Alfred Hitchcocks Movie, Psycho and its Impact on the...

Alfred Hitchcocks Movie, Psycho and its Impact on the Film Industry The 1960s marked a big change in American cinema. With the collapse of the Hollywood Studio System came a weakening of censorship laws; sex and violence moved from obscurity to the forefront of mainstream cinema (Nowell-Smith 464). Although it quickly became clear that a market existed for such films, the earliest attempts to foray into the world of modern cinema were met with ambivalence. Alfred Hitchcocks Psycho, made in 1960, was one of the first of many to depict sexuality and violence in a graphic manner (Nowell-Smith 491). Although the youth market was ready for such a change, the older audience resisted the modern trends. For this reason, Psycho was†¦show more content†¦As he put it: Our big problem...is trying to make the censors understand that the young people are much more sophisticated than they used to be (Kapsis 58). Hitchcock explained the reason for filming a woman wearing only her under garments in the opening sequence of Psycho: Audiences are changing....The straightforward kissing scene would be looked down at by the younger viewers....Nowadays you have to show them as they themselves behave (Hitchcock 1). The director was keenly aware of how audiences responded to his films (Rebello 163) and sought to maintain their interest. He was among a handful of Hollywood filmmakers who deliberately sought out innovative composers (Nowell-Smith 258); for Psycho, Hitchcock hired Bernard Hermann who wrote a modern score which challenged the norm. The title itself, fifties and sixties slang for the violently psychotic, suggested the imminence of a new generation (Brill 200). Fully aware that his film was unconventional and daring, Hitchcock used the media to sell his film to a younger, fresher audience (Kapsis 13). It was advertised as: Alfred Hitchcocks greatest, most shocking mystery with a galaxy of stars (Greene 1). The stars themselves (Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, and Anthony Perkins) were of a younger generation than the top stars Hitchcock had previously employed for his films (Finler 131). Posters for Psycho featured a scantily clad Leigh wearingShow MoreRelatedEssay Filmmakers Use of Shock in Psycho and Jaws1528 Words   |  7 Pagesdrama, with tension, suspense or surprise being the primary emotions felt by the audience as part of the situation (Dirks). However, the term is most often used in regards to an audience’s perception in dramatic works such as film. One often experiences a sense of shock in film due to the filmmaker’s ability to manipulate technical elements such as sound and camera angles in order to elicit feelings of suspense and tension from the audience. 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