In terms of cinema, the means to stimulate psychological activity in the audience are light waves and sound waves. In the context of psychology within cinema, this translates to stereoscopic illusions and motion illusions. The light and sound on the cinema screen mimic human sensations. The stimuli provided by cinema's light and sound waves do not directly reflect the current reality but instead draw from the reservoir of memories and experiences stored within the audience. This is achieved by stimulating the audience's visual and auditory senses to activate perceptions, cognitions, and thoughts accumulated and inferred from their everyday life experiences. It can even be said that from the Lumière Brothers onwards, all films are essentially psychological films. The combination of sound, light, and images, in their countless forms, guides the viewer's cognitive processes.
Susan Sontag, in her work "On Photography," proposes, "Accepting what the camera records as a way of understanding the world is precisely the opposite of knowing the world because knowing the world begins with rejecting the acceptability of appearances of the world. The source of all possible knowledge lies in the courage and ability to say 'no.'" This insightful scholar points out that humanity remains irretrievably trapped in Plato's cave, continuing its age-old habits and still reveling in the images that are not the reality itself but merely the images of reality. The allegory of Plato's "cave of shadows," as seen in his dialogues with Socrates and Glaucon, symbolizes the fact that people live within the confines of conventional belief systems, and what they steadfastly adhere to as unchanging truths and ideals are nothing more than fantasies of "truth." Plato expressed doubt about the reliability of sensory perception as the starting point for all knowledge, which inevitably leads to an unreliable foundation for human action. Therefore, in different contexts and to varying degrees, each individual serves as a "prisoner of the cave." In other words, to some extent, we all experience the onslaught and deception of "cave illusions."
Different art forms have long been exploring the philosophical relationship between the objective world in which we live and our cognition of it. "Mulholland Drive" is one such film that questions the reality of images and the reality of cognition, a film that says "no" to the possibilities of cognition. When discussing "The Sun Also Rises," director Jiang Wen mentioned the concept of "open-ended cinema," which transforms the medium from being a storyteller to being a guide within the limitations of time and techniques, providing viewers with open spaces for their own imagination and development. In this regard, "Mulholland Drive" is also an excellent representative.
Let's begin our analysis of "Mulholland Drive." If you haven't seen this film, I strongly recommend that you avoid reading the content below. This is only an analysis of the role of dreams in "Mulholland Drive" from a Freudian theoretical perspective. Accepting a viewpoint prematurely may limit your exploration of the film's many other possibilities.
The narrative of "Mulholland Drive" is divided into two parts, with the opening of the blue box at approximately 115 minutes marking the point of differentiation. The first half follows a relatively conventional narrative pattern, albeit slightly chaotic but relatively easy to comprehend. The main storyline revolves around the young actress Betty, who comes to Hollywood to pursue her acting dreams. There, she encounters a woman named Rita, who has amnesia due to a car accident (Rita's name is a reference to the actress Rita Hayworth, and the significance of this name will be mentioned later). Betty and Rita embark on a journey to recover Rita's memory. Their only clues are the car accident from the previous day and a name that Rita occasionally remembers – Diane. Eventually, the two discover a decomposing female corpse at Diane's residence and, in extreme fear, begin a lesbian relationship. The first 115 minutes also includes various other stories, such as a man being frightened by a demon behind a wall, a clumsy hitman who bungles a series of assignments (kills his targets but is repeatedly seen by witnesses, necessitating the elimination of witnesses), and the unfortunate experiences of director Adam Kesher (the new leading lady is imposed on him by the financiers, leaving him with nothing, and he eventually has to compromise).
The period from the 95-minute mark to the 115-minute mark serves as a transition between the two parts of the story. The narrative starts to take a bizarre and absurd turn, hinting at the unreliability of the information presented. After the 115 minutes, the storytelling becomes increasingly chaotic. Betty's name becomes Diane, while Rita becomes Camilla. The only thread that continues is their lesbian relationship, but it's evident that Camilla has abandoned Diane and chosen to be with Adam Kesher. As Diane teeters on the brink of collapse, she seeks out the hitman (the clumsy hitman from the first segment) and asks him to kill Camilla. In the end, Diane ends her own life with a gunshot.
Of course, this brief plot summary is insufficient to convey the film's brilliance. This story, which explores the complex relationship between dreams and reality, can be intricately aligned with Freud's theory of dream analysis.
Sigmund Freud introduced an important concept in his work "The Interpretation of Dreams," in the fourth chapter titled "The Dream-Work." This concept is known as "identification." In the cases presented in "The Interpretation of Dreams," Freud observed how individuals, in their dreams, could "identify" themselves with other people or figures, integrating various subjective desires into the dream. In these dreams, the dreamer's own subjective will is present, as well as aspects of the subjective will of someone else.
For instance, Freud describes a case in which a woman dreamed of going to a store to buy smoked salmon for a dinner party but arrived just as the store was closing. She then attempted to order takeout, but her telephone malfunctioned. This dream reflected the dreamer's own desire, which was not to allow her female friend an opportunity to seduce her husband. Simultaneously, the desire of the female friend was not being fulfilled and was internalized as the dreamer's own desire. In Freud's view, the dreamer's subjective identity in the dream doesn't necessarily correspond to the dreamer's waking self; rather, it's an outcome of the integration of various desires from the subconscious. The dream self is not the real self but a virtual persona constructed by the subconscious to fulfill desires.
Obscure theories can be challenging to understand. Let's return to the plot of "Mulholland Drive." We observe that in the film, the car accident at the beginning of the film, around the 4-minute mark, and Diane's dinner party scene at 128 minutes are identical. Both Diane and Rita share the same dialogue: "What are you doing? We don't stop here." These recurring elements on Mulholland Drive are clear hints in the film. Diane, who was initially introduced as Betty, appears to have switched roles with Camilla, who was initially introduced as Rita. The events that occur after the 115-minute mark represent reality, while everything before that appears to be Diane's dream.
Of course, drawing firm conclusions based on these observations may be somewhat tenuous, and it requires supporting evidence. For example, around the 2-minute mark, there's a peculiar scene with a shaking camera and heavy breathing from a woman, and the scene eventually lands on a pillow. This mirrors the situation of Diane falling asleep after learning of Camilla's death. Another example is the use of props in the film; Diane's residence appears to be the same as the room where Betty and Rita found the decaying corpse. Diane knew that she was responsible for Camilla's death, so she seems to have constructed this scenario in her dream.
The concept of "identification" serves as the key to understanding this dream. In Diane's dream, various complex factors, including love, hate, self-loathing, impulsiveness, regret, idealism, jealousy, and guilt, blend together to create the different characters and elements in her dream.
First and foremost, love and the hatred that stems from it play a central role in the story. This is the reason why Diane kills Camilla. Camilla and Diane were lesbian partners and friends trying to make it in Hollywood together. However, Camilla quickly achieved success and became engaged to the director, Adam Kesher. Diane wanted to maintain their relationship, but Camilla rejected her. Diane threatened her, but Camilla remained indifferent. In the end, Diane hired a hitman to kill Camilla. In her dream, Diane wished for Camilla to be with her forever, so she arranged for the dream's Camilla to lose her memory in the car accident on Mulholland Drive.
It's quite evident that in the portion of the film before the 115-minute mark, Rita heavily depended on Betty. Betty held a dominant position, while Rita needed her help, protection, and comfort in various situations. This is the most apparent manifestation of the concept of "identification." Betty represents Diane's idealized self, incorporating some of Camilla's traits, such as excellence, confidence, and composure. Throughout her relationship with Camilla, Diane consistently grappled with feelings of inferiority, and in her dream, she integrates herself with the powerful Camilla in an attempt to find satisfaction. It's worth noting that the dream's Camilla chooses the name "Rita," inspired by the famous Hollywood actress Rita Hayworth, who often portrayed femme fatale characters. This choice indicates that Diane held a deep grudge against Camilla for the significant emotional harm she inflicted.
Furthermore, there's a conflict between idealism and reality. At the beginning of the film, the silhouetted dance is a representation of Diane's past outstanding performance (we later learn that it's a dance style called jitterbug, popular in Canada and the northern parts of the United States). Such an accomplishment filled Diane with ideals for her acting career. However, after arriving in Hollywood, a series of rejections and failures pushed her towards the brink of a breakdown. She also found herself unable to move on from her lesbian relationship with Camilla. Therefore, in the dream, Betty possesses qualities that Diane lacks—a property in Hollywood left to her by her aunt, who is a successful actress herself, and exceptional acting skills. Diane is aware of her own mistakes, so she transforms her actual relatives, the uncle and aunt who raised her, into strangers in the dream, so they won't be saddened by her crimes. In the end of the film, during her final fantasy before committing suicide, the monstrous faces of her uncle and aunt symbolize the pressure she feels from society and family. Unable to handle this pressure, she chooses death.
In addition, there's a theme of impulsiveness and regret. Diane acted out of an impulsive rush of emotions, hiring a hitman to kill Camilla. In her dream, she, of course, wishes that none of this ever happened. So, the hitman she hired becomes a comically inept fool, clumsily killing three people before making his escape. The hitman's partner, the horrifyingly disfigured homeless person behind the Winkie's diner wall, is the most terrifying presence in Diane's dream. It is this person who informs Diane of Camilla's death, probably providing her with some evidence, concealed in a blue box. Diane envisions this homeless person as a demonic figure and scares a man on the street that day. Unfortunately, Diane's wishes didn't come true, and the hitman cleanly executed Camilla. The blue box serves as a hypothetical existence similar to Schrödinger's cat—its contents remain undetermined until it's opened. When it's opened, all fantasies and possibilities are reduced to a single reality. This is why the dream ends when the blue box is opened. Diane realizes that Camilla's death is a fact, her hopes are shattered, and she ultimately ends her life in her imagination.
The part between 95 and 115 minutes takes place in an opera house where the host repeatedly shouts, "No hay banda! It is an illusion," resembling a medieval religious performance. It's well known that a significant portion of the American population is religious, and Christian doctrine is an essential part of many people's fundamental values. The religious scene in Diane's dream can be understood as a judgment of her sins against her own religious moral values. In Freud's theory of consciousness, this scene can be interpreted as a "repressive function." Unconscious desires escape the repressive function in dreams, revealing the fantasies and dreams we've discussed earlier. Towards the end of the dream, as Diane gradually wakes up, the repressive function begins to suppress the subconscious, repeatedly telling consciousness itself, "This is an illusion; it's all an illusion."
One point unrelated to psychoanalytic theory is the satire of "dream-making," which is the central theme of "Mulholland Drive." The film implicitly portrays the dark side of the entertainment industry: the malevolent manipulation of the powers that be, domineering financial transactions, and unfair selection mechanisms, among other issues. These problems are also reflected in Diane's dream. Actors are at the lowest rung of the entire operation and often find themselves in a passive position in the business. Their success depends on other people, but it can also harm them. Simultaneously, the process of acting can lead to a painful fragmentation of one's personality. Naomi, who plays Diane, once revealed in an interview that she contemplated quitting while filming this movie, feeling depressed, and even briefly entertained the idea of driving to Mulholland Drive to commit suicide. She mentioned several times that director David Lynch was "exploring her dark side."
This concludes the analysis of the film. These pale words can hardly capture the depth of this great movie, but they represent a simple and shallow exploration of the story using classical psychoanalytic theory. To truly appreciate its deeper meaning, you must watch the film and retrace Diane's nightmare with David Lynch on "Mulholland Drive". While it may not be a pleasant journey, you will undoubtedly gain insight and understanding.
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