Psych LitCrit

7/30/2019 Psych LitCrit

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Psychological CriticismAn Introduction


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Quiz: What do you know?Provide the appropriate answer below.

I know who Sigmund Freud is.a. Yes b. Kind of c. Not at All

I am familiar with his theories of how theunconscious motivates our daily actions.

a. Yes b. Kind of c. Not At All

I know who Carl Jung is.a. Yes b. Kind of c. Not at All

4. I am familiar with his theory of archetypes.a. Yes b. Kind of c. Not At All


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BeginningsSigmund Freud:

1856-1939

Why did you do that?Looked to literature for answers and examples

Conscious actions driven by unconscious desiresand fears (often in response to personal trauma)

Unconscious expresses itself in form of dreams,creative acts, slips of the tongue, jokes, etc.


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Key ConceptsInternal conflict is caused by a struggleto fit into society because of hidden

unacceptable desires or fears, oftencaused by personal trauma.


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DiscussionIf one did not deal with his or herinternal conflict, what might be the

psychological and emotional results?


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Key ConceptsThis internal conflict expresses itself ina variety of ways: depression, mental

illness, emotional disturbance,abnormal sexual activity, drug andalcohol abuse, obsessions, violence, etc.


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Key ConceptsOne can deal with traumatic events and uncomfortableemotions in a variety of unhealthy ways:

Repression: hiding ones desires and fears in

the unconsciousIsolation: disconnecting ones emotions from a

traumatic eventDenial: refusing to accept ones unacceptable

desires or fears or a traumatic eventSublimation: redirecting an unacceptabledesire into a creative act


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Memento (2000)
http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi1368785177/http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi1368785177/


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Key ConceptsDisplacement: replacing an unacceptableobject of ones emotion with a safe oneProjection: placing ones unacceptable orunworthy desires or fears onto anotherIntellectualization: avoiding ones desires andfears by analyzing them and rationalizingthem instead of feeling them

Reaction Formation: believing the opposite istrue to avoid facing the truth about atraumatic event


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Felicias Journey (1999)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2yPGlwHk_Ihttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2yPGlwHk_I


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Carl Jung1875-1961

Looked to fairytales and myths for answers to

human motivation/actionsConscious vs. collective unconscious thatcontained images and themes commonacross time and culture (archetypes)

Archetypes present in dreams, myths,fairytales


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ArchetypesImages and patterns experienced in the unconsciousby all humans, regardless of culture or place.

Images and patterns that symbolize or guide ones

psychological journey toward identity.Archetypes help psyche develop by representingcommon experiences and shared knowledge of lifesjourney.

Common Archetypes: Animus/Anima; Mother/Father;Sage (Wise one); Orphan; Destroyer; Warrior;Caregiver; Fool; the Double etc.


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Psychology and FilmFilms activate unconscious desires andfears.

Film is a form of voyeurism (scopicdrive)

Fetishizing the body: Body becomes avisual fetish for viewer.

Taboo Images: Images and experiencesforbidden society such as sex andviolence give voyeuristic pleasure in film


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Yet MoreFilms offer viewers a clue into theunconscious motivations, desires, and

fears of directors and actors.Similar patterns of images, plots, andtopics occur of the course of a career

that reveal something about thedirector or actors unconscious mind.


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Alfred Hitchcock


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Marnie
http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi216269593/http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi216269593/


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How to . . .Ask why the director created such a film,particularly focusing on what may have been

unconscious motivationsAsk why the character acted a certain way ina film, again particularly focusing onunconscious motivations

Ask how the viewers unconsciousmotivated a particular reaction to a film.


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How to . . .Look for instances of repression, isolation, sublimation, displacement,denial, projection, intellectualization, and/or reaction Formation in theactions of characters.Identify internal conflicts present in characters that cause themdifficulty fitting into society or being happy.

Note expressions of the unconscious in characters dreams, voices,creative acts (or any actions), slips of the tongue, jokes, etc.Note descriptions of the unconscious in a film.Note archetypal images or patterns in a film.Note how a characters identity is developed in a film.Analyze viewers response to the film, especially in terms of scopic

drive.Analyze a set of films by a director or actor for patterns of images,plots, topics, etc. that give clues to his or her unconscious motivations,fears, and desires.


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ResourcesLynn, Steven. Texts and Contexts.

New York: HaperCollins, 1994.

Giannetti, Louis. Understanding the Movies. 11thed. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2008.

Pearson, Carol S. Awakening the Hero Within.HarperCollins, 1991.

Prince, Stephen. Movies and Meaning. 2nd ed.Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2001.

Documents

Psych LitCrit