Analyzing Evil: Norman Bates, Psycho
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- Опубліковано 9 лют 2025
- Welcome everyone to the eleventh episode of Analyzing Evil! Our feature villain for this video is Norman Bates from Psycho, and is perhaps one of my favorite characters out of any film. I hope you enjoy, and thanks for watching. If you have any feedback or questions feel free to let me know below!
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#NormanBates #Psycho #NormaBates
Anthony Perkins and his portrayal of Norman Bates was/is absolutely fantastic, what an actor
Agreed. You just dont see it coming, even though it shows him talking for extended scenes, and becoming emotionally vulnerable. That's what really makes it stand out for me, a lot of other psychopaths would show hints at their psychosis when getting emotionally vulnerable wouldn't they?
Love him!
There would be NO JASON, FREDDY, pinhead, leatherface, Hannibal Lecter, Michael Myers, without Norman Bates... HE was the FIRST slasher villain
Agreed. Loved him in Franz Kafka's 'The Trial' too.
Agreed 100%
Those eyes... brilliantly chilling.
How was Anthony Perkins NOT nominated for an Oscar for this performance? Janet Leigh was nominated for best performance in a supporting role, Hitchcock for Director, but not Anthony Perkins? The play of emotions across his face are amazing!
Believe it or not psycho was not well recieved when it first appeared in theaters. It was very disturbing material for the time and it took a while to be seen for the horror masterpiece we know it as today.
Norman Bates was the grandfather of ALL slasher villains he deserves to be honored in that way
Sometimes when an actor is that good, but keeps it subtle, it goes unnoticed by many.
I agree wholeheartedly.
Because the academy mostly refuses to acknowledge HORROR movies... rarely do they bother. EXORCIST won 2 Oscars.... that was almost 50 years ago.
Cleaning up after his "Mother's" crimes to me is more of Norman trying to protect his "Mother" rather than it being Norman lacking remorse.
Good point.
According to the TV show, here we don't know
That’s what I thought too.
Yeah but he's still cleaning up after a violent crime. If my sister kept killing people and I kept cleaning up after her, I'm a bad person.
@@TheKawaiikari At best that makes him an accomplice.
Great analysis of Norman. I believe his mother was evil and through incest, and/or emotional incest plus physical and emotional abuse, trauma and neglect,she broke Normans mind and heart as a child. Therefore Normans split personality was created. I was wondering maby he cleaned up his mother's crimes as a child and he is re enacting trauma. Evil is so destructive it will destroy a person. I think this story was a fable about what an evil mother can do to a child. Thank you for your work, I have always wondered about Norman
there's this series on prime called 'bates motel' ; more or less a prequel, i dont know how much truth it holds or if it's based on the books at all, but in the show they show norma as quite the caring mother. sure, she might have lead him into his downward spiral but quite definitely her intentions were pure and she really did care for her child. it's quite interesting and i think you should check it out :)
@@luxxerpolman470 uhh na she’s pretty crazy in the show too and still emotionally manipulates Norman but there’s a lot more context to why the family as a whole is so messed up. Still a really good show tho
A lot of people tend to forget women can be just as bad as men it's just women tend to be more emotional and manipulative with them men but there are exceptions to the rule but I believe we all regardless of gender can be pure evil depending on the person
@@luxxerpolman470 ahhhh, I wouldnt go for caring... I'd, say smothering, controlling and emasculating... but I dont recall any incestuous behaviour... It's been about 4 and a half years since I watched bates motel though, so I'm going off pure memory right now... That being said, the way his mother treats him in bates motel can definitely create the type of persona Norman has...
@Forsaken Pumpkin you sound a bit dumb because A, there's people like this in the real world, and B, this is the type of things you do in school/college, except with books... Its called a review... Stop trying to be all smart, cus your actually looking dumb... Were doing this for fun, its not that serious. (Eye roll)
"Mommy issues" is quite the understatement here
Mother issues will likely make a person murderous, if left to the extreme
Awe u must be a good son
@@broomshi treatment for aspd are getting a lot better. Find help if you can because you don’t have to live that way forever. Also try have a listen to Paul bloom from Harvard on empathy. Not having empathy can be a good thing. I hope things work out for you in the future because we don’t choose the bodies we inhabit or the life we grow up in.
@@broomshi I hope I didn’t come off as condescending. Your right but, there’s no way I could genuinely understand. Remember that if you don’t get on top of your impulsivity control you could do harm to someone else which in turn could ruin yours as well which is unjust because you didn’t choose to be who you are. Aspd treatment doesn’t cure you but give you the tools to live a non damaging life for you and people around you.
Yeah I'm not sure we could even compare this to an Oedipus Complex. (it's there for sure, but so far and beyond)
The f*cking jumpscare where the detective gets stabbed shook me so much when I first watched that film. The build-up is so great and you just don't expect it. I almost got a heart attack at that.
For real tho
Nice to know I'm in good company! That scene REALLY startled me. I know why they call scenes/movies like this "a chiller."
The three most terrifying words in cinema: BATES MOTEL VACANCY.
I think Psycho III was the only time the motel came close to being full up.
Or Donald Trump unleashed
The three most unintentionally funny words in cinema: I AM PREGNANT
@@emersedmilkk4163 another three “with Trumps baby “😱😱😱💦💦
It's actually pretty good. Better than most movie names
That scene at the end when Perkins looks up at the camera still gives me the creeps. What great filmmaking.
How were camera placement and angles used to create suspense?
with his mothers corpse watermaked in it... yes!!
I believe that him looking at the camera was the first 4th wall break in the horror genre.
I believe it's possible to have empathy for the tragedy a person has suffered yet still deem then as evil, homemade evil perhaps, but evil non the less.
I don't think he's necessarily evil, just severely mentally ill.
And the problem with that is, you’ll get yourself killed. Evil corrupts, it dose not create. Everyone has evil. Everyone and Norman fell too deep into the abyss.
@@jacksonreeder8125 'Evil' is a tough thing to define. I think the best way to classify Norman is 'dangerous'. No matter how you feel about him, you should be able to agree that he can't be trusted.
I must say that the films of Alfred Hitchcock never appealed to me at first, but they really grew on me after I saw The Birds. The Birds was a genuinely tense film and I was surprised at that when I first watched it. The idea of birds attacking humans on a huge scale sounds like the plot to some Syfy channel B-movie (like Sharknado and, fittingly, Birdemic) but when treated with a degree of seriousness and with cinematography that allowed it to be frightening rather than comedic it ended up being very effective. As for Psycho, it's not my favourite but I enjoyed it for the same reasons I loved The Birds. I think Hitchcock did a really great job at taking mundane things like flocks of birds or a motel run by a lonely man and making them frightening.
Me too ! 😁
Rope is a fantastic movie, I’d highly recommend it.
@@MrJohnlennon007 thank you . 😁
Analyzing Evil: The Birds from The Birds
I love Rebecca, won best picture
I can now finally say that Anthony Perkins is one the greatest actors in Hollywood. That stuttering and uneasiness, looks so natural and that smile in the end creeps me out.
In the book, it is actually stated that he was into taxidermy and occult books before he killed his mother and that it was the combination of those 2 things that was the "secret" of bringing his mother back, preserving her body and willing her spirit back into it.
Near the beginning of Psycho 2, he does also mention that while he taxidermied forest animals, he actually wished he could have live one's as pets around the hotel.
From 15:38 - 16:15 that final scene of Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins R.I.P.) when he finally breaks the fourth wall to look directly at us to this day still sends a chill through me.
The video ends with Norman smiling as the narrator says, “I’ll be seeing you…soon.” Nice.
I think Norman wants to love and be loved. Sadly "mother" controls him n won't let him love anyone else but her
Honestly last Johnathan I met at circulus riverbank. Literally looked like Norman Bates. He would even act like our boss was his mom. No correlation honestly but he was the reason I'm here. Honestly weird but interesting
Having gone through severe childhood abuse and neglect from my mother - which resulted in C-PTSD - I can't say I'm shocked over Norman's behaviour.
The most common reaction to abuse after a very long time is rage. Uncontrollable rage. You don't want to be violent, not at all.
The best way to put it is that if you're pushed and pushed and pushed too far, taught never to fight back. Never say no, never say stop. Well, at some point, you explode and it's far beyond any sort of mitigating control. The cup runeth over, if you will.
When Norman murdered his mother and her lover, I don't believe it was out of some Oedipus complex because he has sexual desires to his mother.
It's more like he's addicted to her. Always being told how to act, who to be, always bossed around by his mother. Now here comes a new man and gets all that attention, leaving Norman to fend for himself. I think *that* is the thing that triggers his supressed rage and he kills his mother and her lover.
But then again, maybe it's just oedipus complex. I'm not Norman's brain, and I don't think we're given enough information in the movie to make any sort of reliable estimation.
Is Norman evil. No.
His actions certainly are, but he wasn't given a fighting chance in hell. I don't really believe in multiple personality disorder as it's depicted here, but for the sake of argument, we're sticking to what we see in the movie. Based on that I would hope he was sentenced to spend a lot of time in a mental institution, rather than ending up on death row.
But I'm kinda biased, of course.
You should do videos on Hannibal Lecter, Buffalo Bill and Francis Dolarhyde.
🔥
@Wynn Wynn He’s also called the Tooth Fairy or the Red Dragon. He’s the villain in the novel and movie Red Dragon
All characters from Hannibal series! 😁 I love that series.
also, Mason Verger
I think back to the scene where Norman is sinking Marion's car in the swamp behind the motel. The scene ends with Norman casually smoking a cigarette and smiling as the car disappears. Norman is satisfied that he's removed all traces, and he's pleased with himself at how clever he is. We're left with the impression that he's done this before, and now he's gotten pretty good at it, and he knows it. That shows a degree of evil, if you ask me.
At the end it's revealed that as Mother Norman had killed 2 other women before because when the psychiatrist asked the 2 cops if they had any unsolved missing persons cases and they said 2 Dr Richmond asks if it was 2 young girls who'd gone missing.
@@Xehanort10 Weren't there more than just 2?
He’s eating nuts/candy, not smoking.
He’s eating a treat at the time and just likes candy
It's called dark comedy and I only laughed out of relief because I was scared it paused for a bit... ;)
Gosh, Norman looks like he might have an Oedipus Complex.
It really shouldn’t be called that.
Freud would love hin
There was an oatmeal ad in the 80s where Anthony Perkins is re-enacting Norman Bates, and saying “Yes mom, I’m eating my oatmeal!” That used to crack me up!
I don't remember that one
ua-cam.com/video/NKI5BG1AT5c/v-deo.html
The Hitchcock stare at the end is so iconic.
there is no "hitchcock stare".
I have heard that it isn't unheard of for overbearing or controlling single mothers (with other issues themselves) to treat their sons as a sort of emotional husband. this combined with the more recent discovery that DID is usually connected to childhood sexual abuse makes me think your theory about the jealousy he felt of his mother getting a new lover a really solid one
Seeing this footage it really seems like Freddie Highmore was spot on for Norman in Bates Motel.
Absolutely
Lol the movie makes it even stronger
Yes he was, but does this mean you watched bates motel WITHOUT watching Psycho first?????
@@mullaoslo he never said he did or didn't watch the film prior to watching Bates Motel. My theory is that K Geo111 watch the film years ago but can't recall it too much, but Bates Motel caught his eye and loved it so much that he had the urge to see this clip. It's a hunch
@@winterramos4527 yeah I was only asking since he started the sentence with seing this footage.. As in he hasn't seen it before.. Of course it doesn't really matter either way its just weird for me to see anyone even getting into bates motel without having a relationship with psycho..
10:01 By pulling the dress and wig off while "Mother" was in control Sam probably drove Norman to complete insanity since the triggers to the alternate personality were taken away. Lila and Sam finally exposing his secret life was the last push over the edge.
At least now, Norman wouldn't hurt a fly.
Profile suggestion: John Doe from SE7EN.
I second this. What an awesome movie
Yesss
Yeeeeessss
whats in the BOX!?!!
That would be amazing, love to hear it because it won't be easy going on what the film gives us. The John Doe comics are great source material for getting more background on the character.
I have watched a lot of horror movies etc but this character scared and frighten me. The way he is trapped by his own mind gave me shivers
I want to see Pamela Vorhees. She's definitely got a lot going on
I second this
Same
yes!
Pamela Voorhees and Norman's mother Norma were equally insane but at least Pamela actually loved Jason and after his apparent drowning she lost her mind, became convinced she could hear him talking to her and telling her to kill and decided to do anything to permanently shut Camp Crystal Lake down like poisoning the water, burning down some of the camp cabins, killing the 2 counsellors in 1958 she believed were too busy having sex to save Jason and then her full on killing spree in 1979 which ended when Alice decapitated her in self defence. Norma on the other hand abused Norman, developed incestuous feelings for him and encouraged his for her, kept him isolated from everyone but her and thought every woman except her was a whore.
@@Xehanort10 you speak only facts
I feel he's a tragic villain, someone whose actions made him worse. I suppose there were others who stayed at the motel, who perhaps were not attacked by Norman, but I suppose that it all depends on his victims. The aforementioned missing girls were girls he felt an attraction too, but his plays into his upbringing where his mother prevented him from maturing sexually; in a sense Norman's mother is just as much a villain as he is. Whatever happened to him growing up stunted his sexuality making him hostile to the opposite sex. I wouldn't be surprised if his mother persona dictated who lived or died who came to the motel.
It's like a warped Oedipus complex
Planning to do one on hannibal lecter.
Can't wait
Are you speaking from your alternate personality as the Vile Eye?
Hell yes! I loved the books 😊
Ah, so you want a.... Hannibal lecture?
@@isiboy we love this.
The acts are surely evil. He is tragic but at the same time he protects himself from detection so that part could be considered evil.
I think Norman should be labeled as a victim. I’ve watched all the other films and taking them into account, Norman has been emotional abused from a very young age with his mother giving very little exposure to the outside world. Then adding the fact that her boyfriend was a jerk to Norman, seems like enough to tip Norman over the edge. This makes me believe Norman’s poisoning of his mother and her boyfriend were more of an act of pushing back against the mother who pushed him into a corner rather than an act of violence simply because of jealousy. This would also explain why he cleans up after his mother’s kills because the last time Norman fought back, he ended up killing 2 people. Now his response of poisoning his mother instead of getting actual help is still questionable but he was a teenager and likely didn’t know the best way to respond because he’s never known outside help. With all this into account and the fact the jury found him innocent on the plea of insanity makes me believe he’s a victim much more than he is a perpetrator. Btw I’d love to see you do the bates motel tv show
The only thing you said that was true was that my mother's boyfriend was a jerk!
Norman cleaning after his mother is like post nut clarity
WHY? JUST WHY?
LOL. ... That's sounds about right.
Bates enjoyed killing (or re-enacting the original murder of his dear mother). Then, after he got his satisfaction, he went to work cleaning up the mess. His "mother persona" was just a psychological band-aid to excuse himself.
@@NVG444 cuz it just works like that
@@loworochi AAHHH
Oh my, I need my smelling salts. 🥜
Most definitely wish to see a video about Norman in the TV show
Norman is eager to please and to be liked. Is this the same as being a nice guy? He knows how to mimic a nice person, but his anger at people is just bubbling beneath the surface.
This is why I love bates motel soooo much. It shows us what his real mother was like. And why she was the way she was as well. Great content. I'd love to see one about bates motel too
Bates Motel is just one take not further explanation and it has an agenda, the real story comes from the book, Bates Motel painted an emphatic version of her like a victim of circumstances, and painted Norman as if he was born crazy.
@@betsady4076 no after his father died is when he got disturbed
@Racist Person I don't think you understand the take.
@Racist Person you would understand I said the opposite of that but keep making a fool of yourself
Yes, come to the Bates Motel, 12 cabins, 12 vacancies! 🙂
Perkins got robbed in the Oscars. I think Norman was pretty much a result of a twisted upbringing, rather than anything else.
8:28 In the kitchen he probably rapidly switched personalities with Norma finally taking control, Norman putting on the dress and wig, going to cabin 1 and stabbing Marion to death in the shower.
Norman is hands down one of the most fascinating characters to have crossed the silver screen. The presenter does a great job of noting the variables that led to Norman as an adult. As a society, we abhor context because it can muddy up our demand for a neat, tidy, absolute decision. I don't begrudge judges and juries when it comes to rendering verdicts. Life is a messy thing.
One of my favorite moments in The Simpsons is when Principal Skinner claims he owes everything he has to his mother’s watchful eye and swift hand and opens the curtains and starts talking madness
The dinner chat between Norman and Marion is extremely disturbing. I can't imagine how she can eat her dinner and endure the chat.
Perfect content for a lazy Sunday
I love the idea in Psycho 2 where Tom Holland's script made Norman sane while the rest are insane and it worked. It's pretty sad at the same time thanks to Jerry Goldsmith's score. The other 2 sequels are worth a watch, not amazing but they have their moments. Rob Ager did an analysis on the first 2 psycho films including the trailer of the original. They are interesting.
I like Psycho II but retconning Mrs Spool into being Norma's sister and Norman's supposed "real mother" was stupid. They should have just had him dig Norma up again and bring her body back to the house after Lila and her daughter Mary drove him insane again.
@@Xehanort10 Yeah I get what you mean but for me, I didn't mind it plus you get a memorable ending with the shovel. At times I prefer Psycho 2 more than the 1st.
@@Xehanort10 Psycho 3 revealed that she wasn’t his mother. Just shovel to the head Mrs. Poole. Norman I don’t believe thought that either. He has just sank back in to the sunken place and used her as a fill in for the chair.
Psycho 3 was just awful, there was no point to it. 1 is a masterpiece and 2 is great
Look my illness might've fooled me... but it didn't fool my mother.
SAM: But .. why was he....DRESSED LIKE THAT??!! lmfaooo
Matin Freeman reminds me of him in the Fargo series. He was a very different character, a very different kind of evil: a weak and cowardly man who would do absolutely anthing to get out of a problem. But his facial expressions, though comical, are very close to Norman Bates' final scene.
I love your serial. Please do Tony Soprano!
Norman was mentally unstable way before killing his mother and her lover. Their murders actually threw him over the edge, deep into the hallway of his mind where he couldn't escape.
The crazy thing is on the bate motel show Norman mother was so possessive because she knew he was a killer and she tried to keep him close so it gives you a better perspective about her that show makes me look at the movie different
The original Psycho is one of my most cherished childhood movies.
It scared the shit out of my 6 or 7 years old self, but it also fascinated me.
i figured that a fear of taking showers was an even trade for enjoying a VERY good horror movie.
Seriously, i only took baths until i was 15 .
Whether or not he is evil, is not important as to what the consequences need to be for him as well as treatment. Many people over the years have had complex relationships with loved ones (mothers in this case), fueled by Mental Health challenges but (like you said), have not led tomurder or a furthering of their Psychosis. Norman is very unique but also shares in many other sufferers like him. His life and illness are tragic. We would do best to empathize with the man while learning from his actions.
Every person is different,,,there are the one's who can somewhat adjust to whats happened to them in early life..then you have the percentage that are just to fragile and act out in destructive ways, that harm themselves and others.
I would definitely love to see something about Bates Motel!
Amazing video. I do agree with your analysis that Norman killing his mother was an evil act, and the rest of the murders he committed were a result of his mental illness, and that leads to my opinion that evil acts could trigger some form of mental psychosis since most people refuse the possibility that they are even capable of committing evil acts. Like the psychiatrist said at the end of Psycho, Norman had to erase the crime that he committed from his own mind, which lead to him developing an alternate personality for his mother. This same form of insanity driven by guilt is displayed in Crime and Punishment. I'll subscribe to this channel and can't wait for your next video!
Psycho 4: The Beginning is UNDERRATED and i can’t say that enough.
as much as i love Freddie Highmore in Bates Motel, i do think Henry Thomas made for a great young Norman in Psycho 4. i wish people talked about that one more!
Loving the channel. Maybe do Norman from the perspective of the TV show Bates Motel which give a ton of backstory and ends before this movie begins. The actors did a superb job
When norman killed his mother it was a mix of alot of emotions that maybe were in norman without him knowing growing up like that effects you
8:11 - interesting. I just saw the movie again recently, and when I saw the setup for that shot, I thought Hitchcock was insinuating that Norman almost went upstairs as a way of "taking the high road," but instead opted to stay below, in his own personal hell. It slipped my mind that his mother's corpse was upstairs, so your take makes more sense.
While watching the Bates Motel tv series, I was surprised to see that the Bateses weren't even the most insane people in that town. I couldn't help but think "Is there something in the water?"
Norman is honestly my second favorite villain of all time wit first being anton chigurh
Dr. Hannibal Lector
The newer TV series from 2012 takes place in present day and we see Norman's mother alive and interacting with him. She has extreme powers of manipulation and emotional control over him as a 17 year old high school student.
I'd love to hear your analysis on the show Bates Motel, I feel like Norman is more of a tragic character as the show makes it pretty clear that the murder of his mother was caused by his long pre existing mental illness, and most of the time Norman tries to do the right thing (Eventually turning himself in after attempting to kill his brother)
“Norman is a nice guy”
Nice guy or “Nice guy”?
Nice guys being virgin since 1960
@@shrodinger_kat exactly 😂
“A blood stain is orange after you wash it three for times in a tub, but that’s normal, ain’t it, Norman?”
-Eminem
Which song??
@@rucianapollard7098it’s called “kill you”
@@giannapatsy thanks
@@rucianapollard7098 you’re welcome! :)
@@giannapatsy Serial killer hidin' murder material in a cereal box on top of your stereo!
I wouldn't call him evil, he was jealous of his mother's relationship and acted in the moment. He loved his mother more than anything so he wouldn't tell on her.
Hitchcock actually wrote Simon Oakland(shrink)to thank him for ''saving" his film w/ his summation at the end.
I watched this movie when I was a kid and I had a huge crush on Tony Perkins (even though he was decades older than me). I am so glad you decided to focus on Norman Bates (Psycho 1) for this episode.
My personal interpretation was that his situation was tragic. Although he committed the murders of his Mother and her bf, the question of his malevolence depends on the extent of the abuse from his Mother. Psychologically she was abusive and her treatment of her son when her bf was around may have had some influence on his final decision to kill them both. There is no mention of this, but I wouldn't be surprised if he was physically abused and humiliated as well (this would explain the low-self esteem). He may have justified his loyalty toward his mother and her getting a bf that changed everything as the ultimate insult therefore he had to take measures to adjust to this new situation.
If it appeared that his Mother held her bf at a higher regard than her son, he likely felt jealousy which was a combination of lust and a need to ensure that he would be taken care of in her estate. Perhaps he wanted to ensure that the bf would never get any of his Mother's money and property especially since he probably took care of her until her bf showed up.
If the humiliation was demonstrated in front of her bf, then his feelings would only exacerbate in this abusive environment. Since his Mother was his world, and the motel was their only source of financial stability (including their house), he may have felt like he had no choice, but to kill them both. The low self-esteem and awkwardness likely made him feel like he would never make it out in the real world on his own.
You may be able to tell that I have contemplated this for quite some time.
The one moment I never really got in Psycho was that part at the end, when he gets stopped from attacking the woman in the basement and starts cramping up like that, it just seemed like a weird choice to me... But if it's the paralysing shock of suddenly being brought out of scizophrenic psycosis I do feel like it makes much more sense now. Can't wait to watch it again sometime.
Excellent analysis man. This case is "tricky" as there are 2 personalities here between Norman and his "mother." When I was young, I thought this case was of "split personality" but no it's a psychopath case. Now when we see Norman cleaning up the bloody murder of Crane, normally a District Attorney would conclude Norman knew right from wrong and tried to cover up the murder but in Norman's mind, he thought he was simply just covering up for his mother who killed his victims, not the latter. Norman is sick no doubt and terrifying from his victim's point of view. He's clearly not guilty of first degree homicide.
So, of course the closing scene with the fly is iconic, but something I recently learned that flies attracting to a person is also a sign of demonic possession. Interested to know if that was also part of the decision process in including it.
Nah, he prolly just stank lmao jk that’s interesting though..
@@itaintova8309 HELP ME
Norman Bates is one of my favorite characters in fiction, and I'd love a analysis of the sequels and Bates Motel, especially Bates Motel as it has a lot more to analyze and also it kinda changes certain things.
Fun Fact:
In the book version of Psycho™, the original Norman Bates back in '59 looked like Al McWhiggin from Toy Story™ 2, another villainous character that made his debut during Psycho's 40th anniversary. Oddly, Norman costumes as his mom, while Al costumes as a giant chicken, both characters live steps away next to their name-owned work places.
fun fact about that is the villians from toy story were inspired by an ex coworker who provided a toxic environment at Pixar in its early days. He would do little things that made the workplace uncomfortable, like Al McWhiggin and Sid.
He wasn’t evil. He was insane.
When you break a child's spirit...you are opening up a stream of consequences that cannot be predicted or controlled.
i just went on a binge and watched a bunch of your videos, you earned sub! very entertaining and made me want to go back and rewatch these classics. Keep up the good work!
I found you from your One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest video, and I've been watching a ton of your videos yesterday and today. These breakdowns are fantastic. I haven't got a chance to watch him on film yet, but one character that I think would be really fun to see you dissect would be Hannibal Lecter. He seems like a very complex character with tons of layers to search through. Keep up the great work man, these videos rule!
Great video and I thought your analysis for Norman/ Norma was great considering the movie is all you had to go from. I'd be fascinated to see your results from the Bate's motel characters as they're both really well fleshed out in this series,
You do such a great job 💜
As methodical and comprehensive as your videos are, I like how this and your Michael Myers analyses have been inconclusive. There really is so much room for interpretation with those two; it's likely why both are such compelling characters.
I would love to see the Bates motel Norman be analyzed. Because we see his actual decline into madness. He starts off as a normal boy with an overbearing mother, then the mother gets more normal and Norman completely goes mad.
I recently watched this film. Hitchcock had me screaming at the screen due to the level of suspense and casting. Absolutely incredible. Bates was so attached and unbalanced. And CUNNING
Anthony Perkins was always a babe and such a good actor
I never thought of Bates as evil. Insane, yes, evil, no. You said the fact that when he pulls out of his murderous funk he cleans up and covers up for his "mother" proves he is bad as well as mad. Because he is lucid and has come through out of his murderous cycle again he should be able to behave in a sane and normal way. He covers up and if he wasn't an evil person, he wouldn't do it. But to me he is never lucid and I'm not sure you can judge him by the same standards you would a sane person. His good, caring son persona is as much part of the insanity as the frenzied, knife-wielding mother.
Thing is, Norman isn’t insane. He has mental health issues but knows exactly what he’s doing and understands his consequences.
Norman fell too deep into the abyss. He’s basically become a raving serial killer. Look at Edmund Kemper, his mom belittled him and he never slept with any female with how isolated he was. Sure Edmund was much more ruthless but he was kind and he was considerate for others, especially the cops. He also killed his mom and had intercourse with her head, to humiliate her.
And yet, despite all his deeds. He turned himself in because he said that he knew he couldn’t control that darkness anymore. Now despite all that, he is still considered evil but something inside drives him.
This is what’s interesting about certain killers that we’ll never understand fully, we just see it as mental health which is very important but they still know what they are doing is wrong and heinous yet, they are driven to kill. It’s very fascinating and Norman was a classic serial killer. Most serial killers are obsessed with their mother, which is a common joke sort of gimmick now amongst them.
I believe he gave info his evil and panicked, because I think he knew he couldn’t control that urge anymore. Most of his kills have no meaning or reason, they are senseless and that’s what makes him a psycho. His actions because go what I also understand, it also could be a act to make himself seem “innocent” it’s happened with many killers and they all success for the most part. Look at Ted Bundy, he seems like a guy down the road who walks his dog and helps his grandma with the groceries. Meek and nice, wouldn’t hurt a fly. Yet he killed and raped over 30 women.
Evil and mental health I believe are blended. We all have it, it just take something to drive us in. Psycho is fascinating. Greta video study. I study a lot of serial killers in my spare time, so this was very interesting for it. 👍
Very interesting analysis.
Oooooo I’d love an analyzing evil episode on Norma Bates based on the Bates Motel TV series
Let's just say Norman Bates is just a mama's boy.
Ooh. Difficult! But I think the whole "is he responsible?" thing is a red herring. The answer is "of course!" Why? Because the mother side of his personality IS him. So is the non-mother side. They are BOTH him. Saying he is not aware of the crimes he has committed is simply untrue. At best, one part of his mind is not aware. The other part certainly is. It's all him. Does he belong in an institution rather than prison? I think so. But this is a different matter from saying he is not responsible for his actions. He is guilty AND mentally ill. One does not preclude the other. Love your analyses, BTW. Glad you got the copyright thing straightened out, as this video is almost the definition of fair use.
one does not preclude the other, but often one can outweigh the other. do u think his evil was more predicated on disorientation through his illness or the uglier aspects of his actual character?
Your voice sounds like a 1950's movie announcer! It gave me warm vibes!
i was about to say the same thing
I´ve watched a few of your videos, and this is the very first time you actually pose the morality question: Whether he´s evil, or tragic, or can be held responsible, etc. I´ve missed that with characters like the Joker.
all of your video are super incredible and I absolutely love the content you are making!! :)
What fascinates me is the treatment of people with DID (multiple personalities) as villains. So often they are seen as wholly evil, yet this was one of the rare stories that really did showcase how Norman Bates was an abused victim and his mother was the abuser. In cases of actual DID, most often the condition stems from childhood trauma or neglect, something we see in Norman. It's also quite common for an alter to fully take over the person entirely, causing episodes of dissociative amnesia.
I don't see Norman as evil, I see Mother as being the evil one, and I think it was the Mother persona that ultimately killed the real life mother in an effort to take over the role.
Norman isn’t completely isn’t either.
But "Mother" IS just as much Norman Bates as "Norman" is. The aw shucks "Norman" that he presents to people is just as much a made-up persona as "Mother" is. You can make a strong case that "Mother" is more the real Norman Bates than "Norman" is. In fact, "Mother" is the one that is basically in control of everything that Norman Bates does!
I saw this film in two of my film classes in high school and college and Alfred Hitchcock was truly a master of his craft and Norman Bates was his near perfect villain in this film. Also you are correct VE. along with Leatherface, Norman Bates was inspired by serial killer Ed Gein.
UA-cam recommended really wanted me to check out this channel. I'm not regretting it so far.
Psycho IV:The Beginning, has a 'cured' Norman decades later telling his whole story to a radio call in therapist. Norma is depicted as bi-polar schizophrenic at best. She was herself a child bride Norman's father having been in his mid 50s and she just past 20 on his death when Norman was 5. She alternatively is permissive and once puberty hits extremely sexual with Noman, then punishing him for natural reactions to it. He laments his method of killing her, arsenic, caused her hair to fall out. So he made it into a wig. 'Norma' starts talking once he got hit on by a girl staying at the hotel a few years later.
DAYUM these analyzing evil vids are so thoughtful, in-depth, and educational. Can't get enough of em, and I think this might be my favorite so far
"Mother, mother, blood, it's blood mother!!!!" Yes, Norman's cross dressing isn't neccessary sexual at all it's, more like his mother's personality taking him over. This movie gave genuine birth to what we all know now as the "slasher genre" right here. Hitch single handedly created this by himself. Norman is definitely menatlly ill, however, he knows right from wrong. He can also be evil as well. There would be no Halloween or Friday the 13th without Psycho IMO. Excellent anaiysis from the narrator...
I miss the time when the only crossdressers in entertainment were portrayed as psychotic as they all are in real life
Norman Bates is a villain(if you count his insanity as villainy), but you feel sorry for him.
The problem is, you're feeling sorry for someone that doesn't even exist. "Norman" is just as much a made-up persona in Norman Bates' warped mind as "Mother" is.
The house and background sky gets my attention.
Simply beautiful. I think Norman is troubled. I think there is a part of him that knows he kills and the part that doesn't know he kills. I also think his "evil" is soothing, helping him work through the chaos in his mind. Killing brings a definiteness. But what does he do when there isn't a target? That's when the question of evil might not be applicable. I just love your work.
I’d love to see analysis on the whole series and the tv show. Normal’s character is very complex. If more people ask then I’ll look forward to more content! 😁
You know who you should analyze next, tony soprano.
----oooh, nice one!! Or what tortures Michael Corleone himself, why was Vito loved so much but he (Michael) is not. Both were merciless in revenge, but Vito was more discreet in every way.
@@judywright4241 Vito had a certain goodness that Michael didn't. His utter ruthless acts could still be understandably interpreted as done for family. Some acts could be even justified from a certain point of view , such as killing Don Fanucci and Don Tomasino. He had some form of standard and cared deeply for his family. He wanted Michael to to not live the life he lived, for him to lead a straight life. Yet Michael plunged into the criminal underworld and in his slow and steady downfall he told himself this lie that he did what he did for family yet he was responsible for the downfall of his family, his ego, his unstoppable, led to it(coming so far as fratricide). All his father worked for he undid.
That's why I believe Vito is the more sympathetic.(And by far the less ruthless one as well).
Norman Bates shouldn't count as "evil" since the character suffered from a severe mental disorder he had no control over ..he was a psychotic not a psychopath
In relation to the point you made about Norman and his taxidermy, I think that's spot on. I'm an only child and I most definitely thought of my stuffed (plush) animals as friends. It's just needing that connection with something, I guess. Kinda like how a lot of kids have imaginary friends.