Essays

PSYCHO ESSAY

How does Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Psycho’ construct representations of gender?

Sir Alfred Hitchcock, born Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899) was a British film director and producer. He specialised in the ‘suspense’ and ‘psychological thriller’ genres, pioneering many incredible techniques. After becoming successful in the UK, Hitchcock decided to move to Hollywood. He was very successful and popular in both silent films and early talkies.
His career lasted more than half a century. He created himself a distinct and instantly recognisable directorial style. He used the camera so that it mimicked a point of view from a persons gaze. By using this camera technique, he constantly makes the audience feel as if they are in the room, known as Voyeurism. He framed specific shots of the characters to enhance fear and influence the audience to empathise.

He died on 29 April 1980, but not without receiving a Knighthood.
Hitchcock directed many films, most famously ‘Psycho’. It is a 1960 American Thriller, starring Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, John Gavin and Anthony Perkins. It is originally based on the screenplay by Joseph Stefano, who similarly adapted it from the 1959 novel, owning the same name by Robert Bloch.
The film shows the deadly encounter between a middle class secretary, Marion Crane, hiding in a secluded motel after stealing $40,000 from her boss, and the motel’s disturbed owner and manager, Norman Bates, including the aftermath.
Psycho is definitely considered one of Hitchcock’s best films and is highly praised by many critics as a work of cinematic art. The film is under the various genres ‘drama, horror, mystery and thriller’, known as a ‘hybrid’ genre.

In the scene I have chosen to analyse, both main characters Marion Crane and Norman Bates enter his study after Norman has made her some food. The shots which lead up to this scene depict the silhouettes of trees at night, along with the large shape of the house on the hill, strongly reinforcing and defining the mystery of this Bates character, and how dangerous he actually he is. The trees could symbolise the way Bates is watching over Crane and the thoughts he has about her. The non-diagetic sound of rain has previously stopped, creating all focus and attention directly on Marion Crane, showing her character’s importance. However, this represents Marion in a negative light and a weaker character, like a victim in Bates’ comfort zone.

Even the names of the characters in the study have a significance. ‘Bates’ beginning with the letter B and ‘Crane’ beginning with the letter C, could show that even B comes before C, and that Bates will put himself and his mother before Marion.

The lighting in this scene at first is equal between Crane and Bates, before Bates moves further into his study, like a spider on a web. The fact that the shadows are even could imply that he is testing her boundaries and seeing how loyal and honest she really is. Almost as if he is putting himself in her shoes. This creates darker shadows on Bates’ face and shoulders, creating a sense of mystery and confusion as to who he is. This has constructed a stronger representation of his character and gives him a step up on Marion Crane.

The connotations of shadow include darkness and death, as well as being hidden and hiding his identity in the dark. It could also symbolise him hiding his true colours and true intentions as to what will happen.
Marion is seated opposite to Bates eating bread and butter, ironically her last meal before he kills her. The food ‘bread and butter’ implies that everything is simple, when in reality his master plan and the psychologically intense storyline is so much more than that.

In the opening of this scene, Norman Bates is relaxed and confident in himself.
He calls his Mother ‘Linda’ on a few occasions, and not ‘Mom’. This could imply the distance he actually has from his Mother and how she does not love him. Later in the film, we overhear the conversations between Bates and his mother and how weak and belittling their relationship is. This relationship we know little about, possibly implies how his mother is more controlling and is stronger than Bates, representing the female gender in a definitive light.

The interior of the study is a complex one, perhaps mirroring the personality of Norman Bates. There are candles behind him, implying that time is running out, and that there isn’t much time left before Marion will be dead. Candles are also an ancient method of creating light in a room, making the atmosphere seem almost bearable. The camera angle in this scene is mainly focused between the two characters on another side of the table, creating a sense of voyeurism.

During the conversation between Bates and Crane, Crane uninformed of the consequences, mentions Mrs Bates. From this pinnacle moment, something is triggered in Bates’ actions. He suddenly almost stands to attention and becomes instantly protective. His body language becomes closed off as his arms are down and his hands begin to fiddle nervously in his lap. This implies that he is maybe worried that she is onto what and where his mother is. By mentioning his mother, he becomes almost childlike, representing Marion as a mother figure toward Bates momentarily.

The fact that it is a two shot conversation adds great effect to the actual topic of the conversation. As they reach the subject of the mother, the cuts between the two characters show how predatory and threatening Bates is towards Crane. Bates quotes: ‘Harmless as one of those stuffed birds’, referring to his mother. This is an ironic quote as his mother is technically like a stuffed doll that he looks after in his house on the hill. The irony lies within the fact that his hobby of stuffing birds is an obsession, strongly implying that he is devout to the point of obsession, revealing his weakness.

As Bates leans forward toward Crane, showing his controlling nature, he emits a creepy and foreboding presence. During this short yet powerful movement, in the background, just out of focus of the camera is a stuffed owl on the wall. It’s wings are outstretched and it is towering over the small birds behind Marion. This reflects Bates’ control and position of power over Marion, making her seem like the victim or prey. Below the owl are pictures based during the Renaissance period of naked ladies. The naked ladies reflect Marion during the famous shower scene of which we are shown her in a vulnerable state.

Bates seems troubled, and follows up his nervous twitching with sheepish and nervous talking, constantly trying to keep control. The effect that this actually has on the female character is that she could perhaps get control of the conversation.

The non diagetic sound while they sit in the study is the shuffling of Bates’ feet and the slow, slight munching sounds of Marion eating.

The book sat on the desk open is a definite insight into Bates’ mysterious character. The open book could represent how he is ‘reading her like a book’ and trying to suss out the type of person she is. The connotations of a book are that he is psychologically intelligent and is methodically brilliant in the away he almost gets away with the murder of Marion Crane. From an object as simple as a book, we have discovered and have been informed of what Bates’ is like or could be like, creating the impression that he is now like an open book to us as we know of his latter intentions.

During this scene, his hobby of stuffing birds becomes very prominent. We see many of his creations in the background, reinforcing his lonely life and the way in which he lives isn’t satisfying.

The natural nature of birds is that they are small, skitzy and survive. This is mirrored in Bates as we delve into his character, that he is the obsessed one and is in fact an obsession of himself. Birds are also routine creatures, definitely reinforcing Bates’ methodical yet justified method of killing his victims and hiding the crime he has committed. The stuffed birds are also obviously dead, which incorporates an element of death already into the atmosphere.

Birds can also be pets, and if they are pets, they tend to be caged so they cannot escape. This strongly implies that perhaps Bates is fed up of the hold his mother has on him, and that he refers to himself as a caged bird, with a lack of freedom. He is stuck in a rut in his secluded motel and wants to be free. This puts the audience in an awkward position as although we know what is going to happen to her, we at the same time want to empathise with Bates’, no matter how bad the crime he commits is, we realise that there is more than him just being the branded name ‘psycho’.

This study scene leads into the infamous shower scene. Marion Crane excuses herself from the study claiming that she is tired, but not before revealing her true name to Bates. This again triggers something in his head and sends him over the edge.

Perhaps it was something to do with the fact that her last name is ‘Crane’. A connection I made was that a Crane is a bird, implying that she is going to become part of his collection. The fact that her name is a type of bird, creates a slight power struggle as we now know that Bates’ obsession tends to get the better of him. This is then reinforced when Marion excuses herself, reinforcing the fact that whatever control she has left, she is acting upon it and not letting him intimidate her. This gives a positive image of the female gender and that she is independent and has some sense of strength and optimism about the future.

Leading into the shower scene, we are immediately influenced by the power of voyeurism and are put into an uncomfortable and incredibly awkward position as we watch her undress through Bates’ point of view shot. We are introduced to his way of thinking as he supposedly slinks away to his house.

The next shot is a medium shot of Marion getting into the shower. When you’re in the shower you are blissfully unaware of the goings on around you. Marion is completely oblivious as to what is about to happen, which is completely the opposite to us as we know what is to come. By allowing the audience to know more about the inevitable events than the actual characters, we not only empathise with the character, but we also feel guilt as we are not able to warn and save her.

Marion’s position on screen is off to the side, as if she is the victim, or in this case the prey. By not having Marion in the centre of the shot, we then focus more on the background that she is unaware of. Despite the fact that showers are supposed to relieve you, what is about to happen to Marion will stick in the minds of the audience forever, altering their personal showering experiences.

There is a shadow in the background and we realise that the door has opened and a dark figure has entered. The shower curtain blurs this sequence, although it is almost obvious as to who it is, Hitchcock manages to keep the audience guessing. In this instance, Hitchcock had made the representation of gender very clear, as to who is in control in this unsuspecting relationship.

In a short quick sequence of stabbing motions, it seems as if the screen is flashing quickly, making the audience feel uneasy and uncertain as to what is going to become of Marion. There is a long shot which has been incorporated into the sequence which makes it seem as if we are further away from Marion than we would like to be. We, the audience feel for Marion and feel that we should be helping. The non diagetic sound which accompanies this sequence is a series of high-pitched noises which correspond with the stabbing motion made by Bates, again reinforcing the idea of the tragedy and sheer insanity which this film is pumped full of.

The stark contrast between the light and dark of the sequence, i.e. how Marion is under the shower in the light and the dark silhouette of the perpetrator reinforces the genre of horror and death. The water in the shower could link with when she arrived at the motel, unsuspecting, making the final steps into ‘the spiders web’.

As Bates is murdering Marion, we experience a point of view shot to show how much more powerful the character is, and what hold he has over Marion.
As Marion’s lifeless body falls into the bath, the effect the water has on her body is that her life is being drained away from her, leaving her limp and helpless.
She is off centre of the shot, showing how unimportant and weak she is. This shot makes the audience feel uncomfortable, again incorporating the effect of voyeurism.
The camera follows the blood flow down the drain, implying that she is dead, and that perhaps all her troubles and problems in life are now at an end.
This zoom into the drain, then fades to the eye and rotates, implying that her life has gone down the drain, despite the fact that everyone knew it was spiralling down anyway. This shot of her eye implies voyeurism and the earlier point of view shot from Bates as he watched her get undressed which led to this tragic horror scene.
The music takes a strange turn and slows down, mimicking that of a heartbeat, slowing down the pace of the scene and making her seem more vulnerable.
We see the majority of her body, and that she is curled up on herself, creating a bird’s eye view shot, implying that she is actually the weaker gender.
The bird’s eye view shot creates the impression that there is someone else in the room, obviously Bates point of view.
As Bates runs down to the shower room he shouts ‘Oh, Blood! Oh, Mother!’.

The way Hitchcock now has created confusion within the audience as to who actually committed the murder, and has killed Marion. He seems innocent and almost vulnerable as he clears up after his ‘mothers’ act of crime. Like a loyal son, he clears up the mess which has been left without asking any questions.

Throughout the film, ‘Psycho’, Hitchcock skilfully expresses the constant power struggle between Marion and Bates, before the final inevitable outcome which is Marion’s downfall. He cleverly depicts the threatening exterior of Bates, juxtaposed with his insane and tortured interior i.e. his past, and how this possibly effected his actions. He is a very weak, yet strong character as he is unable to think for himself. Hitchcock reinforced this in a number of ways throughout the film, often depicting him as a bird, leaving Marion to be the ‘prey’.

TERMINATOR 2 ESSAY

Discuss the ways in which the extract constructs representations of gender using the following:

Camera Shots/Angles

Mise-en-scene


In class, we studied the film Terminator 2, and paid particular detail to the camera angles, props, location and costumes/clothing. The gender representation throughout Terminator 2 isn’t equal, and there is definitely a constant fight between who is superior to who. We meet our main character Sarah Connor at the beginning of the film in a psychiatric hospital/asylum. We can cleverly deduce from the initial introduction, what we expect from the character. She is not your typical character as you would expect in this sort of film, and there are obvious reasons why.

From when we are first introduced to Sarah Connor, she is being contained in a small room, sanctioned off from everything else. In the background of her holding cell is featured a small barred off window, which could represent her freedom. It encourages the viewer to believe that her freedom is so close, yet she’s not allowed it. Like she’s being restricted.

This is juxtaposed as we follow the doctors and nurses present at the asylum who introduce the character officially. As we reach the end of the corridor, behind the doctors is a large window without any bars or attempts to restrain or restrict you. This is symbolic to the fact that the doctor’s are men, and so have more freedom than Sarah who is a woman. The hierarchy between men and women is shown well here as there are more male doctors than female present in the scene, and the few mental patients we see are actually all feminine.

Slightly later, after the scene where we are introduced to Sarah Connor, we witness a brutal confrontation. The scene involves Sarah when she is about to take her medication. Two rather large men enter the room with tasers and beat her into submission. It has been made evident that Sarah can look after herself after we had the close-up shot of her bicep as she was working out. However, the men in the scene are larger and better built then she is and push their authority on her by force. This again creates the impression that she wants to break free so she can be rid of their brutality.

Soon after she has been beaten into submission, she is left sitting on her bed, folded up on herself. This juxtaposes the previous image we had of her being strong and physically fit, with a weak and vulnerable woman. This is also reinforced when we see an almost angelic aura of light radiating out from behind Sarah. A possible representation of this could be that she has clarity and understanding of what’s going on around her and what she has to do, however she is being oppressed by the people in the asylum and is struggling to break free of their bonds.

In her recurring dream, she is featured rattling a fence. You could say she is on the ‘wrong side of the fence’ and had she been on the other side, she could have prevented the event. Her shouting and anger shows her distress, however she is acting how you would expect a woman to react, verbally rather than physically. A man in the same situation would have simply climbed the fence and saved all the people in danger, or at least tried his best. This shows a possible emotional barrier that Sarah has, and that she is irritated with herself that she can’t change the dream. Consequently, she is the only one ‘conscious’ in the dream that is able to talk, although not communicate. It’s almost as if she is watching from the outside, again revealing her weaknesses.

After her dream, we witness a previous video tape where she describes the dream. She is in a white asylum standard gown and is seemingly depressed and upset. She is being interviewed, and is using a weak yet confident voice to portray how she is ‘feeling’. However, she is lying to the male doctors at the asylum and manages to escape. This could correspond with the earlier idea that men are physically more capable than women, but to suggest that women have a better mental capacity and understanding than men do.

There again is a reasonable sized window in the background with light filtering in which encourages a sense of escape. The cigarette in her hand again resembles a possible escape i.e. Death – a last resort.

Later in the film, Sarah is portrayed as being more secretive which is evident from her hiding behind her dark lenses. Her whole physique and posture tells the audience that she is thinking about something important. Briefly, she lets her guard down and shows us how she really feels when she relates to the ‘Terminator’ and how idyllic a man he is. This goes against her personality traits completely, and shows her weakness. On the other hand it’s also ironic how the ideal man isn’t even a man. He’s made from metal and wires. This could possibly symbolise that there isn’t such thing as the perfect man.

Moments later, she snaps back into her facade and is geared up in clothing which to a normal person would appear as if she has a mission to carry out. The army type clothing is typical to that of which a man would wear, equipped with guns and ammunition of some sorts. This again brings to light the sheer animal aggression she has cooped up inside herself, and perhaps after being locked away in the asylum, she is starting to break free and realise her full potential. This idea is reinforced perhaps by the terminator in the background and how although she knows she is safer with him, she also has her individual determination to break free of the stereotype and be her own person.

Reflected well in the penultimate scene is the fact that Sarah is now the ‘damsel in distress’, juxtaposed with her supposed hard exterior. She is being supported and helped when running so as not to fall behind. This shows that she is now weaker than the other two main characters who are in fact men. However, as she is being helped to keep up with the able bodied men, this shows that their differences have been put aside and that both the men and women are equal in this situation.

Sarah doesn’t want to, but portrays herself as a weak and vulnerable target to the enemy and becomes a threat to the mission.

Referring back to the idyllic husband imagery, the main good Terminator then sacrifices himself to save the other main characters, Sarah and John. This adds to his ideal qualities and almost seems to show up the human race. This reflects positively on the male gender to be brave and courageous even in the face of certain death.

The colours are extremely effective in this final sequence, ranging from warm, brash reds to cool and delicate blues. In the scene, the reds really stand out and are cleverly placed in the factory area. When the red colour shines through, it tends to cover most of the enemies face, creating the impression that he is evil, but at the same time powerful. When this colour is on Sarah’s face, it is in the minority, and is actually mostly covered in the calmer, simple blue light. Looking back at this, this could insinuate that although she has a rough exterior and will fight to the death to prove a point, she also has a more natural, mothering/loving side to her personality. Contrasted with the Terminator character, which has no emotion, this could be significant as to suggest that men in general lack to show emotions.

An interesting point which I came across in the film was when the good terminator is injured and piecing himself back together again, the bad terminator is going after Sarah and John Connor. They are standing on a stairwell and the threat is at the bottom of the stairs. Normally, the difference in levels should mean that Sarah and John are in no immediate threat of danger. However the tables have turned in these circumstances as the terminator is clearly stronger. The high angle shows a certain sense of vulnerability as if Sarah and her son are trapped/in a dangerous position.

Triumphantly however, when all hope looks to be lost, the good terminator, Arnold Schwarzenegger, emerges from the cold coloured smoke. Again, mirroring the idyllic male icon to the audience, and showing how things should be handled.

The last instant we see the good terminator, he is living up to his expectations and is dying for a good cause. He is portrayed in the light zone as being almost a saviour from heaven for Sarah and John. The music in the background is triumphant and almost victorious as he is lowered down towards his death. It appears as if he is almost optimistic about his death, and seeing as it is at the hands of someone he trusts, he is almost happy to accept it. An image which was portrayed in my head is that if this scene is true, men must be able to deal with death much easier than women.

In this film, the general stereotype of a woman being the weaker sex has been almost completely obliterated in the form of Sarah Connor. Although the terminator is a strong and obviously masculine character, the female character reinforces her part in the film. Her appearance compared to the terminators is slight, but she shows few if any signs of being the weaker sex.



SEMIOTICS

In one of our lessons, we focused on Semiotics. We looked into what they were and were given many examples, as well as making our own.

The word 'semiotics' is from Greek origin meaning 'observant of signs'. Semiotics is the study of signs and sign processes, focusing on the metaphor and symbolism of an object for example.
Semiotics is closely linked to 'Linguistics', which is the study of the structure and meaning of language.
'Semiotics' is often divided into three branches. The first is Semantics which is the relation between signs and what they refer to i.e. their denotation. The second is Syntactics which is the relations among signs in formal structures.
The final is Pragmatics which is again the relation between signs, but also the effects that they have on people who use them.
An example of a Pragmatic could be - a pragmatic approach by where the use of social interaction improves the communication between two people.
A famous Semiotician, Umberto Eco was sure of the fact that every cultural phenomenom can be studied through communication. Other Semioticians decided to focus on the more logical side. Especially science. They looked into different areas belonging to the natural sciences for example; how organisms predict to adapt.
The importance of being able to interpret and understand various signs has been importantly recognised throughout 'philosophy', as well as psychology. An age old theory involves Plato and Aristotle as the explored the relationship between signs and the world they were living in. The theories have had a long lasting effect on philosophy.
Umberto Eco, in his study of 'Semiotics and the Philosophy of Language' has argued that Semiotic theories are not plainly expressed.
Charles Sanders Peirce, born 1839, died 1914, was a well known logician who discovered philosophical pragmatism.
He defined that something such as an object, goes on to determine a sign which influences an interpretation.
Semiotics could branch out from a single personal view of a specific word to a picture completely pulled apart and labelled with various different connotations and denotations.
An example;



The simple ideas that come from this basic picture of a love heart could be; The colour is red, which could symbolize love, longing and lust. Red also reflects anger or blood which could be a literal connotation seeing as it's a heart - a vital organ. The shape of the heart is of classic nature where you would imagine a school child, or someone of less ability to draw it. The image is bold and by itself, linking to the idea of a lonely heart or a missing link?

This is a basic idea involving semiotics as far as the image goes. A key thing to remember is to comment on what is actually there, as well as what you have interpreted i.e. what different things this could symbolise. This will expand the outlines of the image and make the break down more interesting.