Sunday, April 12, 2009

Desire of the Analyst

Readership, have you withered away? I don't blame you. I've been so boring here for such a long time. Last autumn was busy & stressful for me and I expected that much. Less prepared was I for the stress and exhaustion of more recent months. But things have been turning out just fine, and I think that new content will work its way back onto EL more often the near future.

*

Recently watched the first two episodes of In Treatment (HBO). Interesting here how savvy the show assumes its viewers to be with certain aspects of therapy. But this familiarity comes across as a matter of textual reading more than of any intimate knowledge of psychoanalysis as a discipline. One recognizes, and delights in, the subtleties and red herrings of the process because one is steeped in an easily-worn knowledge and irony of the conventions of not only texts but their interpretation.

8 comments:

utopia or bust said...

I just started a new blog and want us to share more and increase our readership.

In lieu of May Day 2009, I'm inviting bloggers to take the time to answer the question, “When/if there is a revolution in the United States, what will it look like?” If you're interested schedule a post for May 1st, and let me know so I can link to it.

- uob

Jake said...

Is psychoanalysis still used in therapy? I thought that was a pseudoscience like astrology and phrenology.

Jake said...

Enough self-criticism. I still read all your posts. Your Anna Faris piece was great -- it's about time you linked to it somewhere. Have you got any more full-fledged essays like that in the pipeline?

Alex said...

"I get up in the morning with the sun and go into a grove I am having cut down, where I remain two hours to look over the work of the past day and kill some time with the cutters, who have always some bad-luck story ready, about either themselves or their neighbors. And as to this grove I could tell you a thousand fine things that have happened to me, in dealing with Frosino da Panzano and others who wanted some of this firewood......


On the coming of evening, I return to my house and enter my study; and at the door I take off the day's clothing, covered with mud and dust, and put on garments regal and courtly; and reclothed appropriately, I enter the ancient courts of ancient men, where, received by them with affection, I feed on that food which only is mine and which I was born for, where I am not ashamed to speak with them and to ask them the reason for their actions; and they in their kindness answer me; and for four hours of time I do not feel boredom, I forget every trouble, I do not dread poverty, I am not frightened by death; entirely I give myself over to them."

Machiavelli's Letter to Vettori

Alex said...

I have not seen this show, but your post title is reminding me that the analyst (or philosopher or wise man) is so often driven by desire (or eros) for the analysed. I am particularly reminded of Socrates' love for Alcibiades. It also has just struck me how much Xenophon's Hiero is like an a pyschoanalytical session.

Jaime said...

HBO shows - the good ones - tend to have lack that otherwise typical TV fear that viewers are dumb. BIG LOVE acknowledges that the lifestyles it depicts are unorthodox; yet the show requires a certain degree of "assumed" empathy to work at all. THE WIRE depicts some of the most mundane aspects of one city's criminal justice & investigation, education, media, labor, politics, etc., etc., with a sort of "watch the show or don't" fearlessness; also consider the unbelievable layers of intrigue and personality DEADWOOD.

ZC said...

Utopia - I'll do my best to participate!

Jake - the same Jake both times? - psychoanalysis is still around. I do have more long-form stuff in the pipeline. It will show up sooner or later.

Alex - I have had much less success than Machiavelli in putting aside the day's "mud and dust" lately, which is why my posting has decreased so dramatically.

Jaime - I hope to get to Deadwood sometime soon. The interesting thing about HBO ("It's not TV...") is how it has reached out to other media to define its quality programming--as discussed a bit in the first link posted in my most recent post ("Scratchpaper") above.

Jake said...

Two different Jakes. I'm the second one, not the sceptic about psychoanalysis. Look forward to reading whatever you have on the way.