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Examples Of Mise En Scene In Psycho

Decent Essays

Introduction

The term “mise en scene” carries the original meaning of “putting into scene” and was a term that signifies the director’s control of visuals and events in the frame. There are several aspects in mise en scene. Aspect such as setting, lighting, costume and behavior of figures were controlled to allow the director to stage the event and create the overall effect within the frame.

The film “ Psycho” directed by Alfred Hitchcock was set in the sixties and was about a secretary Marion Crane who goes on a run after embezzling forty thousand dollars from her employer in order to settle the debt of her boyfriend, Sam Loomis. Overcome by exhaustion, she stops by Bates motel for the night where she meets the polite owner Norman Bates …show more content…

In the scene when the killer enters the showers while Marion is taking a bath, the shower curtains acted as a screen to the audience’s sight and later in the film, the shower curtain was used to wrap up the Marion’s body. Another example would be the parlor scene where Marion was sited on a comfortable coach while Norman sat on an upright and formal wooden chair. The usage of furniture suggested character’s attributes, as Marion has a rather relax and open-minded personality while Norman being a tense and uptight …show more content…

In the establishing scene, Marion was wearing a white bra as she cuddles with her secret lover. Hitchcock had chosen the white bra at the beginning to signify Marion’s innocence. But after stealing the money from her employer, we see Marion wearing a black bra and dressed over a dull dress which signifying the bad deed she had done. Similarly, the white purse that Marion holds before stealing the money was then changed to a black one upon committing the crime. Hitchcock once again employs these subtle yet significant trails to the audience, increasing its impact on audience when they

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