Two famous movies “The others” and “The Descent” are perfect examples of the return of the repressed. The term repressed came from Sigmund Freud’s ideas. As philosopher and doctor at the same time, Freud “was interested in looking at the relationship between mental functioning and certain basic structures of civilization, such as religious beliefs” (Klages). Looking at civilization he sees two fundamental principles: "pleasure principle" and the "reality principle." “The pleasure principle tells us to do whatever feels good; the reality principle tells us to subordinate pleasure to what needs to be done, to work” (Klages). According to Freud, the desire for sexual pleasure is one of the most basic urges that all humans feel. However, people cannot have sex all the time. So we have to sublimate most of our desires for sexual pleasure, and turn that energy into something else. Freud claims that without the sublimation of our sexual desires our civilization would not exist. The principle of pleasure makes us want something that feel good. On the contrary, the reality principle tells us to direct our energy into something else. However, the desire for pleasure doesn't disappear, even when it's sublimated to another unwonted action. The desires that can't be realized are repressed in the mind, which Freud names the unconscious. So, everyone’s mind contains repressed desires inaccessible to the conscious mind. In another words, “the contents of the unconscious consist primarily of sexual desires which have been repressed” (Klages).
The main character of the film “The others”, Grace, lives in the distant house with her two children: daughter Anne and son Nicholas. Her husband Charles fights in France during the World War II and he has no...
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... lair as a masculine female. Another transformation takes place when Juno, who “maintain an exterior of female masculinity - attractive, aware, muscular, and positive as well as constantly taking charge” (Rose) in this film, demonstrates qualities that are usually aligned with weak female characters. She is crying, sobbing, and collapsing, so she becomes more feminine. She is crying not for what she did but for her weakness as a female.
Two movies, “The others” and “The Descent” demonstrate perfect examples of the return of the repressed. Grace in the first film becomes a murder, because she becomes crazy because of her difficult repressed life without husband. In the second film, Sarah transforms from a weak, unlucky woman to a primitive coldblooded killer. They have something in common: they are both lost their husbands, but their repressed states are different.
The setting of these two stories emphasize, on visually showing us how the main characters are based around trying to find freedom despite the physical, mental and emotional effects of living in confinement. While on the other hand, dealing with Psychology’s ugly present day behavior showing dystopia of societies views of women during the time period they lived.
In Deborah E. McDowell’s essay Black Female Sexuality in Passing she writes about the sexual repression of women seen in Nella Larsen‘s writings during the Harlem Renaissance, where black women had difficulty expressing their sexuality. In her essay, she writes about topics affecting the sexuality of women such as, religion, marriage, and male dominated societies. In Toni Morrison’s short story, “Recitatif” there are examples of women who struggle to express their sexuality. The people in society judge women based off their appearance, and society holds back women from expressing themselves due to society wanting them to dress/act a certain way.
Perhaps an even stronger testament to the deepness of cinema is Darren Aronofsky’s stark, somber Requiem for a Dream. Centering on the drug-induced debasement of four individuals searching for the abstract concept known as happiness, Requiem for a Dream brims with verisimilitude and intensity. The picture’s harrowing depiction of the characters’ precipitous fall into the abyss has, in turn, fascinated and appalled, yet its frank, uncompromising approach leaves an indelible imprint in the minds of young and old alike.
In the Crucible, we are introduced to the main protagonist John Proctor; the way that Arthur Miller presents him by rebelling against the authority in Salem. Out of the entire town he is the only person that speaks out, realising that the authority is unfair and unjust; he is not like everyone else in the town who keeps quiet to themselves. There are many situations where we the readers can see very clear examples of him rebelling against the authority that controlled Salem. One example of Proctor rebelling against authority in Salem was when he did not go to church on a Sabbath day and instead decided to pray in his own home ‘Mr Proctor, your house is not a church; your theology must tell you that’. That is one clear example of him rebelling
Another reason was identity. Napoleon only represented Stalin, and that really brought out his characteristics. Since Napoleon was meant to represent Stalin, all of Stalin’s traits, most of his bad deeds, and events occurred in the book. For example, in Animal Farm, Orwell made Snowball seem smarter than Napoleon, but made Napoleon more powerful. This is true in real life because Lenin was a lot more educated than Stalin, but Stalin ended up with the power (Radinsky 97)
Baby Boomers to Flower Children, during the sixties America saw the uprising of counterculture. This expansion, or change in consciousness, took place throughout American society. The bulk of counterculture consisted of middle class white youth who experience a life a leisure because of their parents hard work. They denounced materialism, competition, hard work, and conformity. This directly opposed common American values thus putting the counter in counterculture.
Oppression of women in our patriarchal society is seen daily. Men dominate women in so many ways it becomes hard to distinguish one form of oppression from another. In the movie Sleeping With the Enemy, a young woman battles daily with an abusive, domineering husband. Although the outside world may view Laura's life as perfect, the viewer sees the whole truth. Laura's perfect life consists of an attractive, wealthy husband who would do anything for her-even kill. They live in a beautiful mansion on the coast, and Laura does not have to work if she so chooses. Every day Laura is tortured and ridiculed and criticized by her husband. Her husband, Martin Burns, is obsessed about keeping the household in perfect condition. If one towel is out of line, one can out of order in the cupboard, or if dinner is slightly late, Laura receives a severe beating. The only way for Laura to escape from her tyrannical husband is by staging her own death.
This statement is extremely accurate in relation to Leon Trotsky. Trotsky, as recognized by Lenin in his last will and testament, was the most talented man in the committee to take the highest office, and yet in hindsight historians ‘cannot conceive how he would be in a position to do so’ (Pipes) . Despite Trotsky possessing talent and ability to lead as demonstrated in his career as Commissar of War where he won the Order of the Red Flag , his political position limited his influence in the power struggle between himself and Stalin. Moreover, Trotsky lacked the public image Stalin had, ‘he lost to the man with a superior understanding of Soviet public life”(Service) . Thus, it is these factors of an individual’s political role and public image that take priority over deciding party leadership rather then ability of talent as a politician.
Film scholar and gender theorist Linda Williams begins her article “Film Bodies: Genre, Gender and Excess,” with an anecdote about a dispute between herself and her son, regarding what is considered “gross,” (727) in films. It is this anecdote that invites her readers to understand the motivations and implications of films that fall under the category of “body” genre, namely, horror films, melodramas, (henceforth referred to as “weepies”) and pornography. Williams explains that, in regards to excess, the constant attempts at “determining where to draw the line,” (727) has inspired her and other theorists alike to question the inspirations, motivations, and implications of these “body genre” films. After her own research and consideration, Williams explains that she believes there is “value in thinking about the form, function, and system of seemingly gratuitous excesses in these three genres,” (728) and she will attempt to prove that these films are excessive on purpose, in order to inspire a collective physical effect on the audience that cannot be experienced when watching other genres.
“Make love, not war”, a very popular anti-war slogan that emerged during the 1960’s, represented a principle belief that ultimately created the counterculture, and explained the simplicity of ideals that the counterculture era encompassed. The counterculture was comprised of many parts of society which encouraged the transformation in attitudes towards society in middle class, mostly white, young Americans. The characteristics which supported the counterculture movement included hippies, drug culture, sexual revolution, music, and literature. When combined, these creative aspects formed the counterculture and caused people to think and act differently than they had before. People during this period lived by similar ethics, and expressed it through a variety of ways, changing their appearances and overall daily life as war progressed and obtaining a different perspective of violence. During the 1960’s, Americans began to see the unfair horrors of war, thus developing a feeling of restlessness toward the government. The Vietnam War (1959-1975) was one of the main contributors to the counterculture. Initially, many thought the war and intervention in Vietnam was necessary, but as it progressed people began to see the inequitable destruction. Due to their change in attitudes regarding the war and violence in general, people held protests and other anti-war movements and took it to further promote peace and love, which lead into other ideas of the counterculture. This movement greatly influenced America because the transformation in beliefs regarding war and violence had caused great social unrest, and impacted all other parts of people’s lives. The birth of the counterculture essentially established different ideologies that emphasize...
One of the most powerful and murderous dictators in history, Joseph Stalin was the supreme ruler of the Soviet Union for a quarter of a century (www.bbc.co.uk). Joseph Stalin had a major impact on the Soviet Union and the rest of the world. He changed the world by making the Soviet Union a powerful, modern nation, and also the largest state on Earth through his policies and ideas. He also led the killing of millions of people including commoners who spoke out against him (McKenna 94). He also had the Great Purge, which sent anyone who was not “loyal” to him to camps and executed them. In total he killed about seven times as many people as Hitler did which would probably be about twenty to sixty million people. Stalin also changed the world by helping to start the Cold War, and also some of the countries that aligned with the Soviets in the Cold War are still in poverty because their benefactor crumbled. Stalin was the face of the second world for a chunk of the twentieth century and the Cold war. Stalin also created the Five Year Plan, which was a series of nation-wide economic plans in the Soviet Union. The plans were developed by a state planning committee and were general guidelines of the communists used for economic development. During the Cold War Stalin challenged the Allies multiple times trying to win the war and created major damage to a lot of countries including Germany. Competition between the Soviet Union and the United States escalated during the Cold War to a point where nuclear war was not going to be a surprise. Joseph Stalin ended up losing the Cold War, but still created a lasting impression due to his theory of ruling by fear. Stalin also ended the New Economic Plan that Lenin created and then he also forced p...
The Russian Revolution of 1917 was a rebellion of the Russian people against the rule of the Russian Empire. Russia was a country full of many unsatisfied people; the nation experienced a series of changes in the late 19th and 20th century that would ultimately bring about revolution. The Russian people were starving, industrialization was emerging and the middle class was asking to be a part of the ruling of the country. As a result of the revolution, Russia saw its withdrawal from World War I, major industrial growth and ultimately the spread Communism throughout the world. The inevitable causes of the Russian Revolution were the weaknesses of the Russian Empire, World War I and the collapse of the Tsar’s regime. The nation now began its path towards emerging as a world power following the revolution.
I believe that the Counterculture Movement of the 1960s and 1970s was a success. The Counterculture Movement helped shape the way that many Americans view life today by shifting American culture and social beliefs, and by challenging the traditional American values .
Freud’s conception of the mind is characterized by primarily by dynamism, seen in the distribution of psychic energy, the interplay between the different levels of consciousness, and the interaction between the various functions of the mind. The single function of the mind, which brings together these various aspects, is repression, the maintenance of what is and what isn’t appropriately retained in the conscious mind.
Brazilian Paulo Freire wrote the book Pedagogy of the Oppressed in 1968. The book quickly began a conversational topic among educators, students, policy makers, administrators, academics and community activists all over the world. Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed has been translated into many languages and is banned in a number of countries.