The online magazine PopMatters hosted a celebration of the work of Alfred Hitchcock in June 2010, partly to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Psycho. I was invited to contribute a featured  article on Psycho, and also wrote new evaluations and reviews of some of Hitchcock’s most memorable films.

My article is titled ‘Get Out of the Shower’ : The Shower Scene and Hitchcock’s Narrative Style in Psycho.

I was interested in the way this film has become iconic in popular culture, but in ways that actually miss the core of Hitchcock’s narrative techniques: it is as if the famous “shower scene” has been removed from the actual film, and floats in popular culture as if it does not need any narrative, no setup and no explanation. The music of that scene works this way too, it is so memorable that even people who have not seen the film recognize the music.

You can read the article in its original location by clicking on the poster for Psycho!