Root of Evil
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Psycho
twinA — 6 years ago(May 20, 2019 07:22 PM)
Norman is not used to not being confronted by so many people at once. The only reason why "mother" is able to murder
Marion and Arbogast
is because they're separated from the crowd present in the closest town over away from the beaten path where Norman's activities can go by unnoticed and unchallenged, or rather, unabated (pun intended).
All the victims in mother's murder spree were picked off one-by-one like grapes sampled from a vineyard, the fruit either tasting the tender love that is cared for it or is rotting off the vine and impacting the floor from neglect; the qualities which both simultaneously reflect Norman's upbringing.
This dichotomy, this vineyard branch, snaps the moment pressure is applied to it, bending it in half, getting to the root of the cause. The foundation crumbles in Norman's psyche and the blur between his personality and mother's merges to reveal a truth even he does not understand because "mother" is there to protect him.
The very nature of ourselves is reflected in our smallest contrivances, most often through our eyes, the gateway to our soul. Everyone is free to do what they wish with their inner will, which Norman vehemently struggles with his. His eyes cry for help, the pleas of a helpless person whose echoes are drowned out in a storming sea.
He is Icarus, the Greek mythological figure, who despite his best attempts to escape the most daunting of obstacles (in Norman's case, the "tower" within his mind), is unable to truly break free even with support from others when his condition is recognized (going strictly by the events of the Psycho film).
~~/o/ -
twinA — 6 years ago(May 20, 2019 08:06 PM)
It could be Norman's mom being overbearing on him, not listening to her son's need for a parent to guide him in life, much the same way Icarus did not listen to his father's instructions not to fly too close to the sun, causing his crude flying apparatus to no longer work as intended.
It is true of most of us, excellent point, which is why this revelation is scary. Even though most people will grow up to become functioning adults contributing to society in their own way (hopefully!), what happened to Norman could happen to anyone in succumbing to a psychotic breakdown with similar experiences. Who knows what can happen when we are all pushed to our limit. This is all speculation on my part; am no expert in the field of psychology.
That said, the power of suggestion, getting people to look for something by saying it's there when it may not be there otherwise, is not to be understated.
~~/o/ -
twinA — 6 years ago(May 21, 2019 02:45 AM)
You're not wrong.
My take was to elaborate further on what the esteemed psychologist had to say.
The fact that a social taboo had to be crossed at the time (a man wearing woman's clothes) in order to figure out Norman's mental ordeal just comes to show how far Hitchcock was willing to push the audience's personal boundaries and comfort levels, including the filming of a toilet being flushed (1960s western standards).
~~/o/ -
twinA — 6 years ago(May 21, 2019 02:35 AM)
I was being brainy on purpose, pretending to be one of those armchair intellectuals. (^_^)
Now that you're in on my act, my posts should come off a lot more funnier the next time you read them for how overly worded (verbose) and colorful (lurid) they are.
Basically, I meant to say in my posts is that often times we can't see things clearly because they are directly in front of us, things we take for granted because the problems are in places we would not look for in the first place.
Norman's problem is that he lives alone, keeping his "mother" in control of him. He has two choices seeing the outside world:- He embraces change
or - He becomes angry and fights the things he does not understand.
It's kind of like the fight or flight response scenario.
EDIT: Give and take would be a better analogy here, not fight or flight.
~~/o/
- He embraces change
