This is a deeply fascinating and multi-leveled piece of work. Psychoanalyticallly speaking, the very phenomenon of projection/mirroring of elements of the personal story of the viewer upon a film is a very fascinating theme on its own grounds, which, as far as I know, has not been the subject of a thorough investigation, and arguably it should be.
The text unfolds around 3 interrelated axes: the personal (the story of the author), the cultural (in the sense of mass culture, a worldwide known and acclaimed film), and the theoretical (Jungian theory, alchemy). I would say that in general, psychologically speaking this is a very potent combination and scheme, allowing a lot of resonances and connections to take place and leaving a very vivid and long-lasting imprint of them in the psyche of the reader, bringing it close to what in the essay is referred as “psychoactive text” (P.Weston).
I like and appreciate a lot the author’s approach to the film as a dream equal to reality and open to multiple perspectives and interpretations – which is particularly appreciable considering that their own personal story is involved.
I like also very much the “soul-centered” and not literal approach to the interpretation that the author follows. This brings it very close to a dreamy interpretation of the dream, and this brings also to my mind something that psychoanalytic theorist Duane Rousselle has said, that the dream in itself is already an interpretation (ie a semiotic interaction between the unconscious content and the weakened but still low-active ego-defences) and the source, “the navel” of the dream lies in what he calls “real unconscious”. A kind of interesting loop or knot that creates a field is probably manifesting here.
I also find very telling and meaningful the connection that is explicit in the essay between the general jungian idea of individuation and gender transition to femininity, since the goal of individuation according to Jung is wholeness, and wholeness according to my gender theory is femininity. And really, what greater indication of the female essence and reality of “man” that I propose in my theory if not an archetypal story of manly obsession and domination, the film that was famously used by Laura Mulvey as the absolute paradigm of the “male gaze”, which can be equally (and arguably at a deeper level) read as a story of gender transition?
Wow, brilliant Devon! As I said on the Weird Studies discord, I seriously need to watch Vertigo through the lens of queering the film. It’s been decades— and back then, I’m sure the thought never entered my mind.
It’s now a priority!
Awesome, would love to see what emerges for you when you do!
This essay is seriously inspiring, the beginning, among other things, of an understanding of why certain films have had literally psychedelic affects on me, and these affects are seemingly permanent and repeatable under certain circumstances. Yes much like what I name “Dreams”, which are clearly not “dreams”, mostly deal inwith surface level conflicts, rather than the cosmic or collective Deep Mind. The consious/unconscious pair bears a similar relationship to other pairs: male/female, straight/queer and so many many more: the second of the pair is derivative, ie, NOT concious/male/straight, et al. The term, unconscious is actually pejorative as well as derivative., reinforcing subliminal conditioning, Using language consciously to undo this conditioning, naming and unnaming to both overturn automaticity and release fluidity in and around every frozen polarity that binds us to a narrow= few “allowed” categories.
From Maia : among other things, of an understanding of why certain films have had literally psychedelic affects on me, and these affects are seemingly permanent and repeatable under certain circumstances. Yes much like what I name “Dreams”, which are clearly not “dreams”, mostly deal inwith surface level conflicts, rather than the cosmic or collective Deep Mind.
Humans do seem to (need) to Be Initiated Into A Conscious Sensitivity to-of Growing
a Selective Membrane, “permeable enough to remain connected - strong enough to remain themselves”….
Films come with a “SoundTrack”…This morning I came across one of my Favorite Metaphors for,
Participation in-with this Earth Space-Time WTF ( what the F°°°K,what to feel,what the frequency)?
The Ground of Leadership begins , seems to this Human Creature with my Fleshy Body,Heart-Brain,Bones,etc. etc. Etc. and Moves to the Pulse of some Beyond & Comes Back to Play!!!
