Overview

In Psychoanalytic Film Theory: A Contemporary Introduction, Ben Tyrer presents an overview of psychoanalytic approaches to screen media, offering a reconsideration of psychoanalytic film theory while making the case for new forms of psychoanalytic film thinking. Tyrer takes a series of key psychoanalytic concepts – including dream, identification, difference, object, and ideology – and charts their development in, and impact on, film theory. Considering foundational essays by Jean-Louis Baudry, Christian Metz, Laura Mulvey, and Jacqueline Rose, and contemporary conversations on cinema in the work of Joan Copjec, Slavoj Žižek, Alenka Zupančič, and Todd McGowan, the book considers the major insights and accomplishments of psychoanalytic film theory in contemporary context while offering a view of the intellectual life of psychoanalysis outside the clinic. Paying close attention to filmmakers such as Andrea Arnold, Joanna Hogg, Boots Riley, Celine Sciamma, and Wong Kar Wai, Tyrer demonstrates the continued importance of psychoanalysis when thinking about film and the pertinence of psychoanalytic film theory beyond its historical focus on classical Hollywood cinema. Articulating complex ideas in an accessible way, this book is a vital starting point for students and scholars approaching psychoanalytic film theory for the first time, as well as scholars and analysts wishing to expand their knowledge and enhance their practice.

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9781032503233

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Reviews

‘If you’ve ever wished for a clear and articulate overview that demystifies essential psychoanalytic ideas, this is it. Much more than an introduction, Ben Tyrer meticulously maps out the historical developments (and their misapplications) of psychoanalytic film theory to outline a more intersectional and accurate way of psychoanalytic film thinking. This excellent work reaffirms the critical importance of psychoanalysis for the study of the moving image, showing that a new way of ‘psychoanalytic film thinking’ is not only necessary, but also essential if we are to properly understand film experience.’ Professor Kelli Fuery, author of Wilfred Bion, Thinking and Emotional Experience with Moving Images (Routledge 2018) ‘With admirable clarity Tyrer takes readers on a comprehensive and fascinating journey through the key arguments of psychoanalytic film theory. Tyrer demonstrates that psychoanalytic approaches to films and cinema are needed today more than ever, reflecting on aspects of spectatorship, race, sexuality, the cinematic gaze, and ideology, while charting the development of psychoanalytic film theory from the 1960s to the present. Impressive accounts are provided of key thinkers such as Christian Metz, Laura Mulvey, Slavoj Žižek, Todd McGowan and others. The book should be essential reading for students as well as established film scholars.’ Professor Richard Rushton, Lancaster Institute for the Contemporary Arts, Lancaster University, UK

""If you’ve ever wished for a clear and articulate overview that demystifies essential psychoanalytic ideas, this is it. Much more than an introduction, Ben Tyrer meticulously maps out the historical developments (and their misapplications) of psychoanalytic film theory to outline a more intersectional and accurate way of psychoanalytic film thinking. This excellent work reaffirms the critical importance of psychoanalysis for the study of the moving image, showing that a new way of ‘psychoanalytic film thinking’ is not only necessary but also essential if we are to properly understand film experience"". Professor Kelli Fuery, author of Wilfred Bion, Thinking and Emotional Experience with Moving Images (Routledge, 2018) ""With admirable clarity Tyrer takes readers on a comprehensive and fascinating journey through the key arguments of psychoanalytic film theory. Tyrer demonstrates that psychoanalytic approaches to films and cinema are needed today more than ever, and he reflects on aspects of spectatorship, race, sexuality, the cinematic gaze, and ideology, while charting the development of psychoanalytic film theory from the 1960s to the present. Impressive accounts are provided of key thinkers such as Christian Metz, Laura Mulvey, Slavoj Žižek, Todd McGowan, and others. The book should be essential reading for students as well as established film scholars"". Professor Richard Rushton, Lancaster Institute for the Contemporary Arts, Lancaster University, UK

Author Information

Ben Tyrer is a Lecturer in Film Theory at Middlesex University in London, UK. He is the author of books and articles on film, philosophy, and psychoanalysis, and the co-editor of Femininity and Psychoanalysis: Cinema, Culture, Theory (2019) and Psychoanalysis and the Unrepresentable: From Culture to the Clinic (2016).

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