"You know what I think? I think that we're all in our private traps, clamped in them, and none of us can ever get out. WE SCRATCH AND WE CLAW, BUT ONLY AT THE AIR, ONLY AT EACH OTHER, AND FOR ALL OF IT, WE NEVER BUDGE AN INCH." - Norman Bates Psycho.
A vacant motel, an tattered victorian house, taxidermy, and mother... Norman Bates possibly the best engineered murderer in movie history. When Marion first meets Norman, he appears friendly despite his slightly socially awkward persona. He offers to make Marion dinner, and even sits with her while she eats. But, what the audience does not know yet is how deeply disturbed Norman Bates truly is. His insanity is rooted in his disturbed childhood. After his father's death, Norman lived alone with his possessive mother Norma. She taught him that "intercorse is sinful, and that all girls (except for herself) were whores" (wikipedia.org). After killing his mother and her lover out of jealousy, Norman Bates suffered from "dissociative identity disorder" (wikipedia.org), which is one way he dealt with his guilt from murdering his mother. Norman dug up her body, and would have conversations with her, and even dressed up as her. By the end of the movie, Norman had fully taken on the persona of Norma, and her personality possessed him completely. Norman's mental state is perfectly described by the psychologist in the final moments of the film when he says,
"Norman", a child dependent on his mother; "Norma", a possessive mother who kills anyone who threatens the illusion of her existence; and "Normal", a (barely) functional adult who goes through the motions of day-to-day life. "Norma" dominates "Norman" much as she had when she was alive, forbidding him to have any friends and flying into violent rages whenever "Norman" feels attracted to a woman. "Norma" and "Norman" carry on conversations through Bates talking to himself in his mother's voice, and Bates dresses in his mother's clothes whenever "Norma" takes hold completely." (wikipedia.org)
What is creepier than a psychotic taxidermist who often believes himself to be and dresses up as his dead mother when he wants to murder innocent women? I personally find this extremely disturbing. Psycho is my favorite Hitchcock movie for many reasons, but I believe Hitchcock's portrayal of Norman Bates is notably incredible. Yeah he is a cross dresser and murders Marion in the shower, but the one of the creepiest characteristics of Norman, in my opinion, is his affinity for stuffed birds.
In the blog "Subliminal Themes of Hitchcock's Psycho," Rob Ager, perfectly explicates the significance of the constant reference to birds in the film. Norman does not necessarily love birds, but rather stuffed birds. He enjoys having dead birds around, just like he enjoys having his dead mother around. When talking to Marion about his mother in the study of the motel, Norman says, “She’d be all alone up there … she’s as harmless as one of those stuffed birds.” When Norman says this, Hitchcock includes a stuffed bird in the background of the shot (watch clip below, jump to 0:55). Also, at the beginning of the clip (0:00 to 0:08), "We see a stuffed predatory bird in the upper left of the shot" (Rob Ager). Ager also explains that the photograph of the black bird on the wall in Marion's hotel room is related to her death. He claims Norman's method of stabbing her is extremely similar to the pecking of a bird.
In the blog "Subliminal Themes of Hitchcock's Psycho," Rob Ager, perfectly explicates the significance of the constant reference to birds in the film. Norman does not necessarily love birds, but rather stuffed birds. He enjoys having dead birds around, just like he enjoys having his dead mother around. When talking to Marion about his mother in the study of the motel, Norman says, “She’d be all alone up there … she’s as harmless as one of those stuffed birds.” When Norman says this, Hitchcock includes a stuffed bird in the background of the shot (watch clip below, jump to 0:55). Also, at the beginning of the clip (0:00 to 0:08), "We see a stuffed predatory bird in the upper left of the shot" (Rob Ager). Ager also explains that the photograph of the black bird on the wall in Marion's hotel room is related to her death. He claims Norman's method of stabbing her is extremely similar to the pecking of a bird.