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November 03, 2003
Norman Bates
Many people enjoy the independence and pride that comes with running their own small business. Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) was hardly independent though, running a little motel off a country road under the ever watchful eye of his overbearing, controlling mother. The Bates Motel was off the beaten path, so it was with some surprise that a young woman stopped by on a rainy night looking for a room.
Her name was Marion Crane, and she had brought a few secrets with her to the motel. Intrigued by this young woman - and no doubt sexually repressed - young Norman hands over the key to Room #1 (the one with the peephole) and watched Marion as she undressed to take a shower. Moments later, Norman had run off home and Marion received a visitor of her own while in the shower. A dark figure with a large kitchen knife surprised her and stabbed her dozens of times, leaving her for dead on the floor.
Upon discovering the body, Norman knew his mother had done the deed. He placed the body in the woman's car and sank it into a nearby pond. This would cover up the murder only temporarily, as others came by looking for the woman. Apparently, she had left town quite suddenly, and taken a lot of stolen money with her. Norman knew nothing of the money, of course, and it wasn't really important anyway. Covering up the misdeeds of his mother was. As the outsiders became suspicious and snooped around, Norman's mother struck again, sending a private detective down a flight of stairs to his death. It wasn't until one of them discovered a hideous secret in the basement of the Bates home that they realized what and who they were dealing with. The rotting corpse of Norman's mother was found, poisoned by her son, and Norman stormed in, wearing a wig and one of his mother's dresses, hoping to kill anyone else in his way.
Norman would be subdued and later find himself committed, with a psychiatrist calling him the poor victim of a split personality disorder. Unable to come to terms with the murder/death of his mother, Norman began to adopt her personality, bringing her back to life, so to speak, to fill the void. The mother personality continued to suppress Norman and his desires, however, and the only way to keep Norman down was to eliminate the bad influences: young women being one of them. This is what happened to Marion Crane. And now, the mother personality had taken over completely. Norman Bates was no more.
INTELLIGENCE - 5: Norman is a mama's boy, unable to think for himself, but he's capable of carrying out her wishes.
POWER - 5: He's a tall drink o' water but not incredibly strong.
VILENESS - 8: Mother's jealousy fueled an incredible rage capable of committing murder.
SWAY - 3: Very shy and overpowered by his Mother, Norman has held his tongue far too often.
PURITY - 10: You can almost hear the cuckoo birds singing inside his head.
PHYSICAL - 5: Norman's not strange-looking until he puts on the wig and dress.
TOTAL: 36
Posted by Destro at November 3, 2003 09:11 AM