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THEMES OF AWAKENING IN MAINSTREAM FILMS: FEMALE SUBJECTS AND THE LACANIAN SYMBOLIC

Silas, Elizabeth J.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1133495057

Abstract Details

2005, Master of Arts, Miami University, Mass Communication.
Popular films sometimes feature female characters who confront the limitations of individual subjectivity in Western cultures. This thesis reviews and synthesizes a few of the competing interpretations of Lacanian psychoanalysis and reinterprets some of his work by noting its overlap with the nondualistic metaphysical traditions that he refers to in it. These reinterpretations provide a way to understand both Lacan and these popular films more clearly and completely. The thesis concludes with an application of this theoretical synthesis to two popular films: Thelma & Louise and The Piano. Both films depict female characters struggling with the limitations of individual subjectivity, the feeling of lack, and the relationship of these issues to gender in their cultures. Ultimately, The Piano more successfully conveys the situation of a symbol-using human who identifies as a woman, though neither film can yet portray a happy ending for such a person.
Lisa McLaughlin (Advisor)
68 p.
Lacan; psychoanalysis; symbolic; Vedanta; Buddhism; nondualism; film theory; feminism; femininity; women; Thelma &; Louise; The Piano; popular films

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Silas, E. J. (2005). THEMES OF AWAKENING IN MAINSTREAM FILMS: FEMALE SUBJECTS AND THE LACANIAN SYMBOLIC [Master's thesis, Miami University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1133495057

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Silas, Elizabeth. THEMES OF AWAKENING IN MAINSTREAM FILMS: FEMALE SUBJECTS AND THE LACANIAN SYMBOLIC. 2005. Miami University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1133495057.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Silas, Elizabeth. "THEMES OF AWAKENING IN MAINSTREAM FILMS: FEMALE SUBJECTS AND THE LACANIAN SYMBOLIC." Master's thesis, Miami University, 2005. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1133495057

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

miami1133495057
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© 2005, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Miami University and OhioLINK.