¶ … film Sarah and James by Nikowa Namate offers an opportunity to reflect on the deeper themes in light of several film theories including Freudian theory, Queer theory, and an understanding of realism, naturalism, and kitchen sink drama. This essay will offer a nuanced and thorough analysis of my role in the filmmaking experience. In Sarah and James, I played the role of James, one of the title characters. As the title of the film suggests, though, James is not the only protagonist. The interplay between James and his sister Sarah is the foundation of the film, which addresses the way mental illness impacts intimate relationships. Moreover, I was in charge of lighting during the production of Sarah and James and will discuss elements related to lighting during the production of the film. This essay will hinge on the application of realism, naturalism, Freudian theory, and queer theory to my experience as an actor.
Freudian psychoanalysis and film share a similar language and semiotic because "cinema and psychoanalysis were born at the same time," ("Honey I Kidded the Shrink," 1). This historical convergence shows that a film like Sarah and James serves the function of reflecting the psyche of the screenwriter, who in turn captures universal dimensions of human existence that can be understood using Freudian psychoanalytic theory. Because film must appeal to the psyche of each viewer for the viewer to become engaged enough to watch, "psychoanalytic film theory, despite its relatively late development, has become one of the most widely practiced theoretical approaches to cinema studies today," (Netto 1)
Furthermore, applying Freudian theories to film shows that the audience is also participating in a psychoanalytic process when watching a movie. The audience willingly surrenders to the "fourth field," as Netto puts it, allowing the unseen director, cinematographer, and producer to manipulate minds and control realities, albeit temporarily (1). The audience is "being coerced, through a careful manipulation of compositional framing, lighting, editing," and other dimensions of the cinema experience (Netto 1).
Sarah and James exemplifies the core elements of Freudian theory. For one, Freudian theory remains centrally concerned with childhood and its repressed memories. Those repressed memories haunt the individual, create neuroses, and contribute to the person's personality, behavior, and relationships. This is true for films that do not address mental illness, but naturally, Freudian theory applies well to a film like Sarah and James, which does address mental illness. Cinema accomplishes the goal of "rendering subjective experiences -- the innermost psychological depths of the characters it portrayed," (Netto 1).
A second reason Sarah and James exemplifies the core elements of Freudian theory is that "the birth of cinema offered a collective sense of what Freud called the uncanny: the images on screen were both familiar and somehow strange, alive and yet lifeless, real but illusory," (Honey I Kidded the Shrink," 1). Sarah and James is not a documentary; it is a work of fiction. In this sense, we have the sense of something removed from reality but also real as well. The audience, as well as the actors like me, can identify with the characters but also remain distant from them. Characters are mirrors for our subconscious.
Sarah and James is about the delusional and hallucinatory nature of mental illness besieging the titular Sarah. Sarah's delusions create a complex relationship between her and an imaginary female lover. Thus, Sarah and James should be analyzed also in terms of queer theory. Queer theory is somewhat linked to psychoanalytic theory, and can be used in conjunction with it. Issues related to power, sexuality, and fetishism are addressed in Sarah and James in tacit ways. Queer theory shows that Hollywood treats homosexuality in ways that promote stereotypes of queer sexuality as inherently perverse or monstrous (Ellis 2). The goal of cinema in the case of Sarah and James is to subvert Hollywood's control of social norms.
Sarah and James belongs to an interconnected genre of films known as realist or naturalist movies. It can also be considered a kitchen sink drama. These terms refer to films that basically depict real life in all its grittiness. Nothing is held back. Reality is presented to the viewer without glamorous embellishments. "Realism as a dramatic style refers to the appearance of lifelikeness (verisimilitude) in setting, costume, dialogue, gesture, facial expression, and so on" (Dietrich 1).
Naturalism takes realism...
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