Fairy Tales and the Social Unconscious


Book Description

The book combines two main perspectives: the study of the social unconscious and the study of fairy tales. Examining different versions of fairy tales told by different ethnic communities teaches us about the relations between universal and local/cultural aspects of the social unconscious. Exploring the unique status of fairy tales as located on the border line between concrete/somatic and abstract/linguistic realms sheds light on different levels of the human mind. The book focuses on a specific phenomenon common in fairy tales: a realization of idiomatic expressions - a phenomenon in which an abstract/mental idea is hidden behind a concrete event embedded in the plot. Deciphering the abstract idea out of the pictorial world of the fairy tale enables to understand the stories in a way which is not available otherwise. The book suggests interdisciplinary examination, reminding us the rich, deep messages hidden in fairy tales, and connecting us to early developments in the field of psychoanalysis, by suggesting new interpretation to old, ancient material.




The Social Unconscious in Persons, Groups, and Societies


Book Description

In this book, the authors develop the theory of the tripartite matrix, consider music as a form of non-verbal communication as a sub-dimension of the matrix, and present empirical studies of the matrices of peoples in three societies in the Middle East. It aids in the project of group analysis.




The Social Unconscious


Book Description

The social unconscious and its manifestations in group analysis are the focus of this important new book of Earl Hopper's selected papers. Drawing on sociology, psychoanalysis and group analysis, he argues that groups and their participants are constrained unconsciously by social, cultural and political facts and forces.




The Interpretation of Fairy Tales


Book Description

A Jungian psychologist argues how careful analyses of fairy tales like Beauty and the Beast can lead to a deeper understanding of human psychology Of the various types of mythological literature, fairy tales are the simplest and purest expressions of the collective unconscious and thus offer the clearest understanding of the basic patterns of the human psyche. Every people or nation has its own way of experiencing this psychic reality, and so a study of the world's fairy tales yields a wealth of insights into the archetypal experiences of humankind. Perhaps the foremost authority on the psychological interpretation of fairy tales is Marie-Louise von Franz. In this book—originally published as An Introduction to the Interpretation of Fairy Tales —she describes the steps involved in analyzing and illustrates them with a variety of European tales, from Beauty and the Beast to The Robber Bridegroom. Dr. von Franz begins with a history of the study of fairy tales and the various theories of interpretation. By way of illustration, she presents a detailed examination of a simple Grimm’s tale, The Three Feathers, followed by a comprehensive discussion of motifs related to Jung’s concept of the shadow, the anima, and the animus. This revised edition has been corrected and updated by the author.




A Cultural History of Fairy Tales in the Modern Age


Book Description

How have fairy tales from around the world changed over the centuries? What do they tell us about different cultures and societies? Drawing together contributions from an international range of scholars in history, literature, and cultural studies, this volume uniquely examines creative applications of fairy tales in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. It explores how the fairy tale has become a genre that flourishes on film, on TV, and in digital media, as well as in the older technologies of print, performance, and the visual arts. An essential resource for researchers, scholars and students of literature, history, the visual arts and cultural studies, this book explores such themes and topics as: forms of the marvelous, adaptation, gender and sexuality, humans and non-humans, monsters and the monstrous, spaces, socialization, and power. A Cultural History of Fairy Tales (6-volume set) A Cultural History of Fairy Tales in Antiquity is also available as a part of a 6-volume set, A Cultural History of Fairy Tales, tracing fairy tales from antiquity to the present day, available in print, or within a fully-searchable digital library accessible through institutions by annual subscription or on perpetual access (see www.bloomsburyculturalhistory.com). Individual volumes for academics and researchers interested in specific historical periods are also available digitally via www.bloomsburycollections.com.




Ritwik Ghatak and the Cinema of Praxis


Book Description

In a significant departure from other works on Ritwik Ghatak, this book establishes him as an auteur and a maestro on par with some of the great film directors, like Sergei Eisenstein, Satyajit Ray, Ingmar Bergman, Federico Fellini, Kenji Mizoguchi and Luis Bunuel. Based on in-depth research that follows Ghatak’s journey within the context of the Indian People’s Theatre Association, it fills an important gap in the scholarship around Ghatak by offering crucial insights into Ghatak’s unique vision of cinema embedded as it is in the cultural psychic configurations of the people. It analyses Ghatak’s practice by minutely tracing formal similarities across the language of his cinematic oeuvre in the domain of cinematography, lighting, music, and sound. The book develops the way in which cinematic technique enters the domain of conceptual constructs and abstractions. It moves on to chronicle Ghatak’s political odyssey as reflected in his cinema. Moreover, it charts the manner in which Ghatak, through his cinematic idiom, offers a polemic of cinema that further adds to his notion of praxis – a thoughtful Marxist paradigm organically associated with the culture and context of India. By locating Ghatak within the discourse of nationalism, the book brings to the surface Ghatak’s critical insights related to the independence of the nation and the trauma of the partition of Bengal. Ghatak’s cinema served the crucial function of chronicling the mass tragedy of partition and its impact on the human psyche.This book appeals to scholars of film studies and filmmaking as well as to researchers and general readers interested in debates pertaining to culture, politics, art, psychoanalysis, partition and refugee studies, cinema, theatre, and ideology.




The Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales


Book Description

In over 1,000 entries, this acclaimed Companion covers all aspects of the Western fairy tale tradition, from medieval to modern, under the guidance of Professor Jack Zipes. It provides an authoritative reference source for this complex and captivating genre, exploring the tales themselves, the writers who wrote and reworked them, and the artists who illustrated them. It also covers numerous related topics such as the fairy tale and film, television, art, opera, ballet, the oral tradition, music, advertising, cartoons, fantasy literature, feminism, and stamps. First published in 2000, 130 new entries have been added to account for recent developments in the field, including J. K. Rowling and Suzanne Collins, and new articles on topics such as cognitive criticism and fairy tales, digital fairy tales, fairy tale blogs and websites, and pornography and fairy tales. The remaining entries have been revised and updated in consultation with expert contributors. This second edition contains beautifully designed feature articles highlighting countries with a strong fairy tale tradition, covering: Britain and Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, North America and Canada, Portugal, Scandinavian countries, Slavic and Baltic countries, and Spain. It also includes an informative and engaging introduction by the editor, which sets the subject in its historical and literary context. A detailed and updated bibliography provides information about background literature and further reading material. In addition, the A to Z entries are accompanied by over 60 beautiful and carefully selected black and white illustrations. Already renowned in its field, the second edition of this unique work is an essential companion for anyone interested in fairy tales in literature, film, and art; and for anyone who values the tradition of storytelling.




Dreamtelling, Relations, and Large Groups


Book Description

Robi Friedman is an experienced group analyst and clinician specializing in conflict resolution, and in this important collection of his work, he presents his most innovative concepts. Dreamtelling is an original approach to the sharing of dreams with partners or within families, exploring how the dreamer’s unconscious messages can be communicated, and helping to contain emotional difficulties. The book also explains Friedman’s concept relation disorders, which locates dysfunctional behavioural patterns not within intrapsychic issues, but rather as a function of dynamics in group relations. And finally, the book presents the soldier’s matrix, a method for conceptualizing processes in highly stressed organizations and societies which are either under existential threat or pursuing glory. In the process of becoming a soldier’s matrix, subgroups and nations progressively lose shame, guilt and empathy towards perceived enemies and the Other, and every society member embraces a selfless role. Applying this method to training in groups provides an optimal way out of organizational and national crisis. The book will be of great interest to group analysts. It will also appeal to psychoanalysts, psychotherapists and clinical psychologists with an interest in conflict resolution.







An International Annotated Bibliography of Strindberg Studies 1870-2005: The plays


Book Description

This copiously annotated bibliography documents and examines the whole range of commentary on Strindberg's works and activity in many fields besides the plays for which he is internationally best known. These include his prose fiction and poetry, his work as an historian and natural historian, and his relationship to the other arts, most notably his painting. It is concerned with both lasting works of literary and dramatic criticism, as well as reviews of his books and plays in the theatre, and some more ephemeral material, all of this in several languages. Organised generically and by subject and individual work, the bibliography enables the reader to trace the changing impact of Strindberg and his works in various countries and during different periods. It is thus very much a study in reception as well as a bibliographical record of published material. It traces the developing image of Strindberg and his writing both during his lifetime and in subsequent years, and with frequent cross reference offers a comprehensive overview of a literary and existential project that has rarely been matched for its multifaceted diversity. The bibliography is published in three parts. Volume 1, General Studies (978-0-947623-81-4) and Volume 3, Prose, Poetry, Miscellaneous (978-0-947623-83-8) are also now available. Michael Robinson is Emeritus Professor of Drama and Scandinavian Studies at the University of East Anglia, Norwich.