Download - Psych LitCrit
-
7/30/2019 Psych LitCrit
1/19
Psychological CriticismAn Introduction
-
7/30/2019 Psych LitCrit
2/19
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
-
7/30/2019 Psych LitCrit
3/19
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.
-
7/30/2019 Psych LitCrit
4/19
Key ConceptsInternal conflict is caused by a struggleto fit into society because of hidden
unacceptable desires or fears, oftencaused by personal trauma.
-
7/30/2019 Psych LitCrit
5/19
DiscussionIf one did not deal with his or herinternal conflict, what might be the
psychological and emotional results?
-
7/30/2019 Psych LitCrit
6/19
Key ConceptsThis internal conflict expresses itself ina variety of ways: depression, mental
illness, emotional disturbance,abnormal sexual activity, drug andalcohol abuse, obsessions, violence, etc.
-
7/30/2019 Psych LitCrit
7/19
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
-
7/30/2019 Psych LitCrit
8/19
Memento (2000)
http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi1368785177/http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi1368785177/ -
7/30/2019 Psych LitCrit
9/19
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
-
7/30/2019 Psych LitCrit
10/19
Felicias Journey (1999)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2yPGlwHk_Ihttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2yPGlwHk_I -
7/30/2019 Psych LitCrit
11/19
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
-
7/30/2019 Psych LitCrit
12/19
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.
-
7/30/2019 Psych LitCrit
13/19
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
-
7/30/2019 Psych LitCrit
14/19
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.
-
7/30/2019 Psych LitCrit
15/19
Alfred Hitchcock
-
7/30/2019 Psych LitCrit
16/19
Marnie
http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi216269593/http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi216269593/ -
7/30/2019 Psych LitCrit
17/19
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.
-
7/30/2019 Psych LitCrit
18/19
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.
-
7/30/2019 Psych LitCrit
19/19
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.