The Erotic Screen takes as its starting point that Hollywood movies were steeped in eroticism from the beginning but censorship forced filmmakers to devise hidden sexual subtexts to preserve a film’s subliminal eroticism. In this way, Hollywood films seed our collective psyches with unconscious subtexts. Science fiction films are particularly effective, using horror to induce sexual excitement, as studied in ‘Part I: The nature of desire in a trio of science fiction thrillers.’ Another device was to display unrestricted consumption of alcohol and tobacco and gratuitous spending. Today, this is a cliché of mainstream cinema but some filmmakers expose the dark underbelly. The five films scrutinized in ‘Part II: Portraits of addiction in Hollywood melodrama’ make explicit the connections between greed, addictions, and sexuality. Finally, in ‘Part III: Perverse desire in mainstream cinema,’ the nuanced position toward the psychosexual obsessions on view in the films is investigated by posing the provocative question of whether S&M practice can work as a “cure” for psychic suffering, by raising the alarm over sexuality run amok in a suburban community, and by offering a devastating critique of voyeurism’s “fatal attraction” to viewers.
The Erotic Screen is an investigation of the nature of human sexuality through the medium of film. It stirs up discussion and debate – and helps these movies live on in our minds.
Thomas Wolman, MD, was born and raised in New York City, where he now lives after residing in Philadelphia PA for forty-four years. He attended Johns Hopkins University and the Pennsylvania State University Medical College. Subsequently, he trained at the Philadelphia Psychoanalytic Center, where he taught in both the psychoanalytic and the psychotherapy training programs. Until his move, he held the title of assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He has written on Winnicott, Mahler, Kohut and Lacan, as well as on contemporary films, and more recently on greed, bereavement and privacy issues. Currently, he teaches a course on the history of psychoanalysis at the New York Psychoanalytic Institute.
Dr. Luke Hockley, Professor of Media Analysis, University of Bedfordshire UKCP, ADIP, FRSA –
‘The Erotic Screen encourages us to peek behind the surface appeal of films and to explore the depths of their sexual allure. Thomas Wolman’s insightful revaluation of canonical Hollywood films reveals how sexuality is at the heart of so many movies. His commentary is persuasive. He shows that whether we know it or not, sex and sexuality are always a source of pleasure for viewers. Look for yourself, you won’t be disappointed.’
Bruce Sklarew, M.D., Chair, Forum of the Psychoanalytic Study of Film and co-editor of Bertolucci’s Last Emperor and Cinematic Reflections on the Legacy of the Holocaust –
‘The Erotic Screen is a compelling and vital contribution to psychoanalytic film scholarship. It emphasizes a multitude of relevant themes including the complexity and mystery of sexual desire as depicted in film and how the use of visual representation in film technique helps to access unconscious and conscious representations that affect the film viewer. It discusses how screen memories reflect memories projected on the screen and the role of film in exploring contemporary culture. Dr. Wolman elaborates on how censorship forced filmmakers to devise hidden sexual subtexts to preserve films’ subjective eroticism.’