VISA 1500 Assignment 4, part A

Maria Jesus Castro Suarez

T00675825

VISA Assignment 4

The most recent action movie I have watched is, Psycho, directed by Alfred Hitchcock. This movie is an action, thriller movie. The scene I have selected is the climax of the story, in which the murderer kills a woman from the city, who has stolen $40000 from one of her clients. To start off, the movie Is filmed in black and white. With this type of movie style, lighting is crucial. For example, the white lighting in this scene illustrates a normal action of everyday life, and in this case, the woman taking a shower. When the murderer appears, his shadow appears dark, which indicates a shift form a positive environment to a negative environment. The dark tones build an emotion of fear and anxiousness. When the murderer stabs the woman, the frame shift follows the motion of the stabbing, which add emphasis on each stab performed. The camera movement starts from the murderer perspective of the woman in the shower, and then it switches to the woman’s point of view to show her outlook of the situation. Finally, it switches back to the murderer’s perspective, with close ups of where the woman is getting stabbed, including a shot of her pool of blood. Throughout this scene, the speed increase as he continues to stab the woman, and this builds a state of discomfort on the audience. Also, music is added to this scene so emphasize the suspense. The woman continues to scream as she is being stabbed, which demonstrates her emotions. Regarding character, woman are generally victims of violence and assault, like in this movie. In a study conducted by Xie and Lee on” Anticipated Violence, Arousal, and Enjoyment of Movies: Viewers’ Reactions to Violence Previews Based on Arousal-Seeking Tendency”, they argue that “according to Walker (2000), the most common form of physical aggression in television promotional announcements and print advertisements is physical threat, followed by assault with an object, shooting, and general assault” (p278). To elaborate, in the Hollywood industry violence is promoted through the actions of physical threats imposed on individuals especially through the acts of committing assault with objects. In the movie Psycho, this is shown when the murderer uses the knife to commit a crime. In contrast, in the study conducted by Dahl and Dellavigna, they explain “that survey respondents who watch more violent media are substantially more likely to be involved in self-reported violence and crime. This second type of evidence, although indeed linking media violence and crime, has the standard problems of endogeneity and reverse causation” (p.678). In this study, Dahl and Dellavigna do correlate violent movies to promotion of violence, but they mention that this is relatively true in come circumstances. Other factors play roles in the impacts of violent films on the public. It is hard to dictate whether violent movies influence people. According to the box office mojo, Psycho has a domestic ranking of 2671 and a profit of $32 million USD. Psycho may produce consequences on their viewers, such as promotion of violence, and an introduction to mental health disorders in the 1960s.

References:

 Dahl, G., & Dellavigna, S. (2009). Does Movie Violence Increase Violent Crime? Quarterly Journal of

Economics, 124(2), 677–734. https://doi-org.ezproxy.tru.ca/10.1162/qjec.2009.124.2.677

Psycho – Box Office Mojo

Xie, G.-X., & Lee, M. J. (2008). Anticipated Violence, Arousal, and Enjoyment of Movies: Viewers’

Reactions to Violent Previews Based on Arousal-Seeking Tendency. Journal of Social Psychology, 148(3), 277–292. https://doi-org.ezproxy.tru.ca/10.3200/SOCP.148.3.277-292