Horror Film and Psychoanalysis
Horror Film and Psychoanalysis
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Psychoanalytic theory has been the subject of attacks from philosophers, cultural critics and scientists who have questioned the cogency of its reasoning as well as the soundness of its premises. Nevertheless, when used to shed light on horror cinema, psychoanalysis in its various forms has proven to be a fruitful and provocative interpretative tool. This volume seeks to find the proper place of psychoanalytic thought in critical discussion of cinema in a series of essays that debate its legitimacy, utility and validity as applied to the horror genre. It distinguishes itself from previous work in this area through the self-consciousness with which psychoanalytic concepts are employed and the theorization that coexists with interpretations of particular horror films and subgenres.
- Latest research and thinking in the application of psychoanalytic theory to the horror film
- Brings together scholars from different disciplines within the humanities and social sciences who have often-conflicting views on the subject
- Sophisticated, yet accessible treatment of horror cinema through the lens of psychoanalysis
Reviews & endorsements
Review of the hardback: 'Who can resist a volume which, apropos the most popular movie genre - horror, stages the debate between the main orientations of contemporary psychoanalytic film theory? And why should we resist a unique combination of top theory and fascinating topic? Everyone in cinema and cultural studies should just grab this collection, sit down and learn!' Slavoj Zizek , Ljubljana, University of Slovenia
Review of the hardback: 'This superb collection offers its readers a roller-coaster ride through contemporary film theory and the question of horror. Psychoanalysis is the central issue for many contributors, with essays exploring not only its place in relation to the Gothic Imagination at the heart of horror but also its consequent role in both forming and analysing the horror film. Sparks fly across the pages as the philosophical and epistemological premises of theories of horror are themselves subjected to analysis and evaluation as well as, in some cases, rejection. All the while the horror film, in all its gory glory, both uncanny and irrepressible, remains centre stage throughout the wide-ranging discussions and analyses of films from Nosferatu to Scream. The essays in The Horror Film and Psychoanalysis: Freud's Worst Nightmares are exemplary philosophical and aesthetic discussions, their complex and subtle arguments are both challenging and thought-provoking.' Elizabeth Cowie, University of Kent, Canterbury
Product details
July 2006Adobe eBook Reader
9780511208058
0 pages
0kg
This ISBN is for an eBook version which is distributed on our behalf by a third party.
Table of Contents
- Preface: what lies beneath? Robin Wood
- Introduction: Psychoanalysis in/and/of the horror film Steven Jay Schneider
- Part I. The Question of Horror-Pleasure:
- 1. 'What's the matter with Melanie?': reflections on the merits of psychoanalytic approaches to modern horror cinema Cosimo Urbano
- 2. A fun night out: horror and other pleasures of the cinema Michael Levine
- 3. Excerpt from 'Why Horror? The New Pleasures of a Popular Genre' (with a new afterword by the author) Andrew Tudor
- 4. Philosophical problems concerning the concept of pleasure for future psychoanalytical theories of (the horror) film Malcolm Turvey
- Part II. Theorizing the Uncanny:
- 5. Explaining the uncanny in The Double Life of Véronique Cynthia Freeland
- 6. Manifestations of the literary double in modern horror cinema Steven Jay Schneider
- 7. Heimlich maneuvers: on a certain tendency of horror and speculative cinema Harvey Roy Greenberg
- 8. 'It was a dark and stormy night …': horror films and the problem of irony Jonathan L. Crane
- Part III. Representing Psychoanalysis:
- 9. 'What does Dr. Judd want?': transformation, transference and divided selves in Cat People William Paul
- 10. 'Ultimate formlessness': cinema, horror, and the limits of meaning Michael Grant
- 11. Freud's worst nightmare: dining with Dr Hannibal Lecter Barbara Creed
- Part IV. New Directions:
- 12. Doing things with theory: from Freud's worst nightmares to (disciplinary) dreams of horror's cultural value Matt Hills
- 13. The darker side of genius: the (horror) auteur meets Freud's theory Linda Badley
- 14. Violence and psychophysiology in horror cinema Stephen Prince
- Afterword: psychoanalysis and the horror film Noël Carroll.
