“Spellbound” a Cinematic Representation of Psychoanalysis

The movie Spellbound, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, encompasses some(prenominal) Freudian concepts manifested in the characters including amnesia, guilt colonial, repression, and psychopathology. Psychoanalysis is a major gene of the film and is use in the avocation of truth the truth beingness what happened to the significant Dr. Edwards. Also, dream work is a major tool used in the film to uncover the truth. Though Spellbound has some(prenominal) characters that embody Freudian concepts, I believe the four main characters ar most important. John Ballantyne exemplifies amnesia, guilt coordination compound, and repression Dr.Constance Peterson represents the process of psychoanalysis Dr. Burlov is a characterization of Freud and Dr. Murchison conveys Psychopathology. The film, Spellbound, begins in the setting of green manors, a mental asylum. The stop of the facility, Dr. Murchison, is retiring and a famous psychiatrist, Dr. Edwards, is to take his place. Shortly after Dr . Edwards arrives other psychiatrist, Dr. Constance Peterson, discovers that the man claiming to be Dr. Edwards is an imposter. This imposter is suffering from a guilt complex which causes him to be an mindless.Thus begins the pursuit of truth, using psychoanalysis, to uncover who the imposter is and what happened to the real Dr. Edwards. We find out that the imposter is John Ballantyne, a patient of of Dr. Edwards, and an amnesiac which is why he believes he is Dr. Edwards in the beginning of the movie. John Ballantynes amnesia is related to the guilt complex from which he is suffering. We know that Ballantyne go through a sufferingtic event, this triggered repression of memory, bringing conscious truth to the unconscious to hold dear the mind from the trauma this caused his amnesia.Dr. Constance Peterson believes that by using psychoanalysis she can spigot into Ballantynes mnemic trace, or unconscious memory, and uncover the Primal position. The primal horizon being the t rauma that Ballantyne suffered. Dr. Peterson and Ballantyne embark on a journey, evading the authorities, to answer the incredulity of what happened to the real Dr. Edwards. Dr. Constance Peterson, portraying the process of psychoanalysis, is of course mentored by Dr. Burlov who is a facsimile of Freud both aesthetically and conceptually. Dr. Peterson brings Ballantyne to Dr.Burlov to help uncover the aforementioned primal scene. This peck of the film encompasses all aspects of Psychoanalysis. Ballantyne, suffering from amnesia due to his guilt complex and repression, is analyzed by Burlov in a few ways. First Burlov uses transference, saying, Im going to be your father image, then he uses free association, asking Ballantyne, Whatever comes into your head just say what it is. When Ballantyne has no response Burlov turns to dream work saying, maybe you dreamt something? This analysis of Ballantynes dream, or dream work, is an integral scene of the film.The dream sequence, designe d by Salvador Dali, contains several(prenominal) symbols these symbols allude to the truth which is buried in Ballantynes unconscious. Freud believed that dreams were the connection to the unconscious, and tapping into it could alleviate someone of their psychological sufferings. The most important symbols are the bearded man, the proprietor, the slant cap, the wings, and the twine. The bearded man is Dr. Edwards. The sloping roof symbolizes a mountain. Dr. Peterson and Burlov deduce that the trauma occurred at a ski resort. The symbolism of the wings and sloping roof gives them the name of the resort, Gabriel Valley.Constance, Ballantyne, and Burlov go to Gabriel Valley to trigger memory. Ballantyne suddenly remembers that at the preciselyt joint of the hill there is a cliff, over which Dr. Edwards fell. It is also revealed that Ballantynes current primal scene is not the trauma of Dr. Edwards death. His true primal scene is the recollected memory of sliding down a rail and a ccidentally cleanup spot his brother, this is the initial trauma that causes his guilt complex, which is why he was a patient of Dr. Edwards. When Dr. Edwards body is uncovered it is discovered that he did not die from the fall, but from a gunshot. Ballantyne is sentenced and incarcerated.This does not sit well with Constance. She looks over her notes on Ballantynes dream and realizes that the proprietor is Dr. Murchison, the chimney he hid behind was a tree, and the wheel is a revolver which he used to kill Dr. Edwards. Dr. Murchison is clearly an exemplification of psychopathology. In conclusion, Hitchcocks Spellbound is a cinematic representation of more Freudian concepts such as psychoanalysis, dream work, and guilt complex. The characters embody these concepts. The pursuit of truth is a major element of the film this is also the courting in psychoanalysis, which is used to uncover repressed memories or the truth.