Tara Carville

In this essay I will mainly focus on the Marxist film theory, however I will also look in to wider
film theory's such as psychoanalysis and feminism. In Cinema, Genre is not the only way to
distinguish a certain style of film making. There are also a large variety of wider film readings that
consist of theories, that individually show how some films are deliberately produced in a certain
style which enable them to separate from a specific and typical genre film. All of these forms of
film making each have their own unique way of creating meaning through a cinematic medium
some more successful than others.

The Marxist Filmi theory began to flourish through the use by of Auteurs, Sergei Eisenstein, for
example, among a range of Soviet directors during the 1920s, who demonstrated the concept of
Marxism through the medium of cinema/theatre. Eisensteins attended the Institute of Civil
Engineering in Petrograd. With the fall of the Tsar in 1917, he worked for the Red Army. In the
years after, Eisenstein joined the Moscow Proletkult theatre as a set designer then as a director.
Eisenstein stated that, "The profession of film director can and should be such a high and precious
one; that no man aspiring to it can disregard any knowledge that will make him a better film
director or human being." ii

Vsevolod Meyerhold, greatly influenced Eisenstein, introducing him to the world of cinema. He

Tara Carville
later believed that this style of editing worked in a similar way to Karl Marx's writings and
ideology. Though Eisenstein wanted to make films for the common man, due to his very intense use
of metaphors and symbolism in what he called "an intellectual montage" sometimes escaped his
viewers imagination, as they struggled to see his vision. He had only made seven films in his career.

Aside from Sergei Eisenstein, there are many other film-makers who support the Marxist Film
theory, in that of a French Marxist filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard. iiiWith Godard, most of his Marxist
readings are from his earlier works. Godard's direct interaction with Marxism does not become
explicitly apparent, however in, Week End (1967),iv (see trailer) where the name Karl Marx is
cited in partnership with figures such as Jesus Christ. A constant theme throughout Godard's
cinematic period is that of the bourgeoisie's, the commodification of daily life and activity, plus
man's alienation, "I pity the French Cinema because it has no money. I pity the American Cinema
because it has no ideas." This contains all of the main features of Marx's critique of capitalism.

One thing I do believe is that Marxism and even Feminism in the cinematic world, is that they
originated as political views, Karl Marx came up with Marxism before the first film was filmed, and

Tara Carville
unlike psychoanalysis which was derived from the horror genre much later, towards the 1970's.
Marxism and Feminism are views that everyone will interpret differently, which in turn means that
its unlikely that there will ever be a concise understanding of what is and isn't considered to be
Marxist or Feminist.

These are types of progressive theories that have become quite common over the years, and have
become a vital part of the film industry. Theses films are portraying a political message. These
theories have embedded themselves in films to such a degree that some audience members would
not even classify them as that particular wider theory that they are, for example Weekend is no
doubt a Marxist film, but Titanic can also be read as a Marxist film. This film doesn't actually
look at the advantages of Socialism, but it focuses on the negatives of Capitalism, however yet
again it comes down to the opinion of the audience members watching. Some would believe it's
only about an unfortunate ship journey and a love story between two of the passengers, from
different classes/backgrounds. v

Feminist analysis will concentrate on how women are seen in film, are they stereotypical?
Protagonists or antagonists? Feminism has always been a social struggle, which over the years has
had a great impact on film theory. Cinema has been viewed by feminists to be a public way of
portraying myths about women and femininity, as well as male masculinity, such as the 'bunny
boiler' stereotype.. vi. Early feminist criticism was directed towards the stereotype women, mostly
viewed in Hollywood's big screen. Endless images of under-powered women were considered to be
very displeasing to women, which would then have a negative impact on the female audience. This
created the need for positive imagery of women on the big screens in cinema, but these positive
images were not enough to change underlying structures in film. As even when women were given
larger roles or more screen time, they still had to be a certain age, weight, and be beautiful. For

Tara Carville
years psychoanalysis was the dominant driving force in feminist film theory.

A psychological approach often identifies plot elements with the theories of psychologists like
Freud. Which includes looking for sexual symbolism, subconscious treatments, and the
representation of the ID, ego, and superego.
We are born with our Id. The ID is an important part of our personality because as newborns, it
allows us to get our basic needs met. Freud believed that the id is based on our pleasure principle.
The ego is based on the reality principle. The ego understands that other people have needs and
desires and that sometimes being impulsive or selfish can hurt us in the long run. Its the egos job to
meet the needs of the id, while taking into consideration the reality of the situation.
The Superego is the moral part of us and develops due to the moral and ethical restraints placed on
us by our caregivers. Many equate the superego with the conscience as it dictates our belief of right
and wrong.
In a healthy person, according to Freud, the ego is the strongest so that it can satisfy the needs of
the id, not upset the superego, and still take into consideration the reality of every situation.1

Tara Carville

Psychoanalytic film theory, despite its relatively late start (1970's), has become one of the most
widely used theories in the horror genre. This is largely due to the fact that psychoanalysis and new
film technologies were created in the same time period and have essentially evolved together, thus
allowing directors to explore many new ways of embracing psychoanalysis of their characters in
films.vii

Many psychoanalytical Auteurs took their primary inspiration from the French psychoanalyst
Jacques Lacan, and they could mostly read Lacan through a Marxist philosopher called Louis
Althussers account. The wave of psychoanalytic film theory has also had its start in Lacans
thoughts, As is known, it is in the realm of experience inaugurated by psychoanalysis that we may
grasp along what imaginary lines the human organism, in the most intimate recesses of its being,
manifests its capture in a symbolic dimension. 2

These theories can easily lend themselves to different approaches that may embrace or completely
ignore other approaches about what a film reading actually means. There could be many different
interpretations of a film, as there are critics, examining a film from an array of film theories may
uncover aspects, that one critic never even thought was a possibility. But, trying to use every theory
to analyse a film would result in far too big of a film study.

Tara Carville

Any film could lend itself to one or more specific film readings in detail, with the use of another
film theory. Such as 2011 book to film adaption of 'We Need To Talk About Kevin' which is a
psychological thriller/drama film. viii This film sparked a nature vs nurture debateix as the mother
Eva, played by Tilda Swinton in the film, struggles to 'take' to motherhood, and her own beliefs that
she was mostly the cause of her sons monstrous acts, as she reflects on her life before she had Kevin
and after, we are able to see her perspective, however she cannot be seen as a reliable narrator, as
we are only ever getting her perspective on things, such as Kevin's early behavioral issues, when he
was refusing to speak or communicate to her. Elements of this can also be seen in Darren Aronofsky
film the 'Black Swan' 2010. Natalie Portman portrays a ballerina, Nina, who is domineered by her
over bearing mother and as a result she is obsessed with perfection. x

Despite the fact that the Marxist film theory, being one of the oldest types of film theory, the
Marxist ideal is seen as a downfall on the campaign of cinema trade in the United States of
America, however the standing point of Marxist Film theory embraces itself in a multiple of
American motion pictures.
Many Marxists directors have considered, that Hollywood cinema is designed to draw you in,
believing in the capitalist ideology, such as the typical happy Hollywood endings of films we've
come to expect. Its nothing more than a medium to make you follow in the unhealthy capitalist
ideal and unrealistic world.

However Sergei Eisenstein's solution was to actually reject the commonly used narrative structure
of Hollywood, by disregarding the individual protagonist and to tell the stories, where they are
moved by a group of people and it is told through conflict of one class against another, so that the
audience is never drawn into believing the that one person stands higher than the rest in the socialist

Tara Carville
society. Meaning that there shouldn't be one class constantly above the others in the world.

In conclusion, the Marxist Film theory on cinematic motion picture films has been felt widespread,
dating from early revolutionary films that embody the justification and exposure of the ideologies
that ensured the relative importance of Marxist film theory even up till now. Psychoanalysis despite
it's late arrival to the film theory's has spread its influence widely as well, especially within the
horror genre and assisting feminism.

Bibliography
http://www.annekesmelik.nl/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/FeministFilmTheory.pdf
http://www.theguardian.com/film/2001/jun/17/features.review
http://faculty.washington.edu/cbehler/glossary/lacancin.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Luc_Godard
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Mulvey
https://newlinearperspectives.wordpress.com/film/we-need-to-talk-about-kevin/

http://www.ukessays.com/essays/film-studies/sychoanalytic-theory-and-alfred-hitchcocks-psychofilm-studies-essay.php

i http://wikis.la.utexas.edu/theory/page/marxism-film-studies
ii http://russianarchives.com/gallery/old/eisen.html
iii http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000419/
iv https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFJLuhVvBPM
v https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DocwBZyESU
vi http://www.uh.edu/~cfreelan/courses/femfilm.html
1 https://prezi.com/rnfjcirvphr8/sigmund-freud-and-the-psychoanalytical-approach/
vii http://tonymckibbin.com/course-notes/psychoanalytic-film-theory
2 https://ore.exeter.ac.uk/repository/bitstream/handle/10036/112123/SadjadiSB.pdf?sequence=2
viii http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/01/the-impossible-question-of-we-need-to-talk-aboutkevin-nature-or-nurture/251664/
ix http://www.the-filmreel.com/2012/06/04/we-need-to-talk-about-kevin-2011-or-nature-vs-nurture/
x http://birthmoviesdeath.com/2015/06/10/black-swan-and-the-art-of-self-destruction