The latent symbolism in film imagery can be psychoanalyzed just like the imagery in dreams. This work applies to film the psychoanalytic techniques of Sigmund Freud, Erik Erikson, Carl Jung. Alfred Adler, Joseph Campbell, Otto Rank and Rollo May, providing a fundamental understanding of film symbols and structure. It offers a comprehensive and eclectic approach to film analysis, using a broad variety of theories and examples from both classic and contemporary movies, from Dracula (1930) to American Beauty (1999). The final chapter applies all the previously discussed techniques to one film,...

Mind control, madness and altered states of reality can make for exciting nights at the movies--which explains the enduring popularity of a film genre that might be called the psycho thriller. Psychiatry and film came of age simultaneously, and characters such as the evil psychiatrist and the pathological killer were often developed in direct reference to the psychological themes that inspired them. For example, the penchants of Hitchcock's famously creepy Norman Bates represented real psychological disorders, and his actions were explained through psychoanalysis. The psycho thriller presents...

Analyzes archetypes, themes and figures in the mythology of the Western frontier. Western themes are interpreted as expressions of cultural needs that perform psychological functions for the audience. Chapters cover the frontier hero, the roles of women and Native Americans, and the work of directors Anthony Mann and John Ford.

Archetypal symbols in ancient myths as well as the folktales, nursery stories, and fairytales of the Middle Ages are the blueprints of modern fantasy literature. This book explores the modern dreamscape of present-day fantasy, using the ancient myths and traditional fairytales as guides and shining the light of psychological insight onto every symbolic figure and theme encountered. Chapters are dedicated to all of the significant archetypes: heroes and princesses, fairy godmothers and evil witches, wizards and dark lords, magic, and magical beasts are all explored. The analyses and...

The Digital God explains how spiritual experience evolved, how it has changed over time, and how it continues to change. It's the first book to explore the influence of media on spirituality, and the only book that predicts the impact of the digital environment on our experience of the spiritual world. The title refers to the possible future of spiritual experience, a future in which our perception of God is forged out of a digital interface between our own internal image of the divine, virtual reality technology that produces real perceptions, and neurological devices that stimulate specific...