Socio-Cultural Influences in Psycho

1. What do the film's themes say about the culture it's part of?

Some of the themes that occur in this film include corruptibility, confused identities, voyeurism, human vulnerabilities and victimization, the deadly effects of money, Oedipal murder, and dark past histories are realistically revealed. This gives a negative view on the culture as well as people who follow this culture. According to it's theme of victimization, anyone can be a victim to a horrific murder especially a thief, or any person who commits a crime.One other important theme that expresses the culture is dark past histories are realistically revealed, this could possibly mean that is some of us, which are more then we think, have dark pasts that effect us in the future and when revealed, it dangerous and  gruesome. 

2. What is the film's geographical and historical context?
. Like all Hitchcock's movies he did not follow the  outdoor filming stereotype during this time, instead he did the exact opposite and stayed with small sets, such as his film Lifeboat. Furthermore the plot  of Hitchcock's films also has some similarities. In a lot of his films we see women being violently murdered, such as, Frenzy, Rear Window,The Birds etc.Many feminist critics found this startling. Lastly some visual elements that Hitchcock focused on was communicating to the audience with visuals and camera shots unlike most films during this time that relied on dialogue 

3. What big questions does the film address?

The question that the film addresses is that good people, such as Marion can have bad things happen to them, especially if they have committed a crime. This karma can be true and can also be a harsh reality. Lastly the film answers the question on weather or not America can handle the dark side of reality.

4. How does the film add to the ongoing discourse?

b. One of the more significant reasons Psycho had become apart if film history and of the continuing controversy was due to the it's new portrayal of sex and violence. This was unorthodox at the time, especially after a time of Production codes, which dictated what should and should not be censored during the 1960's. For this reason the movie gained to much controversy, even from the opening seen we see Sam and Marion in the same bed, with Marion in a bra.This was never seen before not only was a couple shown in the same bed, but Marion was exposing herself much more then a women would normally in a film that had gone through Production Code. Furthermore the film broke other guidelines in film such as a toilet flushing, showing a man's butt, etc. As far as violence there were several changes, such as shots were removed including the murder or Arbogast and a shot of the mother's dead corpse. In addition the shower scene was suppose to have minor changed because of the gore and violence, however this never happened and in the end was exactly the same.Alt the although  the unseen exposure to murder,blood and sex, the film itself was the best and the most popular thriller at this time. The critic Robert Ebert explains.It wasn't a message that stirred the audiences, nor was it a great performance...they were aroused by pure film."

5. Where does it fall in the evolution of the genre? Primitive/Classic/Revisionist/Parody

In the evolution of genre,the film Psycho would fall under the Classic. This was a film that had a ripple effect and theretofore influenced many films after, hence it's a classic, or the original that other film makers take from.Psycho explored topics that were never put in a film, and it later shaped how we saw film as an audience, as a result sparked one of the biggest developments in film. One other large in knowing that the film is a classic, is that we can still refer to it 50 years later, as all the time as gone by, 50 years, we still are talking and learning from this one film.  Psycho was one of the biggest movies of its time and continues to still make a large impact in learning about film. This film is a perfect fit for the classic genre. 

6. What is the film’s socio-cultural context?

a. as a work from a specific country?

 David Thomson author of  "The Moment of `Psycho': How Alfred Hitchcock Taught America to Love Murder," explains how "It's the beginnings of a flood of violence. Violence becomes more acceptable in film. It's a whole new attitude to the criminal personality. It becomes more interesting in a way that had never really operated before." . After the film America had loved the thrill of it, and did not find a problem as censorship completely diminished when violence and murder were introduced.

b. As a work from a specific culture?

It was the film itself that had made it one of the best films in history, like one famous critic said " What makes "Psycho" immortal, when so many films are already half-forgotten as we leave the theater, is that it connects directly with our fears: Our fears that we might impulsively commit a crime, our fears of the police, our fears of becoming the victim of a madman, and of course our fears of disappointing our mothers." 
 c. As a work representing a specific part of its society?
This film represented a new unexplored part of society that no other film every portrayed. It showed the part of society that was violent and was greedy. In the film we find taboos and unorthodox scenes and situation from something simple as flushing the toilet to the nudity of a women to the murder of a women, all this a reality of society revealed within the film to the public. 

d.Hitchcock did not try to target any type of audience, the crowd simply liked his films for the art of it, not because of their age,gender,or any specific type of pubic. He is compared to Shakespeare with his "targeting", if he were to attract any mass pubic, it was because he was successful.  

e. As a work made for a specific reason? The film was made because Hitchcock wanted to express is own artistic needs without cooperation like Paramount rejecting his ideas because they were to gruesome. Hitchcock wanted a film that belonged to the film makers.