychological state. Hitchcock used the mirror to reflect Crane’s guilt for stealing the money in the bathroom at the car dealership. Mirrors are used again in Crane’s car (the rearview one), the lobby of Bates Motel, and inside the Bates’ house. Hitchcock used mirrors as physical symbols and metaphors for how Crane and Bates’ stories imitate each other. Another scene which plays with this concept is when Crane listens to the voices in her head while driving away with the money. Right before the sky gets dark and she arrives at Bates Motel, Crane smiles and looks straight to the camera. In the very last scene, Bates, whose personality is completely taken over by the “Mother”, does the same thing. The two characters are very different but also similar. Furthermore, the choice of black-and-white film helps emphasize the shadow. The shadow also illustrates the doubling and increases the level of mystery in Psycho. In addition, when Crane’s boss sees her in the car at the red light, he experiences the Uncanny. The audience can see his uneasy and strange feeling when encountering someone whom he meets every day at work outside of the familiar space. The same goes with Crane.

Janet Leigh as Marion Crane (Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures)

In the documentary called The Pervert's Guide to Cinema (2006), the presenter, Slovenian philosopher and cultural theorist Slavoj Žižek, commented that the three-story house of the Bates represented Sigmund Freud’s three levels of human’s subconscious: Id (basement), Ego (ground floor), and Superego (first floor). He mentioned the “Mother” as a figure of the Superego, who “dominates” the Ego, Norman as a normal, shy person (Žižek). When Bates brings his mother from the first floor to the basement, he moves her from Superego to Id in his mind. Žižek also emphasized Sigmund Freud’s theory that superego and ego were deeply connected. Using the house as a method to visualize these concepts was a brilliant idea from Hitchcock.

The Bates’ residence (Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures)

In addition to psychoanalysis, Hitchcock applied many horror elements to Psycho to discuss sexuality and enhance the fright for the audience. For instance, the knife and blood. The knife symbolizes the phallus. Blood can be seen dripping down Crane’s legs after being stabbed in the shower scene, which is representative of a sexual assault. This shows that Bates has sexual feelings toward Crane. At the time of the film’s release, black-and-white film also allowed Hitchcock to keep this scene as the film could have been banned if it was in color. The theme of voyeurism also gives the viewers the uncomfortableness of being watched, from the very first shot outside the hotel room’s window in Phoenix, to the police officer chasing Crane, the stuffed birds’ eyes in Bates’ parlor, Bates watching Crane undress through the hole, and the characters staring at the house from outside. The film includes other classic horror elements and visual styles, such as an isolated house as the setting for the second half of it, the mummified body of Norma, and some confining close-ups and extreme close-ups. In Maurice Yacowar’s “Hitchcock’s Imagery and Art”, he mentioned the staircase as another image that the director used to elevate the suspense (204). The staircase leads to another level of Bates’ subconscious in Psycho. He transforms to the “Mother” when he gets to the first floor. The staircase is also where the private investigator gets murdered by Norma. Yacowar wrote that Hitchcock’s stairs took both his characters and the audience to the fears, dangers, and self-discovery (204).

The shower scene (Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures)

Psycho has become an iconic work of Alfred Hitchcock and an amazing example of applying psychoanalysis to visual storytelling as well as the exploration of the characters. The film’s impact on cinema history is undeniable, especially on psychological horror thrillers. Through cinema, Hitchcock successfully brought the viewers inside one’s complex mind and entertained them with the thrill of fright at the same time.

Sources

Doughty, Ruth and Etherington-Wright, Christine. Understanding Film Theories. 2nd ed., Red Globe Press, 2018.

Fiennes, Sophie, director. The Pervert's Guide to Cinema. Presented by Slavoj Žižek, P Guide Ltd., 2006.

Hitchcock, Alfred, director. Psycho. Performed by Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh, Paramount Pictures, 1960.

Yacowar, Maurice. “Hitchcock’s Imagery and Art”. Auteurs and Authorship: A Film Reader, edited by Barry Keith Grant, Blackwell Publishing, 2008, pp. 203-211.