Freud and Film Essay - 2304 Words

Freud and Film Films are probably the closest medium we have to experiencing the inexplicable quality of the dream in our waking lives. Rich in symbol, metaphor, movement and mystery, films, like dreams, enable us to participate in another reality, and, through that participation, to be transformed. Films are like dreams and dreams interpret symbolism in ways science has not even fully discovered yet. The images and symbols within a film are unending and unaccountable. Even the creators of films themselves cannot be aware of the unconscious impact of them all. Imagine the impact of a movie that was full of imagery that only, in its unconscious capacity, complimented the narrative. The film, October, contains an overwhelming†¦show more content†¦If science ever does discover the symbolism behind all the different images which may be used in film and how to use them it will revolutionize the industry and films will become much more deeply impactive and culturally embedded in our day to day lives then they are even today. If Sigmund Freud were alive today and studying film he would argue that mise-en-scene is the most important part of film because of its potential for communication through symbolism. Freud suggests that dreams are a process of wish fulfillment. Freud considred dreams to be a manifestation of the fulfillment of a wish. Taking into account the fact that our dreams often take the form of a story in which we are the protagonist, the totally egotistical nature of dreams, it would make sense for us, as an audience, to identify with the protagonist on screen when we are in a dream enduced state such as in the cinema. When one is in a sleep-like environment, such as the cinema, it is easy to see how through the unconscious process of wish fulfillment one can identify with the characters or lose oneself within a film. This is similar to what we do in our dreams. Through this process of feeling like one is within the story of the film, the imagery and its symbolism become even more pow erful. If the wrong filmmaker has this knowledge and the power to manipulate a great number ofShow MoreRelated Humanities’ Irrational and its Effects on a Utopian Society1690 Words   |  7 PagesThe human psyche is divided into rational and irrational drives. Courtesy of Sigmund Freud, it is divided into the id, ego, and super-ego. According to Freud, although the super-ego controls the other two to present ourselves in a rational state within society, the id often tends to be out of complete control by the conscious, making it an unconscious action. For Freud, it’s the recognition that the irrational is there, that it must be controlled to take over. Man’s aggressive nature does tend toRead MoreFreud s Worst Nightmare Perfect Sex Dream1021 Words   |  5 Pagesand assumptions on Freud and his relation to modern cinema, memories, and the development of the original horror film. She begins by describing Freud and his obsession with horror. She briefly mention s some of his case histories that entail themes of sexual abuse, hysteria, bestiality, phobias, and perversity, but primarily continues to inform us of his hatred of cinema. Considering Freud was born in 1856, he was just reaching his mid 50’s when early cinema really took off. Films and movies becameRead MoreEssay on Freuds Concept of the Uncanny1086 Words   |  5 Pagesuncanniness. The psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud endeavored to explain this feeling of uncanniness in his essay entitled â€Å"The Uncanny†. Freud’s theory focuses around two different causes for this reaction. Freud attributes the feeling of uncanniness to repressed infantile complexes that have been revived by some impression, or when primitive beliefs that have been surmounted seem once more to be confirmed. The first point of his theory that Freud discusses in the essay is the repressionRead MoreFreuds Theories Applied in Inception1220 Words   |  5 Pagespiece of art there is usually an inspiration of some sort that gave the artist influence on their production. In contemporary society, we often see modern artists use influences from past theories, ideas, designs, etc. Inception, the 2010 sci-fi action film, is a movie about illegal spying by entering the minds of certain individuals by sharing dreams. Dom Cobb and his partner, Arthur, use this tactic to extract or plant desired information from or into their unconscious. Mr. Saito, an exceedingly wealthyRead MoreThe Movie Fight Club By Chuck Palahniuk1083 Words   |  5 PagesSigmund Freud was a highly criticized psychologist, psychoanalyst, prominent philosopher and also a medical doctor. The bulk of is work and theories were done around the early twentieth century. Although this was quite some time ago, many of his findings are still a topic of debate for scholars. Along with some m ore recent theories, much of the fundamental aspects of psychoanalyses can be drawn back to Freudian concepts. Traces of his concepts and ideas can even be seen in other aspects of life,Read MoreMovie Analysis : Fight Club 1423 Words   |  6 PagesD), is a film about the alienation and search for self of the character known only as the narrator. The males featured within the film all partake in fighting each other in order to assert their masculinity and in turn find that sense of self. The narrator begins the film as an insomniac, but as the film runs on we actually come to see his personality has been fractured by the alienation that he experiences. It becomes evident that the narrator and the majority of males within the film have all sufferedRead MoreVision And The Act Of Looking1527 Words   |  7 PagesThe Ocular Spectatorship Vision and the act of looking is an important and recurring theme in many horror films. In early gothic literature, such as in Guy de Maupassant s Le Horla, the author presents vision as definitive and universal proof and stresses the importance of seeing as well as the act of showing gore. As a society, we are routinely told ‘seeing is believing in the wake of any paranormal or supernatural phenomena, placing weight on the tangible. However, as science and technologyRead More Film Adaptation of Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex Essay971 Words   |  4 Pages â€Å"You are your own enemy† (Guthrie, Oedipus Rex, 22:43). In the film adaptation of Sophocles’ â€Å"Oedipus Rex† (1957), Sir Tyrone Guthrie portrays the characters as truth seekers that are ignorant when trying to find King Laius’ murderer. On the other hand, Sigmund Freud’s hypothesis of Sophocles’ work introduces us to â€Å"The Oedipus Complex† (1899) which states that as we’re young we grow infatuated with our opposite sex parent and feel resentment towards our same-sex parent. These two pieces have adaptedRead MoreSurrealism In Un Chien Andalou1157 Words   |  5 Pageswhich are almost completely exempt from reason, aesthetic and moral concern. I shall, therefore, for the purpose of this essay, analyse the ways in which Luis Buà ±uel and Salvador Dalà ­ managed to express the ‘true functioning of the mind’ in their film Un Chien Andalou, a representation of the nature of dreams, according to Breton’s definition of Surrealism. In Manifeste du surrà ©alisme, Breton gives the following as his definition of Surrealism: â€Å"Automatisme psychique pur, par lequel on se proposeRead MorePatrick Bateman in American Psycho - A Freudian Analysis1413 Words   |  6 Pagesappeared to enjoy killing women in particular including one that he seemed genuinely affectionate for. Throughout the film, Patrick kills over 20 people. Many times he could not tell whether or not the events were real or simply a part of a psychotic delusion brought on by his problems. His character revealed the inner goings on in his mind by narrating these thoughts throughout the film. Patrick acknowledged that what he was doing was wrong. He noted that he had been depersonalized and that he had lost