Article:
Schutzbauten. Matte paintings, glass shots und die Durchbrüche der Phantasie

Author(s): Binotto, Johannes

Abstract

Within the topology of the psychic apparatus, fantasy is – according to Freud – of a «mixed nature»: pertaining both to consciousness as well as to the unconscious, fantasy functions as a screen which separates the different instances of the psyche, while at the same time mediating between them. We find the same paradoxical «mixture» in the cinematic devices of Classical Hollywood, particularly in the technique of matte paintings. While these were used to cover over unwanted details of the film image, they at the same time function as symptomatic disruptions of the very cinematic illusionism they are supposed to guarantee. Film technology turns out to be the unconscious of/as cinema and thus – as an analysis of the matte paintings in films like CITIZEN KANE (USA 1941), NORTH BY NORTHWEST (USA 1959) or MILLION DOLLAR MERMAID (USA 1952) will show – a critique of political-symbolic authority.

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BibTex
Binotto, Johannes: Schutzbauten. Matte paintings, glass shots und die Durchbrüche der Phantasie. In: Zeitschrift für Medienwissenschaft, Jg. 9 (2017), Nr. 2, S. 16-30. DOI: 10.25969/mediarep/2177.
@ARTICLE{Binotto2017,
 author = {Binotto, Johannes},
 title = {Schutzbauten. Matte paintings, glass shots und die Durchbrüche der Phantasie},
 year = 2017,
 doi = {10.25969/mediarep/2177},
 volume = 9,
 address = {Bielefeld},
 journal = {Zeitschrift für Medienwissenschaft},
 number = 2,
 pages = {16--30},
}
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