Applying Lacan Theory

In the film Enemy the main male protagonist is portrayed as never being fulfilled. This is shown throughout particular scenes in the text. In some scenes the male protagonist is seen having sex but then after never looking happy, he is always looking like he has a desire which is never going to be filled or achieved. The lighting throughout the film also connotes this idea as the lighting is very low key and a very dull colour this shows his feelings throughout the scenes.

Jacques Lacan Theory

Jaques Lacan was a French psychoanalyst who reconceptualized Freud using post-structuralism.  Lacan rejected attempts to link psychoanalysis with social theory, saying 'the unconscious is the discourse of the Other' -- that human passion is structured by the desire of others and that we express deep feelings through the 'relay' of others. He thus saw desire as a social phenomenon and psychoanalysis as a theory of how the human subject is created through social interaction. Desire appears through a combination of language, culture and the spaces between people. Lacan focused largely on Freud's work on deep structures and infant sexuality, and how the human subject becomes an 'other' through unconscious repression and stemming from the Mirror phase. The conscious ego and unconscious desire are thus radically divided. Lacan considered this perpetual and unconscious fragmentation of the self as Freud's core discovery. Lacan thus sought to return psychoanalysis on the unconscious, using Ferdinand de Saussure's linguistics, structural anthropology and post-structural theories. Lacanian psychoanalysis is rather ruthless in its aggressive challenging that seeks to dismantle the imaginary sense of completeness (as in the Mirror phase) and to remove illusions of self-mastery through a mirror image. A strong ego is seen as defensive deceit and expressing it during analysis is seen as resistance to change. Fear of disintegration and lack drives the person to realize themselves in another imaginary individual. Lacan's theory was the mirror theory. He said when toddlers first see their selves in the mirror they see a perfect version of theirselves which they look up to and want to fulfil. This then carries on later in life with desires. Everyone has a desire and as soon as that desire is filled we want something else. we are never truly happy with ourselves.  Lacan created the idea of 'lack' and that it causes desires to arise. This is similar to Freud's approach of the ID acting on the hedonistic lifestyle whereas the superego acts on moral principles and what 'lack' relates to is the ego which is in-between.

Applying Freud's Theory

In this scene from Jaws the shark is the ID. The female protagonist is swimming in the water but the shark wants to eat her. This is intensified by non - diegetic sound adding an atmosphere to the scene as the camera is filming from the sharks perspective. The lighting is also low key as it is filmed underwater and at night time this also adds tension to the scene as it is unclear as to what is going to happen.

Film Outline

Overall story line: 

Narrative:

Man with mental health issues kidnaps girl, and keeps her hostage. Superego, telling him to let her go, its not her fault. The Id is constantly telling him not to release her as nobody helps him in society with his problems, so this is his revenge. In the end, he has a breakdown and in despair makes a decision whether to let her go.

Beginning:  

Focusing on the man homeless on the streets focusing on people just walking past him and ignoring him, resulting in him taking action/trying to take revenge. Fast shots of him looking at the victim (through binoculars) through this scene it's apparent that he is the ID as he doesn't back down until he gets what he wants. The man who thinks he isn't accepted within society, takes desperation by kidnapping a young girl, who is innocent and vulnerable. Through these series of shots throughout the beginning of the short film, it is clear that this man is the ID in Freud's theory. 

Middle:

Once the desperate homeless man has captured the girl and taken her hostage by locking her in an abandoned location, we witness that the girl becomes the Ego, as she tries to take control of the situation by compromising with him. Through dialogue and long shots that feature both characters in the frame, the audience can observe the conversation between the two protagonists. We are able to understand that the young girl is the Ego, as she confines in him by saying this isn't appropriate or right but at the same time she understands his grief and why he's desperate for help. These two sections of the film will demonstrate a complete contrast in characters, as the homeless man who has got mental health issues is the ID character, where as the girl conforms to the Ego. 

End:

As the man isn't in the correct mind set, he locks up the small, derelict building and leaves her on her own, not knowing if he will ever return to release her. The ending focuses on the young girl shouting for help in utter desperation as she now starts to panic. We then see a new character incorporated within the film, which results to be the Superego. This character tries helping the female and in complete shock, rings the police as this person has better morals and a better state of mind. This protagonist is outlined to be the Superego, due to their correct principles. 

Freud Theory

ID, Ego, Superego.

According to Freud, personality consists of the id, ego, and superego. These three parts work together to create a complete personality. The superego is the social component and is your conscience. The id is your instinct, while the ego is your conscious decisions. 

The id - is the primitive and instinctive component of personality. It consists of all the inherited (i.e., biological) components of personality present at birth, including the sex (life) instinct – Eros (which contains the libido), and the aggressive (death) instinct - Thanatos.

The id is the impulsive (and unconscious) part of our psyche which responds directly and immediately to the instincts. 

The personality of the newborn child is all id and only later does it develop an ego and super-ego.

The ego - develops to mediate between the unrealistic id and the external real world. It is the decision-making component of personality. Ideally, the ego works by reason, whereas the id is chaotic and unreasonable.

The ego operates according to the reality principle, working out realistic ways of satisfying the id’s demands, often compromising or postponing satisfaction to avoid negative consequences of society. The ego considers social realities and norms, etiquette and rules in deciding how to behave.

Like the id, the ego seeks pleasure (i.e., tension reduction) and avoids pain, but unlike the id, the ego is concerned with devising a realistic strategy to obtain pleasure. The ego has no concept of right or wrong; something is good simply if it achieves its end of satisfying without causing harm to itself or the id.

The superego - incorporates the values and morals of society which are learned from one's parents and others. It develops around the age of 3 – 5 during the phallic stage of psychosexual development. 

The superego's function is to control the id's impulses, especially those which society forbids, such as sex and aggression. It also has the function of persuading the ego to turn to moralistic goals rather than simply realistic ones and to strive for perfection.

The superego consists of two systems: The conscience and the ideal self. The conscience can punish the ego through causing feelings of guilt. For example, if the ego gives in to the id's demands, the superego may make the person feel bad through guilt. 

https://www.simplypsychology.org/psyche.html

https://endofthegame.net/2014/04/15/child-development-101-history-and-theory/5/http://freudsigmund.blogspot.co.uk/2010/12/id-ego-super-ego.html

New Wave Video (rough cut)

Video Essay

health and safety

• check appropriate lighting for task 
• make sure all cables are clear and out of way
• no damp or wet in area
• no liquids or food around electrical items
• make sure light doesn't get too hot

Video Essay Evaluation

Evaluation

To produce my French new wave video essay I had to conduct vast amounts of research on why it had such an impact on cinema and how it all began. I started off my research by just simply researching where the French New Wave began, and how it was created. I researched the basic information about the film movement and then started to expand my research more specifically. I then researched the key individuals who went from writing reviews for the film magazine ‘Cahiers Du Cinema’. Godard and Truffaut both shared a vital role in the New Wave as they decided to go from writing about films, to directing them. I then watched a few of the most famous texts from the New wave. This included the likes of Godard's 'Breathless' (A Bout De souffle) and Truffaut's 400 Blows (Les 400 Coups).

For my video essay I decided to focus the first few minutes on the French New Waves history and how it all began. I felt by doing this it would give the viewers of my video essay a good in sight to what the New Wave specifically is and be able to understand more as my essay went on. I tried to include video clips from the three films I had chosen to focus on specifically, these were Breathless, 400 blows and Jules and Jim. I felt by using clips from these particular films it gave the essay more depth as the whole thing linked together. Once I felt I had gone into enough detail about the context of my chosen new wave I decided to talk about my chosen films and their directors, Godard and Truffaut. I found it difficult to find videos of the directors talking about their films and in interviews so I used clips of their films and began to introduce them into the video. Once I felt I had given a good explanation on their impact to cinema I analysed a clip from their film, which were my focused texts within my research. I felt this gave a good insight into the directors and their films and also the techniques used within this genre.

I did change my video essay last minute as throughout the video the text in which I was using to evaluate my chosen new wave was going over the moving image. After looking back at my video I found that there wasn’t enough time within the clips to read the text I had added on top. I resolved this by separating the clips with the text and using the text as an introduction for the oncoming clips and found that this worked better.

New Wave Brief

Having researched new waves and specifically focusing and analysing The French New Wave and three of its most successful films it is clear the main aspect of New Waves is their rejection and rebell against typical hollywood film making, whether that be social issues or actual film techniques. i specifically focused on looking at the French New Wave and found that they revolutionised cinema by changing typical hollywood cinematic camera techniques. 

I plan to film in busy locations, Bristol City Centre and Train stations. All of my videos will be shot with natural lighting and hand held camera as i want my audience to be aware they are watching a film, i also want it to seem realistic so my audience feel as though they are part of the film, making it more realistic. The main action of my film will be shot in train stations and on trains to capture a journey which will be the main narrative of my film.

I plan to cut scenes rapidly to stick to French New Wave conventions and make the film void of any strict narrative. The use of fast cuts and hand held camera will make the film look rough which is also another convention of French New Wave. The sound within the film will be diegetic as all of  french new wave films are rough cut and include sound which was in the scene when being shot.