Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960) is an excellent example of the male gaze concept. The male gaze concept states that women in film are used for visual pleasure and are presented as sexual objects for male pleasure. Throughout the film, we see this concept quite literally as Norman Bates watches Marion Crane from the peephole looking into her room from his office. In this particular scene, we see Marion through Norman’s eyes and it shows the audience that she is being watched (discussed in Mulvey’s article). As Norman watches Marion, he becomes sexually aroused by her which ultimately drives him to murder. Marion is punished for her sexuality although she did not encourage Norman in any way. This idea is mentioned in Linda William’s article as she discusses the characteristics of a psychopathic horror film.
Another way the male gaze is shown in Psycho is through the relationship with Norman and his mother. Females are primarily seen as a sexual object and that is exactly what Mrs. Bates is to Norman (literally an object that he can manipulate/move, dress and most importantly look at). After her death, Norman stole her corpse and set it up in his house to make it feel like his mother was still alive. Norman will talk for her and carry on conversations with himself which evidently led to half of his personality morphing into his mother’s. Now, whenever Norman is sexually aroused by a woman, this mother half comes to the surface in a rage and is driven to kill these women. This is symbolic because it represents a form of castration anxiety. Although Norman does not physically lose his penis, he loses his masculinity when he becomes his mother. She takes control and is the dominant half to the point where Norman even dresses and speaks like her (long dress and a wig). When Norman becomes his mother and stabs these women, the knife serves as a symbolic penis penetrating the women since Norman does not have sex with them.
The concept of voyeurism, discussed in Mulvey’s article, is also seen in the film. As Norman watches Marion undress and prepare to take a shower, he becomes aroused by nothing but the sight of her undressing and her partially naked body. By showing Marion through Norman’s eyes it is also meant for the pleasure of the male audience members as well as the male character in the film. When Marion arrives at the motel and is invited to have dinner with Norman, she suggests they eat inside her motel room. Norman’s hesitation shows how he is scared/intimidated by the bedroom and sex and this reinforces the idea that he prefers to watch. All the actions of Norman/Mrs. Bates demonstrates his sadistic, voyeuristic, and psychotic tendencies and relates well to the concept of the male gaze.
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