In Repulsion (1965), Rosemary’s Baby (1968) and The Tenant (1976), Polish filmmaker Roman Polanski portrays a series of fragmented psyches confined in claustrophobic spaces. Fear objects move progressively from sexual intercourse (Carol), via pregnancy/childbirth (Rosemary), culminating in the blurring of gender identities (Trelkovsky). In her Projections lecture, Mary Wild offers a Freudian psychoanalytic interpretation of Polanski’s ‘apartment trilogy’, a genre-defining set of films with an influence as far-reaching as 2010’s Black Swan.
‘Projections’ is psychoanalysis for film interpretation. ‘Projections’ empowers film spectators to express subjective associations they consider to be meaningful. Expertise in psychoanalytic theory is not necessary – the only prerequisite is the desire to enter and inhabit the imaginary world of film, which is itself a psychoanalytic act. Please watch Roman Polanski’s ‘Repulsion’, ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ and ‘The Tenant’ before attending the lecture as there may be spoilers!
Mary Wild, a Freudian cinephile from Montreal, is the creator of ‘Projections.’
