Hitchcock’s masterpiece Psycho is a slow burn thriller that pushed the boundaries of censorship in its time. Hitchcock did much more than trying to see with how much he can get away with, he told a compelling story that keeps the viewer in the dark until the end. Unless the viewer pays attention and one can almost piece the film together before the start of the third act. Hitchcock does this by placing birds throughout the film and references to them without the viewer catching on. From the opening shot as a bird’s eye view and landing on a windowsill to spy on an intimate scene between lovers, many scenes are shot in a voyeur style, the main protagonist’s name being Marion Crane, and she is from Phoenix. In particular the antagonist’s parlor is where the bird imagery is everywhere because of the stuffed birds. It is how Hitchcock uses all of these images and referencing them to characters shown on screen and off is how the viewer gets a sense of foreboding and menace that they just cannot put their finger on. It is the things that happen in the background where the average viewer does not catch on is where Alfred Hitchcock shows his brilliance in making a movie an experience rather than just a viewing.

Norman Bates runs the motel that Marion Crane is forced to stay the night at while she is on the run after stealing money from her employers because of a rainstorm. After settling in, Norman invites her into his parlor for dinner. She is startled to see that the parlor is filled with numerous stuffed birds, and is unnerved because there are so many sets of eyes on her which furthers the voyeuristic vibe in the movie. One of the birds that she sees is a crow which foreshadows death because crows go after the dead rather than the living. The fact that there is someone always watching Marion is proven in a different scene where it is shown that Norman has a peephole looking into her room from Norman’s office. Her discomfort is shown through her eating because she is just nibbling on her sandwich and Norman notices this and tells her, “You eat like a bird.” Which is an odd statement to make but gives the viewer insight on how odd Norman is as a person and he does not have much company except for his birds. He then starts talking about how he likes to stuff things and his relationship with his mother. The camera flips between Norman and Marion and behind Marion are paintings of small, innocent looking birds and behind Norman are larger more aggressive looking birds. When the camera is on Norman it is shot at a low angle to make it seem at first that he is the one in charge. But in reality the shot is highlighting a stuffed owl on the wall behind Norman. This owl is the culmination of all of the meanings in the bird motifs, voyeurism theme, and foreshadows the major plot twist at the end.

For starters, the owl looks directly into the camera which is odd for a person, let alone a stuffed bird. The bird is displayed with its longest wingspan and talons out as if it is flying down to catch its prey. The owl then receives a figurative meaning when Norman starts talking about his mother. While talking about her, he talks about her “up there” and nods his head when referencing her being all alone in her house on a hill behind the motel if Norman would to leave. But the framing of the shot makes it so that Norman is nodding directly to the owl and is talking about it without noticing. The Owl is then portrayed almost like his mother throughout the rest of the scene and the dialogue could be used to piece together the twist prematurely. The owl is shown looming over Norman and has control over him. It turns out that his mother really is everywhere he goes and controls his actions because Norman is split into two personalities: his own and his mother’s. Similarly, with the Owl-as-mother stand in, his mother is stuffed in his basement and he still believes that she is alive. Marion’s relationship with Norman’s mother is also displayed through the owl. The Owl is shown swooping in ready to kill and later Marion pays for her becoming another woman in Norman’s life and “mother” kills her. While it happened her face was distorted but later on it is revealed that it was Norman in a dress and wig. Marion’s last name being Crane describes her in the same way as the owl is compared to the mother. A crane is a symbol of stupidity and purity and Marion’s actions support this. It was her stupidity in thinking that she could take a deposit from her company and not think that it would trace back to her, but it was also her purity that showed her guilt and remorse of her actions. 

For its time, Psycho was the gold standard for using suspense, plot twists, and horror in film and still holds up to this day. But it was the elements that went on in the background that makes it memorable. He uses birds as the focal point for all of the motifs and imagery for plot devices and to describe the mother and Marion, and even to help develop one of the central themes of voyeurism. Psycho would still be a good film without all of these elements but it is what makes it considered one of the greatest of all time. As to why he chose birds to carry all of the imagery, perhaps he was just practicing for his next work of genius: The Birds.
