All registrants will receive their link to join via ZOOM. Attendees will also receive access to the recording on the Monday after the event, available to watch back for 1 month.
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Cinema is a privileged site for unconscious expression. From moments of surreal disruption to extended fantasy interludes, the language of film shares deep affinities with the logic of dreaming. In this lecture, we consider how cinematic dream sequences immerse us in a process uncannily akin to Sigmund Freud’s method of dream analysis. We will explore how the moving image dreams on our behalf - and what those dreams might be trying to tell us.
Taking seriously Freud’s claim that dreams are the “royal road to the unconscious,” this session will illustrate how dream scenes contain latent meaning - inviting the viewer to move beyond the manifest narrative and engage with buried wishes, disavowed fears, and symbolic condensation. When we view the screen as a projective surface and the spectator as an interpreter of dreamwork, the cinematic form reveals its resemblance to psychic processes in both structure and affect. Dream sequences are not merely aesthetic flourishes; they are deep emotional excavations. We are compelled to become detectives: decoding imagery and connecting hidden threads.
Drawing from a wide range of examples - from the classic surrealism of Spellbound and 8½ to the pop-philosophical puzzles of Inception and Waking Life - the lecture proposes an interpretive approach that places dream logic at the heart of film analysis. Through this lens, we encounter not just representations of dreams in cinema, but cinema itself as a form of dreaming. The aim here is not to offer a comprehensive reading of each film, but rather to attune us to the cinematic textures of dream sequences - their atmosphere, function, and psychological charge.
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Speaker:
Mary Wild @psycstar is a prominent figure in the field of film studies, and the creator of the Projections lecture series at Freud Museum London, applying psychoanalysis to film interpretation. She posts exclusive content on patreon.com/marywild
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Tickets: £15
Freud Museum Members and Patrons receive 20% off the standard ticket price on all events, courses, conferences and On Demand programming.
A limited number of £10 bursary tickets are available for those under financial hardship. Priority will be given to UK unemployed and PIP/ESA claimants. Please email perry@freud.org.uk to apply for a bursary.
The purpose of this event is to raise funds for the Freud Museum London, which receives no regular Government income. We are grateful to you for supporting our independent museum as generously as possible.
