Week 7: Neuroscience + Art

This week's lecture had to do with one of my favorite subject areas: psychology. Having learned about Karl Jung and Sigmund Freud (pictured below), I already knew the major principles that the men shared as well as differed on, like the psyche and the influence of the childhood[1-3]. I did not, however, know how their work translated into art and the media until Professor Vesna mentioned a familiar name in Lecture II.


Figure 1: Sigmund Freud (left) and Carl Jung (right)

One of people mentioned in this week's lecture was David Cronenberg, a director known to combine the thriller into psychology. I am familiar with his work in Cosmopolis (pictured below). The film follows a young billionaire (Eric Packer) as he traverses New York City amidst a traffic and a financial crisis[4]. The movie was quite dull and somewhat disturbing when I first watched it. What I realized, though, is that this type of reception is sort of the side-effect of merging the principles of psychology into film.


Figure 2: Cosmopolis by director David Cronenberg

Instead of being given all the jokes and emotions upfront in genres like comedies and dramas, this film forced the audience to look beyond what was presented to them. For example, the scene pictured below is when Eric Packer meets the man who has been out to kill him. This part is chilling with respect to everything from the lighting, the type of clothes the characters are wearing to the odd pace and tension surrounding when/whether Eric will die[5]. All these elements are essentially used to evoke a sense of delving into the main character's psyche and understanding how he's coming to terms with the concept of death. Hence, we see how elements of art in film are used to portray the sometimes crude mechanisms of the mind that have been outlined by psychologists like Freud and Jung.


Figure 3: Cosmopolis scene when Eric Packer meets his killer


Sources:

1. McLeod, Saul. “Saul McLeod.” Simply Psychology, Simply Psychology, 1 Jan. 1970, www.simplypsychology.org/carl-jung.html.

2. “Carl Jung.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 4 Nov. 2015, www.biography.com/people/carl-jung-9359134.

3. Mcleod, Saul. “Sigmund Freud.” Simply Psychology, Simply Psychology, www.simplypsychology.org/Sigmund-Freud.html.

4. Person. “The Technical Chill of ‘Cosmopolis.’” The New Yorker, The New Yorker, 18 June 2017, www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/the-technical-chill-of-cosmopolis.

5. Smith, Nigel M. “'Cosmopolis' Star Paul Giamatti on Entering the 'Strange, Slightly Clinical' World of David Cronenberg.” IndieWire, Indiewire, 17 Aug. 2012, www.indiewire.com/2012/08/cosmopolis-star-paul-giamatti-on-entering-the-strange-slightly-clinical-world-of-david-cronenberg-45492/.


Images:

1. Katie. “10 Differences Between Freud and Jung.” Exploring Your Mind, Exploring Your Mind, 14 Apr. 2018, exploringyourmind.com/10-differences-freud-jung/.

2. A Couple of Critics. “Cosmopolis – A Metropolitan Odyssey.” A Couple of Critics, 27 Aug. 2012, acoupleofcritics.wordpress.com/2012/08/27/cosmopolis-a-metropolitan-odyssey/.

3. Smith, Nigel M. “'Cosmopolis' Star Paul Giamatti on Entering the 'Strange, Slightly Clinical' World of David Cronenberg.” IndieWire, Indiewire, 17 Aug. 2012, www.indiewire.com/2012/08/cosmopolis-star-paul-giamatti-on-entering-the-strange-slightly-clinical-world-of-david-cronenberg-45492/.