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Psychoanalytic Theory

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Psychoanalytic Theory And Reading Of Cultural Products Film Studies Essay ukessays.com /essays/film-studies/psychoanalytic-theory-and-reading-of-cultural-products-filmstudies-essay.php The main concept of this essay is to point out how psychoanalytic theory could be used as a method of understanding and analyzing cultural products. The most valid approach for this is to observe how the cinema integrates psychoanalytical theories into specific film concepts. For this reason a Hitchcock film is used as an example, for it a common fact that there are many Freudian aspects in his movies. Specifically, Psycho is regarded by many film theorists and historians as the first “psychoanalytic thriller” (Kaganski as cited in Boulton, 2010). As implied by the title of the film, it is a movie whose plot is based on the Freudian Oedipus complex theory. First of all, it is noteworthy how the cinema developed a strong connection to psychoanalytic theories over the years. What is also interesting is the way in which a movie could be interpreted as a desire or a dreaming process. Moreover, in the second part of the essay, the correlation which Psycho has with psychoanalytical procedure is explored, in an effort to discover its kind and if it is actually the first psychoanalytic movie. Following a short presentation of the main plot, it is necessary to examine the nature of the Oedipus complex and how it is applied to the movie. Despite the fact that it remains the central psychoanalytic idea in the film, is not the only Freudian reference; the movie could also be interpreted through “ego, superego and id” psychoanalytic aspect. Finally, it is imperative to “dissect” the two protagonist characters and the famous murder scenes under the psychoanalytic perspective.

CINEMA AND PSYCHOANALYSIS
Cinema is considered to be among the most important institutions of the post modern society,

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