Film analysis and historical development

Proposition

The contention that Psycho is a comedy, as claimed by its director Alfred Hitchcock is contrary to how the film is usually interpreted by audiences.

Because Psycho was based upon a real-life case, many people have not taken Hitchcock's claim seriously.

The essay on Psycho examines both sides of the argument

It is possible to contend that Psycho is a serious film, given its subject matter of murder

However, Hitchcock's deliberate use of wordplay and irony suggests that a purely realistic, surface interpretation of Norman Bates' murder is not warranted

Both interpretations of the film are necessary to understand to fully appreciate Psycho as a work of art

The goal of the author is to explicate to the audience two different interpretations of Psycho, first separately, and then together.

B. Psycho is at once a very serious film, with real-life parallels but also a film imbued with Hitchcock's classic humor

Audience

A. The audience of the essay should have seen the film to fully understand the essay, but do not have to be experts in film theory.

Rhetorical analysis

The contention that Psycho is a comedy, as claimed by its director Alfred Hitchcock is both contrary to how the film is usually interpreted and contrary to what might be expected by a viewer of the film given its subject matter. Because Psycho was based upon a real-life case, many people have not taken Hitchcock's claim seriously. However, the film contains deliberate irony and clearly engineered directorial devices which were intended by Hitchcock to make the audience laugh, however nervously. Like all great works of art, Psycho can be interpreted on multiple levels.

The essay on Psycho examines both sides of the argument and ultimately concludes that both the humorous and serious interpretation of Psycho is valid. Hitchcock's deliberate use of wordplay and irony suggests that a purely realistic, surface interpretation of Norman Bates' murder is not justified, given the fact that Norman is named 'Bates' and the fact that he 'baits' Marion Crane into his trap, as well as his fascination for killing and stuffing birds (and Marion is named after a 'Crane.') However, the brutality of Marion's murder belies a purely ironic interpretation.

The goal of the author was to explicate to the audience two different interpretations of Psycho. It is possible to view both interpretations in isolation and see Hitchcock's plays on words and plays on audience expectations of how characters are supposed to behave as evidence that Psycho is pure comedy, and the horror unintentional. It is also possible to read the subject matter, given the suspense of the film, as inherently serious.