"In films murders are always very clean. I show how difficult it is and what a messy thing it is to kill a man." These are the words of Alfred Hitchcock, the genius director of the film Psycho. This statement might be interpreted as referring to the famed "shower scene." However Hitchcock is referring to a horrific psychological murder, one that killed a man and conceived a monster. Thus, Hitchcock crafts Norman Bates, a young man ravaged by horrid mental complexities, and through the use of mise en scene and vivid imagery, a character emerges who has no control over his own thoughts or actions. .
Hitchcock uses the black and white color of the movie in order to emphasize the contrast of light and dark, and through this Norman's plague is exposed. The black and white film allows for a focus on Norman's clothes. Hitchcock allows for those dressed in white to be of good nature, and those dressed in black to be of evil and duplicitous nature. Norman's uncontrollable inner conflict is illustrated by the way in which he is clothed. When he first encounters Marion, he is clothed in white, an implication that he is a good man. In a later scene, Arbogast confronts Norman while Norman is dressed in black. In the finale of the film, Sam and Lillia arrive and Norman is dressed in white. However, Norman is seen minutes later clothed in a black dress. The vivid alternations of color and thus implication, elaborate on the graveness of Norman's mental condition. It is psychologically impossible for someone to consciously undergo such quick and drastic mental 180's. Thus, through brilliant use of mise en scene, and specifically clothing, Hitchock implies Norman's inability to govern his thoughts and actions. .
Via the use of haunting imagery, Hitchcock is further able to convey to his audience that Norman has no control over either thought or deed. As Lillian scours the Bates residence in search of Mrs.
