Psychoanalytic Film Theory and The Rules of the Game

Description

The Film Theory in Practice Series fills a gaping hole in the world of film theory. By marrying the explanation of film theory with interpretation of a film, the volumes provide discrete examples of how film theory can serve as the basis for textual analysis. The first book in the series, Psychoanalytic Film Theory and The Rules of the Game, offers a concise introduction to psychoanalytic film theory in jargon-free language and shows how this theory can be deployed to interpret Jean Renoir’s classic film. It traces the development of psychoanalytic film theory through its foundation in the thought of Sigmund Freud and Jacques Lacan through its contemporary manifestation in the work of theorists like Slavoj Žižek and Joan Copjec. This history will help students and scholars who are eager to learn more about this important area of film theory and bring the concepts of psychoanalytic film theory into practice through a detailed interpretation of the film. Title Page Copyright Page Contents Acknowledgments Introduction The intrinsic conjunction The necessity of the disguise The necessity of the obstacle The form of desire Psychoanalysis and The Rules of the Game Notes Chapter 1 Psychoanalytic film theory The unconscious Biology and culture Need, demand, and desire The symbolic order The real The imaginary Desire The two objects Fantasy Enjoyment Screen theory The trauma of Joan Copjec The significance of Slavoj Žižek The gaze or what is not seen The voice or what is not heard Antagonism elided Antagonism exposed Notes Chapter 2 Psychoanalysis and The Rules of the Game Speaking to the unconscious The real Rules of the Game An excess of genre From class to nation Rules that can never be stated The fundamental rule A world of accidents Everyone on board Parallel exclusions Democracy and depth of field Hunting for obedience The indifference of identity The play’s the thing The absence of a ghost in the machine The exception becomes the rule An absence of romance Renoir’s gaze Notes Conclusion: Psychoanalytic film theory today Notes Further Reading Index