The Oedipal Trajectory + Sutura
Modern interpretation
- combo of Freud conception of the Oedipal complex and Jacques Lacan's account of the mirror stage
- Application can be used to analyse the narratives of a range of different films
- It was initially based on male perspectives, but has since been adapted to encapsulate female perspective to
Oedipal Trajectory - males - summary
- A male child, who at first is bonded with his mother, imagines himself a united whole with her
- However, when held up to a mirror, he perceives his difference from her
- He becomes aware of the illusion of unity yet still desires it. This desire now becomes sexual
- He comes to hate his father, as his farther 'lawful' access to the mother
- The child perceives this difference as one of castration: he sees the mother as castrated
- To identify with her would thus mean eh would be w/o his penis - in identifying with her becomes likes her; in uniting with her, he runs the risk of castration from farther (assumes farther has this power)
- He attempts to identify with the farther; he sets about trying to find a female. The male child can now move towards social stability and continue the cycle
Applications in film narrative
-The male protagonist moves through the resolution of a crisis, towards social mobility - The female is stationary site (passive object) to which the male travels and upon which he acts - he is therefor the active subject
-In a film that embraces the Oedipal trajectory, the threat if castration is dispelled and the masculine role of the patriarch is assumed
-The threat is contained by a voyeurism and fetishism: voyeurism, with the female as the passive object of the male gaze; fetishisation, via a fragmentation of the female body and an over-investment in parts of the female body (legs, breasts etc) In this way, the woman becomes commodified as a whole, unified body. The body is denied its difference and rendered phallic (through, for example, slinky black dresses, high heels and long finger nails
- If the male subject fails to achieve social stability, a crisis of masculinity is revealed (see film noir and the femme fatale).
Back to the Future
Oedipal trajectory for females
- As w/ the male child, the mother is the first love object of the female child
- However, since there is no perceived difference between mother and daughter (i.e. lack of a penis), the daughter rejects her mother due to penis envy
- The mother cannot provide her with a penis so she turns to her farther to provide her w/ it in the form of a child
- To fulfil her Oedipal trajectory and enter into the social order or things, the female child must turn from the mother, even though she may still desire her - she must conform to male subjectivity. Failure to do so will result in punishment - either through marginalisation or death
- Independent woman, in mainstream cinema, eventually 'come to their senses': they marry the guy, if it's a comedy; they are 'brought to their senses' if it's a film noir or thriller
Oedipal reading of Fish tank
- Conflict between mother and daughter, as they reject each other - seen after Mia gets into fight
- Mia gravitates towards Connor - At this point she has rejected her mother - she turns to Connor in Penis envy
- Mia is flirtatious w/ Connor - dance scene leads into sex scene - she succumbs to male subjectivity but is then rejected by Connor (farther figure) previously being marginalised - even though she succumbs to male subjectivity she is still punished and further marginalised seen when she goes to Connors house and is then hit by Connor - facing this harsh punishment she returns to male subjective through Billy - she still however desires her mother seen in the dance scene when she tries to connect with her but is still ultimately rejected
- After being rejected by Connor she attempts to regain male subjectivity but rejects it originally seen when she walks away from the strip club but ultimately succumbs through Billy
Suture
- Literally means to stitch something together
- Means in film how viewer is stitched into the film - e.g. through shot reverse shot
- This series of shots establishes view point of two characters allowing spectator to adopt two positions
- 'Offscreen space becomes on screen space'
- 'Spectator is sutured into the shot/narrative' you are 'unsutured from the shot/narrative'
- Spectator is caught up in the delusion of the unreal - shot reverse shot fills in empty space allowing the spectator to remain in the delusion/ film - this is an idealised image like the child looking into the mirror the spectator is caught up in the delusion of the unreal
- Allows the film to subtly impart its ideology on you as you are more stitched into the world/ absorbed into the world
- Film is hegemonic e.g Hollywood presents idealness of American values
- Transformers subtly imparts American values so does white house down but not so subtly
-
- combo of Freud conception of the Oedipal complex and Jacques Lacan's account of the mirror stage
- Application can be used to analyse the narratives of a range of different films
- It was initially based on male perspectives, but has since been adapted to encapsulate female perspective to
Oedipal Trajectory - males - summary
- A male child, who at first is bonded with his mother, imagines himself a united whole with her
- However, when held up to a mirror, he perceives his difference from her
- He becomes aware of the illusion of unity yet still desires it. This desire now becomes sexual
- He comes to hate his father, as his farther 'lawful' access to the mother
- The child perceives this difference as one of castration: he sees the mother as castrated
- To identify with her would thus mean eh would be w/o his penis - in identifying with her becomes likes her; in uniting with her, he runs the risk of castration from farther (assumes farther has this power)
- He attempts to identify with the farther; he sets about trying to find a female. The male child can now move towards social stability and continue the cycle
Applications in film narrative
-The male protagonist moves through the resolution of a crisis, towards social mobility - The female is stationary site (passive object) to which the male travels and upon which he acts - he is therefor the active subject
-In a film that embraces the Oedipal trajectory, the threat if castration is dispelled and the masculine role of the patriarch is assumed
-The threat is contained by a voyeurism and fetishism: voyeurism, with the female as the passive object of the male gaze; fetishisation, via a fragmentation of the female body and an over-investment in parts of the female body (legs, breasts etc) In this way, the woman becomes commodified as a whole, unified body. The body is denied its difference and rendered phallic (through, for example, slinky black dresses, high heels and long finger nails
- If the male subject fails to achieve social stability, a crisis of masculinity is revealed (see film noir and the femme fatale).
Back to the Future
Oedipal trajectory for females
- As w/ the male child, the mother is the first love object of the female child
- However, since there is no perceived difference between mother and daughter (i.e. lack of a penis), the daughter rejects her mother due to penis envy
- The mother cannot provide her with a penis so she turns to her farther to provide her w/ it in the form of a child
- To fulfil her Oedipal trajectory and enter into the social order or things, the female child must turn from the mother, even though she may still desire her - she must conform to male subjectivity. Failure to do so will result in punishment - either through marginalisation or death
- Independent woman, in mainstream cinema, eventually 'come to their senses': they marry the guy, if it's a comedy; they are 'brought to their senses' if it's a film noir or thriller
Oedipal reading of Fish tank
- Conflict between mother and daughter, as they reject each other - seen after Mia gets into fight
- Mia gravitates towards Connor - At this point she has rejected her mother - she turns to Connor in Penis envy
- Mia is flirtatious w/ Connor - dance scene leads into sex scene - she succumbs to male subjectivity but is then rejected by Connor (farther figure) previously being marginalised - even though she succumbs to male subjectivity she is still punished and further marginalised seen when she goes to Connors house and is then hit by Connor - facing this harsh punishment she returns to male subjective through Billy - she still however desires her mother seen in the dance scene when she tries to connect with her but is still ultimately rejected
- After being rejected by Connor she attempts to regain male subjectivity but rejects it originally seen when she walks away from the strip club but ultimately succumbs through Billy
Suture
- Literally means to stitch something together
- Means in film how viewer is stitched into the film - e.g. through shot reverse shot
- This series of shots establishes view point of two characters allowing spectator to adopt two positions
- 'Offscreen space becomes on screen space'
- 'Spectator is sutured into the shot/narrative' you are 'unsutured from the shot/narrative'
- Spectator is caught up in the delusion of the unreal - shot reverse shot fills in empty space allowing the spectator to remain in the delusion/ film - this is an idealised image like the child looking into the mirror the spectator is caught up in the delusion of the unreal
- Allows the film to subtly impart its ideology on you as you are more stitched into the world/ absorbed into the world
- Film is hegemonic e.g Hollywood presents idealness of American values
- Transformers subtly imparts American values so does white house down but not so subtly
-
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