psychoanalysis/film

birgit kellner birkell
Fri Mar 19 23:51:22 EST 1999


Sylvia Chong wrote:

>I'm curious what you think (in general) about using psychoanalytic theory
>on non-Western cultures or texts.  My interest in the Ajase theory is
>mainly as a challenge to the the supposed universality of psychoanalysis,
>but I still think psychoanalytic ways of thinking about texts are valuable
>when dealing with sexuality, or desires/fantasies.  Do you use
>psychoanalysis at all in your own work?

To answer the last question first: No. My work has got nothing to do with
film/literature at all. I deal mainly with logical and epistemological theories
that were developed by mostly quite ancient Buddhist philosophers in
India/Tibet. 

Regarding the use of psychoanalytic theory, there are I think two main aspects
to be considered. The one is the use of psychoanalytic theory in analyzing
*film*. On this subject I am not qualified to comment at all, though I recall
having read some acidic remarks about psychoanalytically oriented film-criticism
in Paul Willemen's collection of essays "looks and frictions" (published by the
British Film Institute). Maybe someone else has something to say on this matter,
preferably in relation to Japan/Japanese film criticism. 

The second aspect is the application of psychoanalytic categories in a
cross-"cultural" framework (the inverted commas indicate my reservations
regarding "culture" as the key differentiating factor between different social
entities). The India-based psychoanalyst and writer Sudhir Kakar has done so in
his many works on Indian myths and sexuality, in the context of which he also
occasionally examines Indian cinema. His books are stylistically located
somewhere in between succinct theorizing and entertaining coffee-table chatting;
I would specifically recommend "Intimate Relations : Exploring Indian
Sexuality", published in 1990. More recently, cf. his "Culture and Psyche:
Psychoanalysis and India" (1997), which I have not yet seen. 

Specifically about the Oedipus-complex, I recall a quite readable summary of
current approaches in Klaus Theweleit's monumental "Male Phantasies", translated
from the German by Chris Turner, volume 1, around page 206 or so. The
all-pervasiveness of this complex has been challenged from two main directions:
An "ethnologist" approach whereby e.g. the Swiss analysts
Parin/Morgenthaler/Parin-Matthey demonstrated that the Freudian Oedipus complex
cannot be found amongst African tribes (and is therefore not universal). Here
one could also mention Japanese theories of the Ajase-complex, *if* one were to
accept the pertinent writings as theoretically sound and solid, which I
personally am not prepared to do. 

The second direction comes from psychoanalytic theory as such, where the
universality of the Oedipus compex as such has been challenged by child
psychologists (e.g. Michael Balint), and where of course Deleuze/Guattari have
left there mark, relocating the Oedipus complex from the subconscious to the
domain of social conditioning. 

Leaving aside my general reservations about the proposal of an "Ajase complex",
I personally think that a purely ethnological or "cultural" approach is
extremely questionable if it rests on the presupposition that belonging to a
certain "tribe", "ethnic group", or "culture" is the key factor in the
structuring of the human psyche (but that of course would work well within a
framework of some essentialized "Japaneseness" :-)). It also becomes unnecessary
theoretical gymnastics once the Oedipus-complex is in fact explained through
social conditioning, for the same would then also apply to any other "complexes"
(such as Ajase) which have been proposed as "ethnic" or "cultural" alternatives
to Oedipus. In short, once Oedipus is thrown out of the subconscious, so is
Ajase, and that's that. 

This is basically all I have to contribute to this discussion for now; and I
must add, once more, that my knowledge in this area is extremely limited.
Hopefully someone else has more to say. [I shall also not be capable to
contribute any more messages, as I am currently in the process of relocating my
own psycho-physical complex to another continent :-)]

Best, 
===
birgit kellner

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