Ignacio Javier López’s article “Film, Freud, and Paranoia: Dalí and the Representation of Male Desire in An Andalusian Dog” has a three tiered thesis: First, López argues that Dalí and Luis Buñuel’s 1926 film, An Andalusian Dog, exemplifies the “aesthetic theories of Surrealism” that compliment “the Freudian notion of persistence of desire (37). Secondly, that the motion picture, above all other media, was the “ideal form to portray sexuality” because it was free of the attached meanings and cultural boundaries of other traditional art media (38). Finally, López argues that Dalí’s work, including An Andalusian Dog and numerous paintings, deals largely with his fear of sexually transmitted diseases and the loss of self-sufficient sexual independence. I viewed An Andalusian Dog just prior to reading this article. The film’s symbolic and disturbing images made little sense to me before applying López’s thorough analysis (the two authors rejected all images that could be explained rationally). Each character and image is explained in terms of Dalí’s view of sexual repression and loss of self as a result of succumbing to desire. I chose this article because I am interested in the pairing of Freud’s psychoanalytic theory and the Surrealist movement, and of course film. I was unsure of how this subject might relate to our class, but I noticed that López often mentioned the film’s relationship to the culture in which it was created. Buñuel and Dalí, although both from Spain, decided to premiere the film in Paris, where they felt there was an audience more open to questions of identity and convention in society. In terms of material culture study, An Andalusian Dog has plenty to say about its contemporary society and the reactions against it, the negativity toward homosexual relationships or sexual exploration. In addition, studying this short film and López’s analysis has explained many themes in Dalí’s paintings that were otherwise unidentifiable for me. Considering An Andalusian Dog is a moving image, I have posted the famous film still and cover of the woman who is about to have her eye split with a razor (sure makes you want to watch it, right?) López makes a comprehensive and compelling argument concerning the relationship between Freud’s writings and the Surrealist movement, the symbolism and narrative of An Andalusian Dog, and finally the underlying theme of male sexuality in the film.
Link to full film on Youtube.com
Link to article on Project Muse
The view of surrealism is present all throughout this picture. This opinion is evident throughout your article: Each character and image is explained in terms of Dalí’s view of sexual repression and loss of self as a result of succumbing to desire. " I like how the artist focuses the attention to the character's eye so obviously to correlate to his view of "loss of self as a result of succumbing desire."
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting that the artists used film because it is "free of the attached meanings and cultural boundaries of other traditional art media". You aren't exposed to lines and textures made straight from the artist's hand; instead, you are directly subjected to the ideas and blunt images the artist wishes you to see. I love the connection between surrealism and Freud's theories, and how both tell you something unusual about the workings of the mind. Very interesting.
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