NAME: FIDEL F.

NAMISI
NUMBER: 0409466M
TV 4 ESSAY
LECURER: ANGIE MILLS
QUESTION:
What would typify a surrealist film work? Use either Un Chien Andalou or Blue
Velvet as your ase study to i!"esti#ate the Unheimlich.
Due Date: Wed!esday$ %
th
Septem&er '(()

* of +
,his essay will use Luis -u!uels Un Chein Andalou as a ase study to i!"esti#ate the
unhelimlich a!d thus outli!e the harateristis of a surrealist film work.
,he term unheimlich is a Germa! word that literally mea!s uncanny. I! the &roadest
of terms it refers to the /reudia! su&o!sious as a soure of i!spiratio! for the artist$
resulti!# i! the reatio! of pereptio!s that stir the emotio!s of the perei"i!# su&0et
i! a "ery foreful way.
,o u!dersta!d the a!teede!ts of the idea of the unheimlich$ it is importa!t to ha"e a
#e!eral u!dersta!di!# of /reudia! psyhoa!alysis. At its fou!datio! is the idea that
the su&0et$ or ego 1Lati! for 2I34 is a mediatio! &etwee! two fores5 the superego a!d
the id. ,he superego is the sum of fores that attempts to suppress the id$ whih is the
irratio!al ompo!e!t of the su&0et$ residi!# i! their su&o!sious. ,hrou#h the
i!terplay &etwee! the suppressi"e superego a!d the irratio!al id, the ego$ or mediated
su&0et$ is &or!.
,his relates losely to the Aristotelia! defi!itio! of a huma! &ei!# as a ratio!al
a!imal. ,his implies the mediatio! of two disti!t fores withi! the huma! &ei!# that
are !ot of the same order5 the ar!al or a!imal$ whose desires are #eared towards the
sur"i"al of the i!di"idual a!d the speies$ a!d the ratio!al$ whose desires are #eared
towards the spiritual realities of truth$ &eauty a!d #ood!ess 1Aristotle$ Metaphysics4.
Aordi!# to the /re!h philosopher 6a7ues Maritai!$ the artist is always i!spired &y
a desire. Whether these desires are ratio!al desires for truth$ &eauty a!d #ood!ess$ or
' of +
a!imal desires for food$ dri!k or se8$ is a matter hi#hly depe!de!t o! the artists
"olitio! 1Maritai!$ *9:+5 ')4.
,he unheimlich$ a !otio! &or! out of /reudia! psyhoa!alysis with its i!duti"e
&elief that the id is the seat of the i!di"iduals #e!ui!e ide!tity$ is &or! out a hoie to
seek i!spiratio! for art i! the a!imal desires of the ratio!al a!imal. ;e!e it is
harateri<ed &y a stirri!# of the emotio!s$ speifially fear a!d lust$ as well as the
shu!!i!# of ratio!al lo#i.
,hese are the harateristis that we see i! -u!uel a!d =alis Un Chien Andalou. It is
howe"er importa!t to u!dersta!d why these artistes opted to look for i!spiratio! i!
the unheimlich$ i! their a!imal desires$ rather tha! i! their ratio!al desires. ,he
unheimlich as a soure of i!spiratio! &eame su&sumed i!to a &roader artisti
mo"eme!t referred to as surrealism. ,o u!dersta!d what surrealism is$ its
relatio!ship with the unheimlich a!d why it i!flue!ed suh a wide ra!#e of "isual
artistes aross Europe$ o!e must !eeds look at its historial o!te8t$ ulturally$
politially a!d philosophially.
Surrealism was &or! i! the early part of the twe!tieth e!tury$ i! Europe. At the time$
Europe had 0ust e8perie!ed the ra"a#es of the /irst World War$ whih was taki!#
plae i! the shadow of the i!dustrial re"olutio! of the !i!etee!th e!tury. -roadly
speaki!#$ the i!dustrial re"olutio! was fou!ded o! two pri!iples5 ommere a!d
sie!tifi pro#ress. A!y sie!tifi i!"e!tio! or diso"ery was immediately tra!slated
i!to ommerial #ai!. I!"e!tio!s suh as the spi!!i!# 0e!!y$ the li#ht &ul& a!d more
> of +
rele"a!tly$ the motio! piture amera ome to mi!d. ,his is o!e aspet of the soial?
politial a!d eo!omi o!te8t of surrealism.
,he result of this was the rise of materialism. Ma! &eame little more tha! a mahi!e
for the produtio! of #oods or a o!sumer of those #oods. ,his pro#ressi"e
despiritualisatio! of ma! a! &e see! i! the two re"olutio!s that ourred arou!d that
time5 the se8ual re"olutio! of the early twe!ties$ a preursor of the more ree!t o!e i!
the si8ties$ a!d the -olshe"ik re"olutio!. I! the former$ the huma! &ei!# &eame a
o!sumer that simply sou#ht the satisfatio! of his or her desires$ se!sual or material.
I! the latter$ the huma! &ei!# &eame a produer$ whose di#!ity was &ased o! his
apaity to work. I! either ase$ the huma! &ei!# &eame despiritualised$ i!apa&le of
raisi!# his ideals &eyo!d a!y immediate material reality.

Art$ &ei!# a! e8pressio! of the huma! spirit$ followed suit. Art &eame
despiritualised i! its pursuit of the rapid pro#ress proper to sie!e. I! additio!$ it
&eame su&0et to immediate materialisti #oals suh as the dissemi!atio! of
propa#a!da$ as a! &e see! i! the So"iet mo!ta#e mo"eme!t$ or the satisfatio! of
se!sual desires$ as a! &e see! i! the mo"eme!ts of surrealism.

Surrealism thus &eame haraterised &y the searh for !ew teh!i7ues a!d the
ele&ratio! of the irratio!al @ partiularly that of a se!sual$ eroti !ature. It is useful
to keep i! mi!d$ with re#ard to our earlier ar#ume!t$ that there is !othi!# further from
the spirituality of the huma! &ei!# tha! the irratio!al. ,he huma! &ei!#s spirituality
is rooted i! his ratio!ality.
: of +
Surrealism$ &ei!# hea"ily i!flue!ed &y pro#ress i! sie!e$ thus applied sie!tifi
teh!i7ues to its methods$ the key teh!i7ue i! sie!e &ei!# e8perime!tatio!. It
therefore omes as !o surprise that surrealist film is also ommo!ly referred to or at
least thou#ht of as &ei!# e8perime!tal. It is o!e of the results of the o!fusio!
&etwee! art a!d sie!e. 6ust as i! the So"iet films of the same period$ the ele&ratio!
of teh!i7ues o"er su&sta!e resulted i! a sullyi!# of the artwork.
,hus surrealism &eame the artisti i!ar!atio! of the spirit of the time5 rapid
pro#ress a!d the despiritualisatio! of the huma! &ei!#. ,he unheimlich$ or the
u!a!!y$ was o!e of ma!y ma!ifestatio!s of this ele&ratio! of the irratio!al arried
out throu#h the teh!olo#ial.
% of +
BIBLIOGRAPY
Aristotle. Metaphysis Aol. A Artile **
Maritai!$ 6. *9:+. Art a!d Sholastiism$ With Bther Essays. Lo!do!5 Sheed a!d
Ward.
+ of +