Psycho

Norman Bates is not external to American life but is part of the regular patterns and behaviors that typify it. With Psycho the events of horror and the existence of monsters is now a product of the American way of life. Compare Norman to the monsters of the classic horror films who were different from us, not only in their “abnormality”, but also in their foreignness. We are frightened by the classic monsters not only for their perversity and malformation, but also for their difference. With their foreign accents and connections to faraway lands, the classic horror film monsters are really outsiders bent on disrupting our way of life. (We need only think of Dracula). The narratives of these classic horror films frequently end with the vanquishing of the exotic monster and the ideologically strengthening of the borders of normality within our nation and our psyches. With Norman Bates the monstrous comes from the institution that is closest to home and at the heart of American life; the family.