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Disturbing New Pathways: Psycho and the Priming of the Audience

2010; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 38; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/01956050903293014

1930-6458

James Kendrick,

Gothic Literature and Media Analysis

Abstract Abstract This article uses priming effects to explore Psycho's narrative and visual effects on audiences. By taking into account how audiences had been primed by classical Hollywood films, it shows how Psycho's defiance of classical norms helped pave the way for future films by initiating audiences into a new narrative structure. Keywords: audience effectsfilm violenceAlfred Hitchcocknarrativepriming effects Psycho Notes 1. The majority of these films used complex technical devices beyond the traditional Hitchcockian aesthetics of montage, sound, and camera placement that were used to such great effect in Psycho. For instance, Dial M for Murder utilized the then-popular gimmick of being in 3-D, and Vertigo used eye-catching visual effects and animation, most notably in Scottie's dream sequence. There was also a vast difference in cost. Hitchcock's movie that directly preceded Psycho, North by Northwest, had cost $3.3 million whereas Psycho cost $800,000 to make. 2. Even the trailers accompanying the film's re-release in 1964 were vague so as to keep in the dark anyone not familiar with the film's narrative. They showed only unidentifiable snippets of the film (a close-up of Perkins's eye looking through the peep hole or the close-up of Leigh's hand as she grabs the shower curtain), followed by a quick shot of a woman in the shower screaming (not Janet Leigh, by the way, but Vera Miles in a blond wig) as the word "PSYCHO" rapidly advances in size from the middle of the screen. The main point of these trailers was to emphasize that it was the movie "TV did not dare show." The trailers also continued to insist that no one would be seated after the movie began. 3. According to Rebello, Psycho was cited as the locus of many "serious and frivolous phenomena," including a rise in crime, a decrease in the sale of opaque shower curtains, a rise in violence toward women, and a decrease in motel business (172). Whatever the effects of Psycho in the subconscious of the popular culture, one thing is for sure: taking a shower would never be the same again for many people. 4. Theories of associatism, which led to neoassociatism, have existed in one form or another for more than 2,000 years. For a historical overview of associatism, see Anderson and Bower. 5. According to screenwriter Joseph Stefano, Hitchcock told him he felt the critics panned the film because they were upset that they had not been allowed to see special screenings; in fact, one critic told Stefano that's why he gave it a bad review (Rebello 164). However, although the barring of critics from special screenings and entering the theater late probably did set them in a foul mood, it is much more likely that the effects of Psycho on them were just as strong and unsettling as on regular audience members. There is little reason why critics would have been better prepared for Psycho than anyone else. 6. Crowther's comments are particularly interesting because they imply an assumption on his part that his readers would appreciate a warning about what was to come, which is, in a sense, an attempt to prime potential viewers for the violence to defuse some of its power. 7. Two additional examples of just how angry and offended some viewers and critics were the actor and playwright Charles Bennett told Hitchcock that the film's cruelty indicated the director was "a sadistic son of a bitch," and an English critic said the film was the work of "a barbaric sophisticate" (Spoto 462).