1st Edition

Somatic Cinema The relationship between body and screen - a Jungian perspective

By Luke Hockley Copyright 2014
192 Pages
by Routledge

184 Pages
by Routledge

192 Pages
by Routledge

Films can hold personal psychological meanings that are often at odds with their narratives. Examining the intersections between mental health and the cinema, Somatic Cinema represents the cutting edge of film theory, evaluating the significance of this phenomenon both in therapy and in the everyday world. Luke Hockley draws on the insights of phenomenological and Jungian film theory and... Read more

The Consciously Constructed Film. Being in the Cinema. Reflections of the Body. Being Mindful of the Image. Seeing the Image. Being Touched by the Image. Feeling the Image.

Biography

Luke Hockley is Professor of Media Analysis at the Research Institute for Media, Art and Design (RIMAD) at the University of Bedfordshire. He also works as an integrative psychotherapist in private practice in London and Bedfordshire. He co-edited Jung and Film II: The Return and House: The Wounded Healer on Television.

Drawing on Jung’s assertion that body and mind are indivisible, Luke Hockley develops a masterly analysis of the complex interactions between ritual, therapy and cinema. He introduces to this the concept of embodied affect, arguing that (as in therapy, so in the cinema) when body and mind are both impacted by feeling, the unconscious must be no less involved than consciousness. The resultant account presents an innovative theoretical frame within which to recognise the place of affect in cinema.

John Izod, Emeritus Professor of Film Analysis, University of Stirling