'Psycho' Film Still Analysis 2

This scene from Psycho is the first real introduction we get to the character of Norman Bates. We briefly learn about his ‘mother’ and his hobby of taxidermy. This unusual pastime of stuffing dead things for preservation makes Norman an archetypal psycho killer. As this character ties into the historical context by being based on the real story of Ed Gein, his traits are toned down to fit in with the institutional context of the Hays Code. However, because the Ed Gein story was still current at the time, Norman was a particularly scary horror villain to audiences in 1960. This links to the theories of Janet Staiger and her notion of understanding how an audience responds to the film before we can fully understand the film in the first place. 

It is also interesting to note that Norman only really taxidermies birds and the woman he is pursuing is called Marion “Crane” (a type of bird). The setting of his office makes Marion uncomfortable through the use of low key lighting and the chiaroscuro of the shadows. There is a moment of claustrophobia and feeling outside of the CDI when we see the large owl looming over the scene, watching from above. Like the owl, Norman later proves to be a ‘bird of prey’ who kills his innocent victims.