Portraying Serial Killers as Celebrities, Heroes, and Icons in Modern Media Forms

Analysis of Psycho
Alfred Hitchcock directed a movie called Psycho in 1960. The movie is a horror laced with lots of psychological suspense. The movie storyline is developed from Psycho, a novel written by Robert Block and published in 1959. The novel, on its part, drew inspiration from Ed Gein murders. Psycho has been widely regarded as the first-ever slasher film. Although it got mixed reviews at the onset, it is now considered one of the greatest films produced by Hitchcock, and indeed one of the greatest films of all time.
Indeed, Antony Perkins, the Ed Gein (Norman Bates), was rated the second-best movie villain of all time by the American Film Institute (Gorshin, 2014). According to common parlance, Norman Bates suffers from Disassociate Identity Disorder ( DID), which was earlier known as multiple personality disorder. This view is interesting in all its weight and breadth. It is also a compelling psychological finding due to its shock value (Wilhelmi, 2020). This essay aims to contrast two analyses to determine the most befitting version that exposes serial killers' true characters.
Comparing and Contrasting Movie Psycho and Diagnosis of Norman Bates
There are many cases through the show where dissociative identity disorder indications have been made. Before developing another personality, alterations were made to his character and behavior, which linked him to a higher chance of developing the dissociative disorder. He could look at you while expressing no emotion at all. He adopted a stiff posture, which suggested flatness. In another scene, he claims that he feels powerless concerning his actions and words. Such a stance demonstrates a depersonalized demeanor.
Amnesia is yet another way to diagnose DID. There were numerous instances in which Norman could not remember what he had done or said when the second personality was in charge. He refers to such periods as when he had blackouts. Such blackouts occur in the middle of a stressful or traumatic encounter. Norman gates undergo sexual intercourse or when confronted with his past murderous recollections (Dawar, 2018).
The third criterion is through the disruption of one's normal functioning. This manifested in Norman's emotional and social relationships. The other personality always threw him off balance and prevented him from getting close to others apart from his mother. Socially, he had become awkward, although there were a couple of instances when he felt drawn to some women, but when they tried to move closer, he would recline into his protective cocoon and murder them.
The fourth criterion points out that people with MPD will commonly indicate a comorbid diagnosis. In the movie, Norman Bates suffered from anxiety, depression, and often a seizure that wasn't epileptic. These instances were reflected in the implications of suffering from MPD. Fifthly, patients with MPD should not show such symptoms because of the abuse of drugs. According to Show (Dawar, 2018), Norman Bates has never abused drugs.
Diverse Perspectives and interpretation of Real World Connections or Behaviors
According to Sigmund Freud (1919), one of the reasons that change something scary into an uncanny one is the castration complex. In the Norman Bates case, the uncanny aspect emanates from the Oedipus complex unsolved. The complex is manifested in the form of a pathological complication. It would be appropriate to say that childhood issues come back through psychotic disorders. The consequence is what constitutes splitting the self. In terms of psychosis, there is discordance in how the ego relates to the world outside. If the ego stands for the person and their social conduct, it implies that the individual experiences difficulty handling the actual world. Thus, they cannot draw a line between what is real and what is not.
Consequently, the split personality has become synonymous with terror (Freud, 1919, p. 12). The Gothic outcome could manifest as an external threat, but it renders voice to the internal anxieties (Kavka, 2002). Through apprehension of the fear linked to our erratic nature, the Gothic effect can easily exploit us' evil side.
Nevertheless, in Bates Motel, the mental disorder that Norman suffers is only implied when he experiences lapses of memory. Then, he acts strangely and cannot recall any of the strange things that happen. The first TV series season, in this instance, only offers glimpses of what the Gothic effect could be, relative to the uncanny and double phenomena.
We are subjected to reflections of the people in the film through windows or mirrors. The images reflected stand for psychological projection. When Lila Cranes looks around in the bedroom of Mrs. Bate, it is another instance of projection. She views herself in a mirror but does not remember that there is another mirror behind her. Momentarily, she thinks, like we do, that there is a woman behind her. However, it is not another woman but a reflection of Lila. She has directed her projection into the private space of Bate's family and precisely on Mrs. Bate. She imagines, briefly, that Norman's mother intrudes into Lila's personal space (Gorshin, 2014).
Analysis of Popular Culture Forms
Psycho has invasively influenced culture. It first appeared in the turbulent 1960s and initiated a culture change from the era of Eisenhower. Owen Gleiberman noted in his suggestion that the monsters of the movie did not breathe fire anymore. They were not the Godzillas or aliens from space, but they existed in the head of a single man who would soon be caught in real-life terrors perpetrated by such murderers as Charles Manson and Whitman.
The movie pronounced that murder was going to be acceptable as a form of entertainment. Violence was evident in American Film, but nothing was close to what Psycho presented. There had been nothing so intimate and designed in the fashion of Psycho. Psycho did not contain an iota of remorse (Dollar, 2018). Influence by the media operates on the premise of a linear meaning transmission to a passive audience. It thrives on audiences which are not critical, homogenous and that culture at a high level varies qualitatively in various ways that are clear from the culture that is popular (Livingstone, 1998)
When the structure of Regeneration by violence is related to a serial killer's concept being maintained as a popular topic, one could say that the subject is as popular because of the struggle that ensues internally, which Slotkin refers to. The serial killer is not only embodied as the wilderness in those who hunt for justice for the victims could be said to be an idea that the audience toys with and looks forward to but fears in its interest for the wilderness too. Such a paradox could explain the interest in such topics as the serial killer in the US's popular culture. Fictional or factual killers are included in a desperate effort to escape or even deny destruction by being identified with the destruction agent.
Consequently, it implies that the serial killer subject in popular culture provides the audience with the opportunity to explore Caputi's destruction without showing such a destructive side in actual life. Suppose serial killers are seen as a reality in modern life. In that case, the serial killers in fictional presentations provide a chance of exploring such a fact, as the media pays attention to serial killers that exist in real life (Jong, 2016).
Representation of Norman Bates as a Hero
Psycho by Alfred Hitchcock confirmed Norman Bates as the greatest horror villain of our time. However, the sequels of the movie changed him into a hero. One of the reasons why Norman succeeded in his portrayal of the bad guy in Psycho is that he appeared outwardly as a likable person, even though he oddly had a taxidermy penchant. Antony Perkins easily reflected the image of vulnerability and innocence; it helped create the perception that Norman was a good person.
Such a playout was designed by Hitchcock to make it even more shocking when Bates, or his alternative persona, turned out to be the serial killer when the film concludes. As is the trend, serial killers turn out to be those who are least suspected to be capable of committing such crimes. Indeed, Norman Bates perfectly plays into such a frame. Psycho concludes with Norman's normal side, apparently gone forever, even as `` Mother`` plans to convince medical experts that she is no longer dangerous (Kennedy,2020).
Conclusion
It may be hard to understand the condition of Norman Bates, but we relate with the character as a person, tortured son, an unfortunate man, and beguiled owner of a motel. We see him as unfortunate because he is born in a trap he cannot escape from. Psycho toys with our fears of running mad as it makes us relate more closely with Norman Bates.
However, when the revelation comes up in the end, we cringe and recoil, horrified. We do so because it is hard to reconcile how we could identify with a villain such as Norman. Such an ingenious plot is the work of Hitchcock in the movie, Psycho. Although Norman Bates is a villain, one does not doubt that he is our hero, too (Bergstrom, 2012).
References
Bergstrom, A. (2012). Playing the viewer like an organ: Norman Bates as the protagonist of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. Retrieved from https://3brothersfilm.com/
Dawar, Z. (2018). Diagnosis of Norman Bates: Bates motel and Psycho. Retrieved from https://reelrundown.com/tv/Diagnosis-of-Norman-Bates-Bates-Motel-and-Psycho
Dollar, S. (2018). Psycho's shower scene: How Hitchcock upped the terror—and fooled the censors. Retrieved from https://www.history.com/news/psycho-shower-scene-hitchcock-tricks-fooled-censors
Freud, S. (1919). The Uncanny. Retrieved from http://wwwrohan.sdsu.edu/~amtower/uncanny.html.
Gorshin, M. (2014). Analysis of Psycho. Retrieved from https://mawrgorshin.com/2014/11/28/analysis-of-psycho/
Jong, L. (2016). Representation of the Serial Killer in United States Popular Culture: Evolution of the Hunter-Hero Narrative. [MA Thesis, Radboud University Nijmegen]. Retrieved from https://theses.ubn.ru.nl/bitstream/handle/
Kavka, M. (2002). The Gothic on Screen. In: HOGLE, J. (ed.). The Cambridge Companion to Gothic Fiction. Cambridge University Press.
Kennedy, M. (2020). Psycho's sequels made Norman Bates the hero (& it worked). Retrieved from https://screenrant.com/psycho-movie-sequels-norman-bates-hero-good-worked/
Livingstone, S. (1998).Relationships between media and audiences: Prospects for future audience reception studies. In Liebes, T., and Curran, J. (Eds.), Media, Ritual and Identity: Essays in Honor of Elihu Katz. London: Routledge.
Wilhelmi, J. (2020). Bates motel: What was wrong with Norman? Retrieved from https://screenrant.com/bates-motel-norman-bates-mental-illness-explained/