Psycho (1960) Image Analysis - Norman as "Mother"

When looking at this scene, we can see a difference in the zeitgeist of when this was made. This is illustrated through the fact that Norman is dressed in women’s clothes, and transvestites weren’t very commonly acknowledged in 1960. We also see links in with Ed Gein, giving this a clear historical context. Ed Gein would dress up as a woman, kill his victims and even make a suit out of their skin, giving a slight comparison which is what Hitchcock was aiming for. At the time, this scene would have been more powerful to the audience who aren't used to transvestites. This could also be noted through the references to Ed Gein, which was a recent event in America so it would have been the first thing that anyone watching this at the time would think of. This scene has low key lighting to start with, but jumps in with some ambient lighting revealing Norman as the killer. This lets us see a variety of lighting techniques used simultaneously. With this scene, we start out with Lila looking for Mrs Bates. We see slight collision cutting here as it is very tense with her walking up to Mrs Bates, then cuts to a sudden scream and dramatic music of Norman coming around the corner.