Mise En Scene - Psycho

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Mise En Scene In the film Psycho we see many hidden meanings through the use of mise en scene. A scene in particular where we see a lot of this is the scene of Marion and Norman in the parlour. The objects, lighting and angle of the cameras in this scene show many different meanings and make the audience quite uncomfortable. At the beginning of this scene we see Norman leading Marion into a dark, mysterious room; this gives us a sense of danger. Also as we see Norman in front leading, this shows us that he is the superior character in this scene. When they have entered the room, we see a brighter light focused on Marion which could indicate her innocence. The light beaming on Marion also suggests that she is the focus of Norman’s attention therefore making her seem more vulnerable. Quite the opposite of Marion, we see a deep, dark shadow of Norman while he is seated and less lighting focused on him, this could indicate danger and evil. Many of the hidden meanings in this scene are seen through the objects around the room. In the background there is many different paintings, most of which have a distressed woman in them, this could indicate danger. We also see many stuffed birds around the room, which make the audience feel uncomfortable. When the camera focuses on Norman, we see a big stuffed bird in the background staring directly towards us, this gives off a sense of unease. Another, smaller yet significant object in this scene would be the two little birds right beside the lamp near Marion, one of the birds is white while the other is black. The black bird is slightly bigger and overtaking the white bird. This could suggest, just as Marion is in the light spotlight and Norman in the darker area, that Norman is the dominant character in this scene. The use of sound and music is also usually a big factor for the use of mise en scene. Even though there
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