The complexities of the mother-son relationship are perhaps most pronounced in the works of psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, who extensively wrote about the Oedipus complex. According to Freud, the mother-son relationship is inherently fraught with conflict, as the son's desire for independence and individuation inevitably leads to a struggle for power and control. This concept has been widely debated and explored in literary and cinematic works, including the films of Alfred Hitchcock, such as "Psycho" (1960) and "The Birds" (1963).