Film and the Unconscious
Instructor: Rachel Edelson, Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine
Description: This course uses five sophisticated and highly symbolic films as a way to teach students 1) to investigate film more analytically and 2) to understand some central concepts of Sigmund Freud and his follower Carl G. Jung. The films are “The Machinist” (guilt and repression), "The Believer" (conflict of identity), "Amores Perros" (man as dog, dog as man), “The Princess and the Warrior” (transformation through pain) and "The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada" (the hero's journey towards redemption).
Format: The ten week seminar will meet for two hours each week. UNGRADED written personal responses to the films and to the readings on psychological theory are required each week. Except for special circumstances, I want the homework handed in during class, not as an e-mail. Every other week we will look at a film, as a class. The homework for the next week will be to look at the film a second time (on reserve in Rm 1101 of the Media Center in Hart Hall), and respond to a variety of questions, including: how the movie changes upon a second viewing, how our readings illuminate your understanding, what questions and ambiguities are raised for you, and ways in which class discussion furthered your own thinking. I am convinced that the greater the art, the more open it is to interpretation; hence, I am never looking for a right answer from students. Rather, I want to stimulate personal reflection and openness to fellow students’ ideas, derived from class discussion. Grading: Grades will be based on: the quality and quantity of homework (60%); the final paper (major ideas gained from course) (10%); attendance (10%); and class participation (20%).
About the Instructor: Rachel Edelson is a Clinical Faculty Member of the Department of Psychiatry. Her graduate degrees are in Education and English. She also teaches College Composition and Advanced Critical Thinking at Sacramento City College.