Alfred Hitchcock in the film Psycho and Peter Shaffer in his stage production Equus both explore the true nightmares that manifest from sexual and emotional repression. The writers emphasise the motives and the reason for the characters actions opposed to how the causations of this repression occurred. Conversely, both works draw on the common theme of the disturbed human psyche, offering a critical perspective on the upbringing of each individual with regards to their early development, each characters subcontious fixations and abnormal behaviours through the use characters behaviours and representations. The characters Norman Bates and Marion Crane in Psycho and Allan Strang and Martin Dysart of Equus all face internal struggles against …show more content…
This is seen to when Shaffer displays Alan, front and in centre in order to intensify the effect bringing true significance to his actions. Alan is seen to ‘thrash himself’ as he chants, “Flankus begat Spankus. And Spankus begat…” By Shaffer placing Alan in this position audience is drawn away from Frank presenting the scene and is drawn to Alan as the audience is in horror as Alan presents his ritualistic behaviour. The nouns ‘Flankus’ and ‘ Spankus’ all have symbolistic features all linking back to horses, moreover, this is further interconnected through the symbolism displayed through the ‘bridle’. By Alans new found god, he appeals to Franks ideals of a disinterest of Christianity. Although, by the chanting and ritualistic recreation of the martyrdom of Jesus Christ through self punishment and torture, Alan succeeds in fulfilling the religious worship and ideologies that Dora wants Allan to follow.
Further to this sexual and emotional repression, both Shaffer and Hitchcock realise the explosive and unsafe nature possessed by the characters in indescribable and unknown behaviours. Equus ' portrayal of the Alan Strang’s infatuation with horses indicates the filtration and display of emotions through a widely accepted activity by society. Alan’s adoration for with the horses however is his key link to his sexual repression as Alan describes how his horse Nugget left “sweat on [his] legs from [his] neck” and that Nuggets “sides were all warm.” The
B. Psychoanalytic critics were particularly interested in the horror genre for its uncanny characteristics. The story deals in the realm of the id, ego and superego, all fighting for control of the body. Past horrors are dealt with through the ego defence mechanism, with a lot dealing with repressed sexual tendencies. They also deal with mental health, a term not used during this era, with people who could have schizophrenia, bipolar, or a number of other name illnesses today.
Hitchcock’s Psycho is a great representative of horror and thriller genres. The director masterfully creates an atmosphere of suspense and creates tension. Hitchcock blends characteristics of a thriller with horror, making the audience terrified. The director creates situations that can happen to anybody of the viewers, and thus, makes such scenes even more scaring and disturbing. For instance, the scene of the murder in a shower impresses the audience to a
Vladimir Nabokov’s novel Lolita and Bret Easton Ellis’s novel American Psycho both show the stories of seemingly regular men based off of how they interact with people in their lives while in public view. The main characters from each novel are not normal functioning men of society. Humbert Humbert from Nabokov’s Lolita is a middle aged man who has an obsession with young girls around the age of twelve. Patrick Bateman from Ellis’s American Psycho is an incredibly narcissistic, egotistic, man who is an investment banker by day and serial killer by night. Both men have had a privileged upbringing.
going back to the other views to see where the policeman is and how is
Like many of his films, Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window (1954) is an intense study in the sometimes-jarring idiosyncrasies of its main character, L.B. Jeffries (James Stewart). Jeffries is an observer by nature, a professional photographer confined to his apartment by an injury, with only insurance company nurse Stella (Thelma Ritter) and his girlfriend, Lisa Fremont (Grace Kelly) for company. This limitation impels him to begin observing his neighbors, and he witnesses events that lead him to believe Lars Thorwald (Raymond Burr) has murdered his wide. However, Jeffries’ watchful habit raises serious questions about the relationships between neighbors and ethics of observation in densely-populated urban settings. Rear Window uses set design and disparate camera techniques to codify the acceptable and unacceptable ways in which a city dweller might observe their neighbors, based largely on level on intent.
more creative. This is a good point as if you have a film were there
Though we are disturbed at the evil things he is doing, we feel a sense of sympathy towards him. We feel for him because of how his mother had treated him. We in turn teach our sub consciousness to start blaming the mother for all the murders that have been committed, just like Norman does. Both Norman’s façade of normality and our ambivalence towards his character verifies him as a quintessential psychopath.
“We all go a little mad sometimes,” and that could possibly be exactly how many feel after watching Psycho, released in 1960, and directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Hitchcock took a different route in terms of plot and structure for the typical Hollywood style. Psycho, like a young child never stops asking questions, it leaves us in a state of doubt and unbelief. It is classic horror, with the numerous jump scares leaving us at the edge of our seat, as every moment passes. Yet in the beginning, it 's seems to portray a rather classic form in a sense, a near-Aristotelian story. A woman who appears to be the main character in love, who is then faced with a problem, not enough money to marry her love, who then steals money to help build a future
Am I really awake typing a paper for philosophy? Did I just watch the Hitchcock film Shadow of a Doubt or did the “not so supremely good God” plant a reel of thoughts in my head (Descartes16)? That would be ironic since the themes of the film are based upon human understanding of doubt, dreams, good, evil, ignorance and knowledge. The film portrays a neat staircase that leads into the house of an all American family and a rickety set of stairs off the side of the house that are private and used for escape. After watching the deep hidden meanings and symbolism in the film, one could perceive the image of the parallel staircases like a metaphor for the human mind. This would bring the audience into a deeper place, dark,
Personally to us, the director’s intention was to show how the psychology state of a man depending on his condition can affect his life and those around him. In this case, Norman Bates is affected by the various scenarios that happens in his life. His mother’s passing affected him the most as he murdered her. He took over his mother figure to get rid of guilt and started being her. He was in need of help, but he isolated himself from the outside world and this ‘mother’ personality had a very dominant role in his personal life which resulted in the murders he
In the Movie, American Psycho, Patrick Bateman demonstrate challenges to identify his unique type of personality theories. The purpose of this essay is to review a selected film as a Psychology student, and discuss it from a psychological perspective. Also in this paper providing a diagnosis for a character in the movie and discuss the behaviors that support the selected diagnosis, and to explain and discuss the mental illness depicted in the film.
Before the Psycho by Alfred Hitchcock made its way into theaters across the world, film was produced in a completely different way. Some of the elements that were in Psycho were things that nobody saw in movies before. According to Entertainment Weekly’s Owen Gleiberman, when the movie came out, it took place in “an atmosphere of dark and stifling ‘50s conformity” and that the elements of the film “tore through the repressive ‘50s blandness just a potently as Elvis had.” (Hudson). Alfred Hitchcock changed the way that cinema was made by breaking away from the old, “safe” way of creating a movie and decided to throw all of the unwritten rules of film making out the window. The main ways he accomplished this task was by adding graphic violence, sexuality, and different ways to view the film differently than any other movie before its time.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window, is the story of a photographer named L.B. Jeffries who is currently confined to a wheelchair because of a leg injury and therefore unable to leave his apartment. Out of boredom, he begins watching his neighbors, going as far as to name them and come up with scenarios for them. He seeming has all control and all from the comfort of his apartment. His girlfriend, Lisa, whom he deems “too perfect” and is unable to commit to her fully, is not as interesting as the lives of his neighbors; that is until she herself becomes interested in them as well. Laura Mulvey and Tania Modleski have both written about Rear Window and the way it either follows the normal gender roles or contradicts them. Despite being interested in similar subject matter, the two women have differing opinions on the approach of the film; is Lisa the passive object or the active agent? (Modleski, 723). The arguments presented by both women cause the viewer to not only see this film as a critique on movie viewing but on the male gaze and whether or not the man is truly in control of the world he sees around him.
Beloved, by Toni Morrison, and Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, are masterpieces of literature that use different components to criticize society and explore the nature of humankind. Some of the main characters in the novels – Sethe and Beloved, and Victor Frankenstein and the Monster – have intricate relationships based on love, hatred, remorse, and mainly vengeance. The gothic thematic of each novel is demonstrated through elements that explore the setting of most scenes, as well as the nature of human behavior. The characters who were unnaturally brought to life, Beloved and the Monster, serve as catalysts for the development of the narrative, and have profound effects in all remaining characters.
Growing up with a mother who praised horses and loved God, Alan was very confused. His father, who was a forbiting man. The His father, at one point, changed a poster that was hanging above Alan’s bed from a picture of Jesus to a picture of a horse head on. This idea of the horses and god being one really confused Alan. From this point on, the horse, or Equus, rules **Alan. Alan is taught by his mother that sexuality and religion come as one. This makes Alan believe religion and sexuality come together as one, and because his father changed the picture, he almost changes from worshipping god into an awe of horses. Dalton’s stables are his shrines and the horses are his Gods.** In this play the ideas of worship and passion co exist due to the idea that Alan has a passion for worshipping horses. He goes as often as he can to worship them through rituals. His passion to worship ultimately** over came