The Sandman

So I was researching some stuff on the Sandman text, since after we saw the video in class it got me curious as to what else I could find!

I realized that the Metallica song "Enter Sandman" could actually be based upon Hoffmann's tale. Traditionally the Sandman is not really viewed as a violent creature, but both Hoffmann and Metallica seem to emphasize the sinister aspects of the fairy tale.

Here's the music video and lyrics (I couldn't figure out how to paste it directly, sorry!):

Music Video
Lyrics

It's so funny how we see things in our everyday life and don't realize just how historical/educational it can really be!

Freud and Consumerism

Did you guys know that Freud is now a brand? There are action figures, slippers, posters with freudian slips and a plethora of other random items. When any of these things are bought his family gets a percentage of the profits.

There are slippers:
http://www.bunnyslippers.com/novelty-slippers/freudian-slippers.php?gclid=CKObrcaauZ4CFVw55Qody3Gkhw

Action figures:
http://www.stupid.com/fun/SIGM.html

Posters:
http://www.allposters.com/-sp/What-s-On-a-Man-s-Mind-Sigmund-Freud-Posters_i96866_.htm

I thought the idea that he is now a marketing tactic and no longer a valid psychoanalysist was amusing. Anyone else have any thoughts on this phenomenon?

Olympia, the mechanical doll

I can't find a copy of the video with subtitles, but suffice it to say that Olympia is saying bland, banal things ....

Olympia from the Tales of Hoffmann

Chodowiecki's Cagliostro

According to Nathanael, Professor Spalanzani looks just like this:

Waiting For Godot

So in my modern drama class we read the play Waiting for Godot and another student mention how Wikipedia had like 50 different interpretations of the play. Curious I looked it up. Not quite 50 interpretations, but the one that caught my eye was the Freudian Interpretation:

Freudian interpretations

"Bernard Dukore develops a triadic theory in Didi, Gogo and the absent Godot, based on Freud's trinitarian description of the psyche in The Ego and the Id (1923) and the usage of onomastic techniques. Dukore defines the characters by what they lack: the rational Go-go embodies the incomplete ego, the missing pleasure principle: (e)go-(e)go. Di-di (id-id) — who is more instinctual and irrational — is seen as the backward id or subversion of the rational principle. Godot fulfils the function of the superego or moral standards. Pozzo and Lucky are just re-iterations of the main protagonists. Dukore finally sees Beckett's play as a metaphor for the futility of man's existence when salvation is expected from an external entity, and the self is denied introspection."^[67]

Funny Freud Parody

After discussing the movie that was shown at the Freud Symposium today, I remembered a clip from a really funny cartoon that is sort of a parody of both Freud and intellectual artsy videos. The show is called "Clone High" and it is about the clones of famous historical figures going to high school together. In this particular episode the clones are supposed to make movies that express their feelings. Watch from about 0:10 to 1:10 to see Joan of Arc's video about her secret love for Abe Lincoln! Freud makes a special appearance!

Here is the video!

Oh, and I would also like to mention that I actually really liked the movie we saw at the symposium and I don't mean this to be negative toward it at all!

Freud's Uncanny

Here is a link to Freud's essay, "The Uncanny." It's actually in three parts, so when you finish part I, go on to part II, and conclude with part III.