Freudian Imagery In Art & Film A Tour of the Unconscious Made Manifest

Psychoanalytic Criticism A twentieth-century school of thought. Consider literature and art analogous to dreams. Like dreams and folklore, literature and art uses images and symbols to make unconscious psychological conflicts and feelings manifest. Early art, mythology and folklore contained these images unconsciously. In the post-Freud years, artists and writers chose to include images which would recall the unconscious.

Sexual Imagery Phallic Symbols Feminine Symbols Any image recalling the male reproductive organs. Some emphasize the generative or creative power. Others emphasize the penetrating, invasive or destructive power Feminine Symbols Any image recalling the female reproductive organs. Some emphasize the warm, nurturing maternal side of women. Other depict the Freudian idea of the nightmarish, monstrous feminine.

Dream Imagery and Interpretation Freud believed that dreams operated on two levels. The “manifest content” was the imagery of the dream which the dreamer could sometimes remember. The “latent content” was the hidden significance of the dream, which could be interpreted through the dream’s symbolic language. Freud believed that all dreams were significant and revealed something about the unconscious.

Unconscious Desires and Fears are Symbolically Represented Id impulses--which the conscious mind perceives only dimly as hunger, thirst, sexual desire--are often symbolically represented. Fears which cannot be held in the conscious mind--such as the fear of castration, or loss of the parents--can be represented symbolically.

The Phallic Symbol Achievement of Man The phallic image is rooted in architectural history.

The Phallic Symbol Achievement of Man The phallic image is rooted in architectural history.

The Phallic Symbol Achievement of Man The phallic image is rooted in architectural history.

The Phallic Symbol Achievement of Man The phallic image is rooted in architectural history. Skyscrapers symbolize dominance of the natural world.

The Phallic Symbol Achievement of Man The phallic image is rooted in architectural history. Skyscrapers symbolize dominance of the natural world. “World’s tallest building”

The Phallic Symbol Destructive Power Most weapons of war have a phallic nature

The Phallic Symbol Destructive Power Most weapons of war have a phallic nature Masculinity and the ability to destroy are closely linked.

The Phallic Symbol Destructive Power Most weapons of war have a phallic nature Masculinity and the ability to destroy are closely linked.

The Phallic Symbol

The Phallic Symbol

The Phallic Symbol Nightmarish Visions Castration complex & phallic anxiety. In Freudian dream analysis, ‘walking into a room’ is thought to represent sexual intercourse

The Phallic Symbol Nightmarish Visions Castration complex & phallic anxiety. In Freudian dream analysis, ‘walking into a room’ is thought to represent sexual intercourse

The Phallic Symbol Nightmarish Visions Castration complex & phallic anxiety. In Freudian dream analysis, ‘walking into a room’ is thought to represent sexual intercourse

The Feminine Symbol Like the phallic symbol, the feminine symbol appears in two variations.

The Feminine Symbol Nurturing Woman These images recall the warm, maternal aspect of woman, and the safety and security of hearth and home.

The Feminine Symbol Nurturing Woman These images recall the warm, maternal aspect of woman, and the safety and security of hearth and home. Flowers and other plants often represent the feminine, as in the work of Georgia O’Keefe.

The Feminine Symbol Nurturing Woman These images recall the warm, maternal aspect of woman, and the safety and security of hearth and home. Flowers and other plants often represent the feminine, as in the work of Georgia O’Keefe.

The Feminine Symbol The recognition that boys and girls have biological differences, and the beginnings of the castration complex, lead to a fear of women by boys. This fear of women and their power becomes manifest in a nightmarish image called the vagina dentata, or ‘devouring woman.’

The Feminine Symbol “Devouring Woman” The Gorgon Medusa is one of the earliest mythological representations of this monstrous feminine figure.

The Feminine Symbol “Devouring Woman” The Gorgon Medusa is one of the earliest mythological representations of the monstrous feminine. The female vampire is another symbolic representation which has its origin in antiquity but has persisted in modern culture. Catherine Deneuve in The Hunger

The Feminine Symbol The Vampire Philip Burne-Jones

The Feminine Symbol “Devouring Woman” The Gorgon Medusa is one of the earliest mythological representations of the monstrous feminine. The female vampire is another symbolic representation which has its origin in antiquity but has persisted in modern culture. Science fiction has also drawn on this image, as in this still from Aliens.

The Feminine Symbol “Devouring Woman” James Cameron’s film, in fact, climaxes with a striking confrontation between the dichotomous mother-images.

The Feminine Symbol “Devouring Woman” The image of the mythological earth-mother as voracious devourer can be found throughout hero fiction from Beowulf. . .

The Feminine Symbol “Devouring Woman” The image of the mythological earth-mother as voracious devourer can be found throughout hero fiction from Beowulf to Return of the Jedi.

Unconscious Desires and Fears Ideas which are difficult to express consciously often manifest themselves in art, folklore and literature.

Fear of the Feminine Traditional or enforced standards of dress one way to control.

Fear of the Feminine                                       Traditional or enforced standards of dress one way to control.

Fear of the Feminine Traditional or enforced standards of dress one way to control. ‘real’ live women replaced by perfect re-creations. ‘real’ women often depicted as helpless or trapped.                                                                                                                        

Unconscious Desires and Fears Animals, such as wolves and apes, often symbolize aggressive, id-driven impulses, combining hunger and sex. Fairy-tales become warnings about the dangers of premature or illicit sexuality. “Straying off the path” leads to danger for both Red Riding Hood and her grandmother.

Unconscious Desires and Fears Of course, children love their mothers, but there’s often a fair amount of anger and resentment towards the parents, too. Since this cannot be safely psychologically expressed towards the real parents, wicked witches and evil stepmothers provide convenient substitutes. doppelganger: a psychological double-or stand-in onto which anxiety or aggression can be safely projected.

Unconscious Desires and Fears

Castration Complex Boy realizes physical differences between boys and girls. Boy theorizes that maybe, just maybe, girls and boys originally had penises, but lost them. Since the power in the household lies mostly with the father, the boy assumes that the father can and possibly will castrate him for misbehaving. Fear of castration is also related to the terrifying image of the vagina dentata--or woman as castrator. Fear of castration cannot be consciously expressed.

Castration Complex Injuries to, or severing of hands or other limbs. Common Castration Images Include: Injuries to, or severing of hands or other limbs.

Castration Complex Injuries to, or severing of hands or other limbs. Common Castration Images Include: Injuries to, or severing of hands or other limbs.

Castration Complex Injuries to, or severing of hands or other limbs. Common Castration Images Include: Injuries to, or severing of hands or other limbs. Blinding--as in the original myth of Oedipus who blinds himself in guilt.

Castration Complex Injuries to, or severing of hands or other limbs. Common Castration Images Include: Injuries to, or severing of hands or other limbs. Blinding--as in the original myth of Oedipus who blinds himself in horror.

Castration Complex Injuries to, or severing of hands or other limbs. Common Castration Images Include: Injuries to, or severing of hands or other limbs. Blinding. A small or ‘diminished’ man.

Don’t Worry; Women Get a Complex, too.

This idea has been discredited Penis Envy In Freud’s view, when girls noticed the basic differences between the sexes, they would feel cheated, and want what the boys had. Eventually, they would identify with their mothers and accept their role as women. If unable to resolve this problem, they would continue to seek to develop masculine characteristics. This idea has been discredited

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