Countless people have seen movies like Psycho or The Birds by the Master of Suspense Alfred Hitchcock. And they would see it time and again since films like these do not grow old. But what is it about these films that make them worth watching over and over? Is it the great acting performance? Most definitely! But I dare say that it is the suspense and the way these movies play with your mind. Certainly one would have a hard time finding a person who is not given the chills when Vera Miles goes down into the basement of that Victorian house up on the hill looking for Mrs. Bates only to find her mummified. There must be something to this atmosphere, to this very setting of the house and the house itself that make us feel uncomfortable and at unease.
What goes for Psycho would have to go for The Birds, too. This cozy and inviting house in Bodega Bay, right across the bay, grows more and more hostile and aggravating in the course of action. This cannot just be coincidence, can it?
Moreover, the Overlook Hotel from The Shining plays an important role in the row of scary and menacing houses in American movie history. Even though it is a place where people spend their holidays it becomes a place where nightmares come to life.
This paper will revolve around the influence of the houses on people living there, and what it is what makes them a threat to their inhabitants. Furthermore, the role and the influence of the mother with focus on the Hitchcock movies will be dealt with. Is the concept of the mother the same in all the Hitchcock movies? Is there a resemblance or do they differ in various aspects? Are the mothers as threatening as the houses or maybe even more? As a framework, the idea of Sigmund Freud’s Heimlich/Unheimlich as well as the idea of the Id, Ego and Super-Ego will be taken into consideration.
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- Introduction
- The movies
- Psycho
- The Birds
- The Shining
- Freud's approaches
- The uncanny
- The Bates premises
- The Brenner house
- The Overlook hotel
- The role of the mother in Hitchcock's movies
- Norma Bates
- Lydia Brenner
- Conclusion
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
This paper explores the influence of houses on their inhabitants in American horror movies, focusing on the menacing nature of these settings and their impact on characters. The analysis delves into the interplay between the physical environment and the psychological state of individuals. Additionally, the paper investigates the role of the mother in Hitchcock's movies, comparing and contrasting her portrayal across different films and examining her potential for threat.
- The influence of houses on their inhabitants in American horror movies
- The interplay between physical environment and psychological state
- The role of the mother in Hitchcock's films
- The concept of the uncanny (Heimlich/Unheimlich) in the movies
- Freudian ideas like the Id, Ego, and Super-Ego in the context of the films
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
The introduction highlights the enduring appeal of Hitchcock's suspense films and ponders the psychological impact of their settings. The chapter then introduces the specific movies under analysis - Psycho, The Birds, and The Shining - providing brief summaries of their plots.
The section on Freud's approaches introduces the key Freudian concepts of Id, Ego, and Super-Ego, explaining their relevance to Hitchcock's films. The concept of the uncanny (Heimlich/Unheimlich) is also introduced as a framework for the analysis of the houses in the movies.
The chapter "The uncanny" focuses on the specific houses in the movies and their influence on the characters. The Bates premises, the Brenner house, and the Overlook hotel are each analyzed in terms of their menacing and unsettling nature.
The final chapter focuses on the role of the mother in Hitchcock's movies, specifically examining the characters of Norma Bates and Lydia Brenner. The chapter explores the similarities and differences in their portrayals and their level of threat compared to the houses.
Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
The core topics explored in this paper include American horror movies, Hitchcock's films, Psycho, The Birds, The Shining, houses, uncanny, Heimlich/Unheimlich, Id, Ego, Super-Ego, the role of the mother, Norma Bates, Lydia Brenner, psychological influence, physical environment, threat, suspense, and Freudian psychoanalysis.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Benjamin Halking (Autor:in), 2014, “Home-made amentia”. Mothers and houses in American horror movies, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/1284548
