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- 10/29 Were you suspicious?
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While watching Psycho, were you surprised by the big reveal near the end?
or
If you became suspicious, what scene(s) started you to wonder about the killer’s identity>?
(If you had already seen the film, try to think back to when you first saw it.)
Did you notice something in this brief sequence? Please explain…
https://www.dropbox.com/s/mrytbbs7d1q2gxu/Norman%20walks.avi?dl=0
It is under a minute long and is called Norman walks.avi
While watching Psycho, were you surprised by the big reveal near the end? or If you became suspicious, what scene(s) started you to wonder about the killer’s identity>?
I was definitely suspicious the entire time that we hear about Norman’s mother, but we do not see her whatsoever. There’s a light always on in his house, which makes you believe she’s there when she isn’t. And in the murder scene, her face still isn’t shown. The film makes sure she’s hidden the entire time, which made me think that she has either long passed away, or it’s someone else dressing as her, taking her place. And the way Norman speaks about her so defensively when inviting Marion to eat in the room behind his office.
Now here is a perfect example of the difference between a film and a novel. In the novel, we use our imagination to provide a voice and a face, but a movie has to work around that. Actresses provided the voice for Mrs. Bates, and the obscured face…well you got it right.
Did you notice something in this brief sequence? Please explain…
Norman walks as though he has hips, like a woman, when he’s going up the stairs. Like he’s purposely swaying his hips. I don’t know if that’s just how he walks, but it adds everything up upon reaching the end of the film.
Anthony Perkins was directed to walk that way by Alfred Hitchcock. It was meant to seem odd and create curiosity.
The major disclosure at the end caught me off guard; it hadn’t occurred to me that Norman had been his mother the entire time. Norman seemed to be chatting to someone when he was arguing with his mother, something I never would have expected. I thought Norman kept his mother inside and didn’t want anyone talking to her because she was dangerous and miserable. I was convinced there was a real person there because of the way he talked about not wanting to leave her, especially when the audience could occasionally see her silhouette in the window. And even after the cops confirmed she had been dead for years, it never occurred to me that Norman had taken his mother’s place. I was under the impression that they had murdered someone else and kept the mother hidden. A hint that should have popped out at me was that the mother moved quickly and swiftly during both murder scenes, which no sickly person could do, but I didn’t notice.
I am frankly happy that despite 61 years of fame and publicity , the secret worked for you!
Norman’s method of walking up the stairs makes him appear to swing his hips, which is more feminine, so it should have been a clue as well.
While watching Psycho, were you surprised by the big reveal near the end? Or if you became suspicious, what scene(s) started you to wonder about the killer’s identity?
I do find this scene suspicious because as Norman enters the room he begins to talk to someone. As soon as his mother is talking back I was wondering if his mother was inside that room? I’ve been asking is Norman acting as his mother in this scene or is two different persons. I remember in the scene when Marion was in the shower she was stabbed multiple times. During that scene, we can’t see the person in other words the face wasn’t shown but we can see the hair bun that person had on.
Do you mean the scene after when the sheriff called and Norman went to his mother’s room to carry her to the cellar? There were clearly two different voices. The camera angles further obscured her, but was there something about the voices themselves that made you suspicious?
Did you notice something in this brief sequence? Please explain…
I noticed that Norman when he was walking up the stairs his hips are more of a way how a female would walk.
While watching Psycho, were you surprised by the big reveal near the end?
Near the end of Psycho, I was surprised when psychiatrist explains what happened to Norman. That he had murdered his mother and her lover years earlier, after feeling abandoned by her. I was shocked truthfully.Did you notice something in this brief sequence? Please explain…
Norman’s method of walking up the stairs makes him appear to swing his hips, which is more feminine, so that made my question what was going on.And that’s what it was supposed to do!
If you became suspicious, what scene(s) started you to wonder about the killer’s identity?
I read the novel before viewing the film, so the “reveal” happened in text rather than on screen. I first became suspicious when Norman woke up at his desk after the murder. It struck me that Mary had not observed the mother directly, and the missing time from Norman’s perspective was certainly subject to scrutiny. When the claim that Mrs. Bates was dead was presented, I wondered if Norman’s taxidermy (and the stuffed squirrel in the house) would come into play.
Did you notice something in this brief sequence? Please explain…
In retrospect this scene shows Norman transforming into “Mother” before the conversation is overheard. Mother’s use of the term “fruity” is a subtle reference to a common homophobic slur of the day that would have been applied to any non-conforming, anatomically presenting male, hinting at Norman’s conflicted identity.
When I first included Psycho in the syllabus I did, indeed, assign the novel first, but after comments from students later decided to assign the film first: to honor Mr. Hitchcock’s wishes.
Asher, I assume you are reading all the group emails. I did make it clear that only for Psycho would we reverse the
film-after-reading routine. I hope you enjoyed both regardless.
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