Psychoanalytical film theory and the theory of gaze. Largely informed by laura mulveys seminal piece visual pleasure and narrative cinema, gaze theory has since been critiqued, redesigned and also denounced. Gaze theory has guided, both, everyday rhetoric and academic criticism of cinema. Originating in film theory and criticism in the 1970s, the gaze refers to how we look at visual representations.
In lacanian psychoanalytic theory, the gaze is the anxious state of mind that comes with the selfawareness that one can be seen and looked at. Lacan, the split between the eye and the gaze annotation. Gaze in lacans later work refers to the uncanny sense that the object of our eyes look. Her theories are influenced by the likes of sigmund freud and jacques lacan by using their ideologies as political weapons whilst also including psychoanalysis and feminism in her works. May 29, 2016 licensed to youtube by wmg on behalf of eastwest. Jan 03, 2008 the real gaze develops a new theory of the cinema by rethinking the concept of the gaze, which has long been central in film theory. Vicissitudes, todd mcgowan highlights the mis construction of the classic troop of psychoanalytic film scholars. In traditional psychoanalytic theory, the gaze is linked to fantasy and desire. Lacan, jacques internet encyclopedia of philosophy. Lacan on gaze yuanlong ma the school of liberal arts renmin university of china 59 zhong gun cun avenue haidian district, beijing pr china zip code. Although the idea of the gaze as object played an important part in lacanian psychoanalysis, it has rarely been found useful in practical film criticism. The way we commonly think of the gaze to look is not what jacques lacan argues. Whether youve loved the book or not, if you give your honest and detailed thoughts then people will find new books that are right for them. In psychoanalytic film theorys prior focus on the imaginary order manifested in the mirror phase and the onset of the symbolic order in conjunction with language and culture, the formularizations of the gaze have overseen the third and pivotal sphere of lacanian thought regarding the gaze, namely the register of the real.
Jameson, knut schmidtnielsen professor of comparative literature and director of institute for critical theory duke university 20161201 jacques lacan s theory of vision, centered around the gaze as an object, is arguably the most complex theory of vision to have been conceived. The gaze has affected historical, economical, and cultural environments. This article seeks to specifically investigate the influence of lacanian psychoanalysis on film theory. Jacques lacan came up with the theory of three orders. This, lacan believes, leads to the formation of ego and acts as a stimulant to the childs development. This article argues that this involves a misreading of lacan s concept of the gaze, and itfocuses on the gaze as an instance of the object petit a.
Instead, copjecs psychoanalytic film theory takes unconscious desirethe founding idea of psychoanalysisas its starting point for understanding the cinema. Film theory after lacan the real gaze develops a new theory of the cinema by rethinking the concept of the gaze, which. Film theory s encounter with jacques lacan has focused on the identification of the spectator with a gaze of mastery. At first, gazing was important in his theories in relation to the mirror stage. Lacans return to the meaning of freud profoundly changed the institutional face of the psychoanalytic movement internationally. Mulvey is predominantly known for her theory regarding sexual objectification on. Search for library items search for lists search for contacts search for a library.
This article argues that this involves a misreading of lacan s concept of the gaze, and it focuses on the gaze as an instance of the object petit a. In trying to shake off the burden of the 1970s film theory s distortion of the lacanian gaze, rejuvenating it with the strength of the real and fusing it with freudian thoughts on the uncanny. Lacanian film theory and its vicissitudes by todd mcgowan film theorys encounter with jacques lacan has focused on the identification of the spectator with a gaze of mastery. After the 1980s, the concept of suture rarely used in theory and criticism. This aspect of lacanian theory proves to make up an extraordi. Film theory after lacan, todd mcgowan makes a subtle but potentially profound move, the kind that makes you think, why hasnt this been done more often. The key shift is made by taking lacanian film theory out of the register of the imaginary and placing it fairly and squarely within the domain of the lacanian real. At first, gazing was important in his theories in relation to the mirror stage, where the subject appears to achieve a sense of mastery by seeing himself as ideal ego. Jacquesalain miller transformed the oral seminar into a french book, which subsequently greatly influenced psychoanalytic film theory because lacan introduces the concept of the gaze as a form of what he calls the objet petit, or objectcause of desire. In the following pages, my aim is to try and show just how dynamic and powerful a conceptualization of the lacanian gaze is.
The psychological effect upon the person subjected to the gaze is a loss of autonomy upon becoming aware that he or she is a visible object. Although copjec is correct that orthodox film theory misrepresents the lacanian gaze, she. Psychoanalytical film theory and the theory of gaze and. The gaze is a term that describes how viewers engage with visual media. Rather than making overly broad claims about the cinema, he uses lacanian film theory to interrogate actual film texts, and not just a few films that support his thesis. Jacques lacan 19011981 it would be fair to say that there are few twentieth century thinkers who have had such a farreaching influence on subsequent intellectual life in the humanities as jacques lacan. The presence of jacques lacans mirror stage and gaze in. From this stems different concepts and terms associated with the term gaze. Laura mulvey is a feminist film theorist from britain, best known for her essay on visual pleasure and narrative cinema.
A major contribution that lacan brought was in the emphasis of language in the creation of the self and psychic and sexual life. To these belong the theory of the tripartite system and its relation to the concept. The screen such as of television, movie and computer is currently a particular site of media studies as an inbetween space of projected and perceived images. Other theories of spectatorship, especially in film theory, rely heavily on lacans notion of the gaze and how it functions as the point of identification in the mirror stage see mirror. Freud theories about the gaze in psychoanalytic film theory are ridden with misinterpretations and burdened by some 40 years of fierce debates. The key shift is made by taking lacanian film theory out of the register of the imaginary and placing it fairly and squarely within the. This article discusses the lacanian theory of the cinematic depiction of sexual relations. Joan copjec accuses orthodox film theory of misrepresenting the lacanian gaze by assimilating it to foucauldian panopticon copjec 1994. Jan 05, 2016 the gaze is a term that describes how viewers engage with visual media. Lacanian psychoanalysis thus focuses on deconstructing the narcissistic illusions of the self, allowing the childhood fragmentation and lack of unity of the self to resurface. Lacanian psychoanalysis literary theory and criticism.
Psychoanalytic film theory is a school of academic thought that evokes of the concepts of psychoanalysts sigmund freud and jacques lacan. Lacanian psychoanalysis by nasrullah mambrol on april 17, 2016 15. Lacan put together henri wallons psychological research into child development with kojeves hegelian theory of the gaze as the motor of human history to produce his own theories of the mirror phase and of the dialectic of gaze and desire. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read real gaze, the. However, it made its return recently, with the renewed interest in psychoanalytic film theory. This article argues that this involves a misreading of lacan s concept of the gaze, and it focuses on the gaze as an. Lacanian film theory and its vicissitudes by todd mcgowan film theory s encounter with jacques lacan has focused on the identification of the spectator with a gaze of mastery. The idea of the gaze began in the 1960s with michel foucault and jacques lacan analysing the medical gaze and the mirror stage theory respectively. To the older branch belong theorists such as baudry and louis althusser and to the newer belong joan copjec, slavoj zizek and others. Other theories of spectatorship, especially in film theory, rely heavily on lacans notion of the gaze and how it functions as the point of identification in the mirror.
Copjec pointed out that psychoanalytic film theory had based itself on a radical misunderstanding of lacans concept of the gaze, which he does not develop in. Its development will be traced in two articles through classic film theory, the role of karl marx and louis althusser, the contributions of semiotics, the debates surrounding apparatus theory and the gaze, and finally the input of feminism. Deciphering the gaze in lacans of the gaze as objet. By viewing himself in the mirror, the subject at the mirror stage begins his entrance into culture and language by establishing his own subjectivity. Theorists like slavoj zizek and joan copjec claim that the phase in the history of film theory labeled as lacanian film theory lacked, in fact, essentially lacan. The concept of the gaze became popular with the rise of postmodern philosophy and social theory and was first discussed by 1960s french intellectuals, namely michel foucaults description of the medical gaze and lacan s analysis of the gaze s role in the mirror stage development of the human psyche. Film theory after lacan ebook written by todd mcgowan. Jacques lacan complicated his position on the gaze as he developed his theories. Psychoanalytic film theory cinema and media studies. The aura created by the freudian interpretations reached its zenith when the french psychoanalyst jacques lacan propelled into this arena by his reading of freud and salvador dali achieved a place in the literary critical canon. The real gaze develops a new theory of the cinema by rethinking the concept of the gaze, which has long been central in film theory.
In this sense, there is a homology between the emergence of lynchs filmmaking and this innovation in psychoanalytic film theory. The interpretative difficulty posed by lacans discourse on the gaze has not prevented it from becoming a major focus of interest in film studies, leading dylan evans to remark that much of socalled lacanian film theory is thus the site of great conceptual confusion. The interpretative difficulty posed by lacan s discourse on the gaze has not prevented it from becoming a major focus of interest in film studies, leading dylan evans to remark that much of socalled lacanian film theory is thus the site of great conceptual confusion. Rediscovering the gaze psychoanalysis film, cinema, role. Rather, he argues that when we encounter the gaze, we encounter an impasse, a blind spot within the field of vision. Gaze theory in lacan, hitchcock, and mulvey by clifford t. For lacans biographer, elisabeth roudinesco, kojeve was the mysterious guru who, once gazed upon. Other theories of spectatorship, especially in film theory, rely heavily on lacan s notion of the gaze and how it functions as the point of identification in the mirror stage see mirror. Lacan, the split between the eye and the gaze annotation by. Historically film scholars have located the gaze on the side of.
This essay reconsiders the psychoanalytic theory derived from sigmund freud and jacques lacan that laura mulvey uses to support her theory of the gaze in the 1975 essay visual pleasure and. Historically film scholars have located the gaze on the side of the spectator. Lacan s depiction of intermediate space between the eye and the gaze can be identified with the space of the screen. Pietro bianchis impressive analyses are here therefore groundbreaking, and his accounts both of lacanianism and of modern french film theory are impressively lucid and eloquent.
In lacanian psychoanalytic theory, the gaze is the anxious state of mind that comes with the selfawareness that one can be seen and. The psychological effect, lacan argues, is that the subject loses some sense of autonomy upon realizing that he or she is a visible object. Peter wollen, on gaze theory, nlr 44, marchapril 2007. This article argues that this involves a misreading of lacans concept of the gaze, and itfocuses on the gaze as an instance of the object petit a. This essay reconsiders the psychoanalytic theory derived from sigmund freud and jacques lacan that laura mulvey uses to support her theory of the gaze in the 1975 essay visual pleasure and narrative cinema. The second wave became popular in the 1980s and 90s. The theory formed the backbone of the psychical subjectivity according to lacan and his whole career revolved around developing this theory. The gaze becomes the medium for selfdifferentiation. Copjec pointed out that psychoanalytic film theory had based itself on a radical misunderstanding of lacan s concept of the gaze, which he does not develop in his essay on the mirror stage but in a later seminar translated as the four fundamental concepts of psychoanalysis 1978. Since lacan himself never theorized about film, film theorists looked to an area of his.
Gaze theory gaze the chicago school of media theory. This is a short video on the lacanian concept of the gaze covered in film theory courses. However, many of these critics have conflated lacan s concept of the gaze with the sartrean concept of the gaze and other ideas on vision such as foucaults account of panopticism. Then the theories of jacques lacan are mentioned and their relation towards the theory of film. The lacanian gaze is one of the hardest concepts i teach for my film theory course. Film theory after lacan s u n y series in psychoanalysis and culture 9780791470404. Other readers will always be interested in your opinion of the books youve read. Oct 07, 2008 the concept of the gaze became popular with the rise of postmodern philosophy and social theory and was first discussed by 1960s french intellectuals, namely michel foucaults description of the medical gaze and lacan s analysis of the gaze s role in the mirror stage development of the human psyche. The theory is closely tied to critical theory, marxist film theory, and apparatus theory.
In critical theory, sociology, and psychoanalysis, the gaze french le regard is the act of seeing. Freud, lacan, mulvey and the male gaze bionicfingerfilms in blog posts fms theory november 30, 2016 december 3, 2016 901 words psychoanalysis entered into film theory in the 1970s with laura mulveys seminal paper visual pleasure in narrative cinema 1975. The gaze, as copjec explains it, is not on the side of the. His challenge is to wrest lacan from the betrayals of 1970s film theory so as to bring him into contact with the trends of more recent times. The concept has subsequently been influential in feminist film theory and media studies. To fully understand the female gaze we must also look at the male gaze.
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