Narrative Devices in Hitchcock's 'Psycho'

The film Psycho(1960)  Directed by the late Alfred Hitchcock uses many different narrative devices to progress the story and have unique effects on the audience.
 
The film begins with the camera tracking into the hotel window where we first meet two characters Marion Crane and her lover Sam, They are discussing marriage and how it wont be possible for them to marry for some time as they do not have the efficient funds which to some audience members could be seen as the disruption in Todorovs theory which would lead to the recognition of disruption which would be her stealing the $40,000 from work, Her attempt to repair the disruption by leaving town is what eventually leads to her violent death by Norman Bates, Her own materialistic and selfish motivations are what eventually ends her life.

For a long time the narrative follows only Marion and her story which includes a lot of close ups as she is driving while voiceovers of her employers and her sister could be heard, all while a very fast paced terrifying music was played which gave the audience a sense of claustrophobia, These effects together connotes being trapped and that their is no way out of the decision that she has made and it emphasizes the guilt she is feeling. Hitchcocks use of camera angles are very interesting in this film, he uses a lot of Point of View shots for example when Norman is looking through the hole in Marion's room, The camera has a circle framing to show that we are looking at it the way Norman is looking at it. The low angle shot of Norman in which it the focus is more on the stuffed bird in the corner, the stuffed bird is made so it appears to be in mid flight like it is attacking its prey, I believe this could be Hitchcock's way of foreshadowing the attack on Marion. The use of the shot/reverse shot during the conversation between Norman and Marion is used to show how the relationship is progressing and it shows how Normans affections for Marion are building. We are given an omniscient view of the attack in the shower as Hitchcock uses a medium close up on Marion so that the audience can see that someone is behind her and that some form of action is going to take place with out Marions knowledge. The tracking into the newspaper on the bedside after the murder takes place signifies that the murderers motivations wasn't to steal the money.

The characters in Psycho i believe are very unique as it is hard to categorize many of the Characters, Some people would argue that from Vladimir Propps character types, Norman Bates is the villain but i disagree and say the true villain although dead is Normans alter ego aka his mother. I dont believe there is a 'hero' from Propps character theory in Pyscho, I believe every character they are all victims of Marion's actions. So i would say that the film doesnt meet the stereotypical characters that the audience would be expecting.

The narrative of Pyscho causes the audience to have some enigma codes such as the close up of the money on the bedside after the murder raises the question 'What will happen to the money?'. The close up on Detective Arbogast when we first see him on camera raises the question of 'Is he here to help?' as we see by the constant cut back to close up on him that he is going to progress the story and that he is a important character.

The Binary oppositions raised in Pyscho are things such as Sanity vs Insanity, Norman Bates represents insanity due to his split personality while the rest of the characters such as Sam and Marion's sister represent civility and sanity. Another Binary opposition raised is Socialisation vs Isolation, The bank and employers represent the wealth and city in the film which are key in society, the Bates Motel represents isolation and loneliness as it stands on a nearly derelict highway.

Overall, Using Todorovs theory there is a new Equilibrium, but it is that of Dark, Vulgar equilibrium as there are many dead and Normans mother still remains inside of him, the film ends with the camera tracking into Normans face while a voice over of his mother speaking to herself, The shot is of Norman in solitary confinement and the use of the close up supports it and signifies entrapment and detainment. The choice of the film being in black and white contributes to the Story Line of the play as it adds to the themes of Unhappiness and Isolation, and death,all these themes are negative which Black is usually associated with Death.