Norman Bates Psychology In Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho By Alfred Freud

People often ponder if there is an unconscious drive behind their actions. The psychoanalytical theory explores the causes of Norman Bates’ crime within what makes him up. It suggests that his misconduct is the result of disturbances in his emotional development from his early childhood. The traumatic upbringing he suffered may have led him to developing antisocial tendencies that encouraged his long-term psychological troubles. The psychoanalytical theory claims that he represses many of his feelings and desires that prompt his actions driven by his unconscious mind. Norman’s monster-like crimes are intensified by the music and lighting in the 1960’s thriller Psycho by Alfred Hitchcock that stem from his longing and attachment to his dead …show more content…
Freud’s theory explains that children have sexual instincts that are present and later repressed. A normal childhood would be for the child to repress these sexual feelings towards one’s own parents, but act on them with other people. Because of his mother’s domineering personality, Norman never interacted with other people. He only knew his mother so as he grew up, he never had the opportunity to explore his sexual desires with other people. Due to that, Norman developed an Oedipus complex where during his childhood he had the desires to practice his sexual desires on his mother, but was not able to do so. He loved his mother and was unusually jealous of her lover like any other man would be jealous of those close to their beloved partner. This love urged him to kill his mother and her …show more content…
He is always shot with a side-on close-up which conceals his other side, whereas Marian’s face is always captured in a full-on close-up. The more Norman socializes with Marion, the more uneasy he becomes. His shy and friendly personality starts to wash away with his angry and oversensitive responses about his mother. When Marion suggests to Norman putting his mother in a mental institution, he, answers with a rage, “You mean an institution? A mad house? People always call a madhouse someplace, don’t they? Put her someplace… Have you ever seen the inside of those places?” (Erb 45). Erb discusses how, “this moments [broke] Norman’s facade of politeness,” when he attacked Marion with his words. The way Norman describes his mother’s harmless mental illness expresses the oppression he used to feel from his mother growing up. His tone makes it clear that he feels free not being trapped under her dominant nature anymore. His tone appears full of anger and hatred that suggests to the audience that he has gone through many pitiful experiences with his mother. This makes the audience feel pitiful towards him, but the shadow of his face in the room does not stop them from suspecting a dark intention behind his