⚠ Content Note: This episode discusses murder, gender-based violence, queerphobia, and ableist tropes in film. Listener wellbeing comes first — take breaks when needed.
Aurora Brown and true-crime podcaster and author Nicole Engelbrecht check into the Bates Motel to unpack Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960) — the film that redefined horror, shocked censors, and spawned a thousand shower-scene parodies. But beneath the shrieking violins and the chocolate-syrup blood, Psycho is a story about repression, gender panic, a...
⚠ Content Note: This episode discusses murder, gender-based violence, queerphobia, and ableist tropes in film. Listener wellbeing comes first — take breaks when needed.
Aurora Brown and true-crime podcaster and author Nicole Engelbrecht check into the Bates Motel to unpack Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960) — the film that redefined horror, shocked censors, and spawned a thousand shower-scene parodies. But beneath the shrieking violins and the chocolate-syrup blood, Psycho is a story about repression, gender panic, and the ways patriarchy pathologises femininity, queerness, and mental illness.
Together, they trace Norman Bates from Ed Gein’s farm to Freud’s couch. The episode closes with the Fanon Test for Mental Health Representation. Spoiler: Norman doesn’t score well.
Connect with Nicole Engelbrecht
Website: https://truecrimesouthafrica.com/
Socials: @truecrimesouthafrica
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⏳ Chapter Timestamps
00:00:00 Land acknowledgement
00:00:28 Title credits
00:01:14 Content note
00:01:45 Welcome
00:05:17 Introduction: "Am I acting as if there's something wrong?"
00:09:59 Recap of Psycho: "Twelve cabins, 12 vacancies."
00:30:15 Discussing Psycho: "A son is a poor substitute for a lover."
00:52:32 Scene Analysis: Privately trapped in a parlour with Norman Bates
01:00:46 Does Psycho pass the Fanon Test?
01:11:59 Checking Out: "I'm looking for a private island."
01:13:02 End credits
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📚 References
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