Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, made in 1960, is one of the most widely recognized horror films to date. Working around the tight constraints of censorship laws, Hitchcock managed to create a film that marked a massive change in American cinema, being one of the first films to depict violence and sexuality in a graphic way. ... The shower scene where Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) is murdered comes at about forty minutes into the film. ... Hitchcock didn't want to hide anything from the audience, but rather create an environment that would be calming for them, thus intensifying the action...

• Word Count: 936
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

In film, the male gaze develops when the audience is put in place of the heterosexual male behind the lens and displays the female as a sexual object for both the characters in the film, as well as the audience watching the film. ... This is not apparent specifically in films alone, this is apparent in art, film, music, videos, and especially in advertising. ... Hitchcock's movies, particularly the ones described, scopophilia and voyeurism is always the main focus to the plot and follows these issues to pull us in as an audience. Hitchcock's characters usually follow a specific role ...

• Word Count: 1485
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Psycho The notion of watching and being watched treads predominantly in the film Psycho as Hitchcock painstakingly employs various film techniques to heighten the voyeuristic effect, especially that on the film audiences. As a thriller and at times a mystery film, these techniques reinforce and invoke anxiety, fear and suspense within the plot of the story. ... The audience, who has followed and experienced Marion's previous escapades with her, is subjected to the policeman's scrutiny as well: they share her guilt. ... Bate's overhanging bird taxidermies contribute to the mis...

• Word Count: 1889
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

The invention of cinema and the projection of films on just about any screen meant that this form of entertainment managed to make more accessible what was previously available to just a select group of society. ... As a result, beginning with the early days of silent film, the matter over the content of movies and the need to regulate it emerged in the American society and it continued to arise even more often after the introduction of sound film. ... The national concerns over matters such as eugenics and declining birth rate lead to an increased interest in sexuality and the morality of soc...

• Word Count: 1732
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

The use of mixed camera angles adds to the element of surprise in the particular scene where a shower is followed by murder. ... The use of heavy shadow across the intruders figure provides an extremely thrilling and horrible sight for the audience and, in the film, for Marion. ... As is obvious, Alfred Hitchcock has certainly used various film elements to create a spectacular and unique scene which thrills the audience through surprise, disturbance and violence. ...

• Word Count: 727
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate