Character Representation 1: Norman Bates

Introduction

OK, so the following article is a little bit of a experiment, I am thinking about creating a series of articles, each one released once a week. Each piece will analyse the representation of a famous film character. If you would like to suggest a character that you would like for me to analyse then feel free to comment and let me know or if you would like to, the only rule is that you have to choose a specific clip of the character, but anyway i digress, i hope you enjoy my character representation/analysis of Norman Bates

Clip Used: A boy’s best friend scene ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9mJ2oBONug) 

Norman Bates

The representation of Norman in this scene is similar to that of a young boy, innocent and calm with a profound loyalty to his mother. The beginning of the clip shows Norman talking to Marion Crane who has recently checked into the Bates motel. When Marion asks about the quietness of the hotel. The tone in which Norman replies is very friendly and calm, his posture is very relaxed but still timid with his one hand on his lap and is legs quite straight and close to the chair, this is a physical tell that he isn’t yet comfortable around Marion. While he is explaining to Marion about what he does in the motel when Norman mentions his mother he looks of breaking the eye contact between the almost to see if his mother is there, his expression does show a hint of fear as it seems he is afraid his mother might find him talking to Marion and punish him for speaking to strangers. Throughout this scene you do get the feeling that Norman is afraid of his mother but refuses to leave her side.

 Marion then asks Norman if he goes out with his friends which his response to is very interesting. His instant physical reaction is to place the hand that he had on the crow atop the draws next to him in his lap with his other hand, in turn bringing his shoulders lower and closer together changing his posture on the chair from relaxed to a more defensive and serious posture. Norman’s reply suggests a lot about his character, more specifically the way he thinks to an extent. For context, he states “well a boy’s best friend is his mother”. The slight stutter which he maintains throughout the clip also helps reinforce the comparison to, a young boy around the age of 8 or 9. What I mean by this is when young boys of that age talk to strangers specifically women and girls they are quite anxious and so they tend to stutter and breath at random points during and in-between each sentence. Anyway, back to the main point. Norman is very clearly spent his life isolated by his mother in the motel this is later reinforced in this clip with what I can only describe as a character defining moment, in my eyes anyway more on that later. Norman seems at first to be blindly loyal to his mother and shows while not a physical dependence on her shown by the fact that he takes care of the manual work and maintenance in the hotel, but rather he has an emotional and mental dependence on her as he appears to have never spent a day in his life without his mother always being there. He also seems to idolize his mother although it is indicated that he is afraid of his mother by the way he reacts when he says her name and the way he only speaks fondly of her. Now Marion crane seems quite intrigued but also slightly concerned by the fact that Norman seems to have never engaged in social experiences outside of the hotel doors or in a more realistic sense he hasn’t had any longstanding friendships at all. Norman picks up on this by Marion’s body language with her looking down at her cracker and lifting her eyebrows indicating a sense of amazement. Norman responds to this by asking Marion if she’s ever had an “empty moment in her life”. He does so with a joyous grin on his face this indicates he is becoming more comfortable with Marion and is feeling as though he can open up to her more. Marion’s response to Norman’s question is some regards very blunt and her tone is quite serious and to some extent slightly unenthusiastic. Norman then tries to change the subject by asking “where are you going”. Marion doesn’t respond and seems annoyed and upset. Norman realises this and drops his smile and his facial expression indicates he his feeling a sense of guilt and falls silent for a moment. Here Hitchcock makes the atmosphere very tense and uncomfortable within that moment of silence the audience feel a very powerful uncomfortable feeling. But it is gone as quickly as it appeared.

After a moment Norman apologizes saying “I didn’t mean to pry”. Norman is shown throughout this scene to be very sensitive which even further reinforces the comparison to a young boy as when he apologizes to Marion his voice is very soft and his tone is melancholy compared to before. The tonal shift in his voice is just another indicator of his emotions at that time. When Marion tells Norman about the private island which she is heading to he leans forward which indicates his interest and we see his posture is more intense in the sense that his body language is very loose in the sense that he looks relaxed yet tense to some degree in his want to know more about Marion. Norman decides to ask Marion about why she is going to this island saying, “what are you running away from”. Marion is quite on edge about the question which is because of the events shown earlier in the film. Marion obviously not wanting anyone to know what she did almost instantly becomes tense and uncomfortable about answering the question.

Instead she asks a counter question in her mind believing that Norman could have heard about what happened and maybe be on to her. But that is unlikely although Marion could be paranoid and so her mind could jump to this conclusion. Her voice trembles slightly when she asks Norman why he would ask her something like that. This indicates that she is nervous and worried that she might be found and caught. Norman very quietly and quickly says that he doesn’t know why he asked that which the way he quickly murmurs yet again reinforces the comparison to a young boy. He follows This by saying “people never run away from anything”. He then changes the subject to the weather when he observes that the rein was short lived. This is followed with Norman saying what I believe is the most important piece of dialogue regarding Norman bates as a character. For context, the line prior is as follows. “Were all in our private traps, clamped in them, and none of us can ever get out. We scratch and claw but only at the ear, only at each other, and for all of it we never budge an inch”.

 Now my interpretation of what Norman is saying in this line is that everyone is dealing with their own problems and issues and while we can resolve them and overcome them we can never truly get rid of them. What I mean by this is that while we may not struggle with them anymore we still remember them and we can never forget nor remove that experience. And so, in a way they remain with us indefinitely, they just don’t affect us anymore or at least in the way they once did. Anyway, back to Norman while he seems to have spent at least a large majority of his life isolated by his mother he seems to have some understanding of people this is most likely due to working in the motel and interacting with those who stay. Marion’s response to Normans initial statement “sometimes we deliberately step into those traps”. This line could be a way to explain to audience Marion’s “trap and basically how she fits into that lets call it for lack of a better term “theory”. Norman’s next line is like I mentioned previously I believe is the most important line of dialogue regarding the character of Norman bates. “I was born in mine, I don’t mind it anymore”. Marion then says, “you should mind it”. Norman continues saying “oh I do, but I say I don’t”.

Now this gives the representation that Norman has learnt to live with his issues and problems and while it bothers him he pretends like it doesn’t. In a way, this line gives the audience the impression that Norman is someone who has given up trying to fight and deal with his problems but instead as just left them to plague him for basically the rest of his life. This is crucial to the character because it shows that Norman bates is not someone who at this point is represented as not very strong mentally, this impression is giving because of 3 main factors. First, he is compared to a young boy in the way he operates mentally. Second, he has an over reliance on his mother for mental and emotional reliance and Finally, He simply doesn’t face his problems head on instead he just learns to live with them and doesn’t at this point seem to do anything about of course this is observations made at this stage in the film as for anyone who has seen the rest of the film knows the full story about Norman and the Bates Motel.

So back to the scene, Marion then changes the subject to Normans mother saying, “if anyone ever talked to me the way I heard the way she spoke to you”. After Marion says this the camera changes from just shot reverse shot like it has been for the entirety of the scene leading up to this point. The shot has changed to a low angle medium close up of Norman, which implies that he is the focus rather than both characters. The smile Norman has fades as he becomes serious and concentrated but yet still fairly relaxed in posture. Normans reply is quite intriguing and adds an extra layer to his relationship with his mother which is crucial to both his character and the story as a whole.

Norman says “sometimes when she talks to me like that, I feel I’d like to go up there and curse her and leave her forever or at least defy her. But I know I can’t”. This implies directly that Norman does want to defy his mother and fight against the implied abuse but he knows it’s pointless because he relies on her to much.

In summary, the representation of Norman Bates in this scene is contrary to what is unravelled throughout the rest of the film. He is represented as being quite sensitive emotionally and being very kind and the impression given is that he is harmless. The representation of Norman’s mother gives the impression to the audience that she is overbearing and it is implied but never explicitly told that Norman’s mother is abusive. Norman’s mental state as I have mentioned at a variety of points throughout this essay is comparable to that of a young boy around the age of 8 or 9. This is reinforced at several points throughout this scene, each I have pointed out during this essay. In conclusion, the way Norman is represented as peaceful is done intentionally as a way for the audience to connect and empathise with Norman before the later events of the film take place and make the audience question Norman and his mental and physical capabilities. This is a clever way of surprising the audience and getting them invested in the film and the world it takes place in.