Gender roles in slasher movies based on Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho"

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Seminar paper from the year 2017 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Other, grade: 1,3, , language: English,...

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Seminar paper from the year 2017 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Other, grade: 1,3, , language: English, abstract: The movie 'Psycho' is not only the first slasher of the cinematographic history, but is also full of themes and filming techniques that have revolutionized the genre. Hitchcock's classic consists of mystery, suspense, but also has a straightforward portrayal of gender roles. Interestingly, throughout the plot there is no room left for the viewer to analyze them, as the stereotypes of the sexes are set from the beginning. Ben Elliot explains: "Hitchcock is never content to let the audience draw their own conclusions about genders in his films; instead he comes out and has the characters say statements outright about men and women" (Elliot). Moreover, Tanja Modleski observes that Hitchcock's movies are dominated by females, who on one hand seem to be liberated, but at the same time are limited in their power. According to her feminist approach on the film, the great filmmaker depicts females in a degrading way, allowing the viewer to get narrative pleasure from her victimization (1). However, she recognizes that, "[Hitchcock] remains committed to mining his films' less obvious pleasure, which comes from discerning moments of female patriarchal resistance and the undoing of patriarchal logic". Therefore, it can be said that women in Hitchcock's films are the ultimate victims of the horror, but he also characterizes them as strong and independent from the dominating masculine culture.