Cuffed: Psychological And Genre Analysis - Essay Example

? CUFFED: PSYCHOLOGICAL AND GENRE ANALYSIS Science fiction film is one of the hallmarks of 20th and 21st century genre filmmaking. The genre involvesa complex array of conventions, and is often combined with hybrid forms of narrative filmmaking. Nina Salomon’s independent film “Cuffed” is one such complex psychological science fiction short. From an overarching perspective, the film follows events that occur after a writer discovers his wife is cheating on him. The film’s splintered narrative and ambiguous symbols seem to consciously complicate the narrative, and the film’s implementation of an unreliable narrator adds considerable complexity to the filmic message. Additionally, the film incorporates Freudian psychological concepts through its exploration of id, ego, and superego concepts. This essay examines this film in relation to its genre conventions, its psychological implementation of id, ego, and superego, and the film’s use of the unreliable narrator. While most individuals are familiar with the science fiction genre, a number of different perspectives exist on what truly constitutes “science fiction”. Gunn and Candelaria (2005) define the genre from a broad ranging perspective. They argue that science fiction constitutes “a fantastic event of development considered rationally” (Gunn and Candelaria, 2005, p. 5). The writers additionally recognize that science fiction involves a scientific or technological change that occurs in a real world context (Gunn and Candelaria, 2005). The importance of this change is generally on a scale that is larger than the individual (Gunn and Candelaria, 2005). Johnston (2011) additionally recognized that science fiction involves technological change and mutation. In terms of semiotics, science fiction contains a wide array of consistent signs. The Semiotics Encyclopedia indicates that among the major science fiction signs include objects with a real world purpose that have been imbued with fantastical properties (Semioticon.com 2012). For example, in Frankenstein, Mary Shelley was influenced by real world advances in medicine; however, she augmented these advances to fantastical proportions. Of course, Nina Salomon’s short film “Cuffed” both confirms and subverts many of the conventions of the science fiction genre. In terms of the film’s incorporation of science fiction generic conventions, this most clearly occurs after the man wakes up in the hospital and looks outside the window. In this instance, the man sees what appear to be futuristic aliens or advanced technology. Additionally, the film’s unconventional narrative structure, along with the ambiguity attached to the man’s interaction with the walkie-talkie, both have science fiction elements. Still, in totality, the short film appears to subvert many of the science fiction generic conventions. Rather than truly embodying “science fiction” genre characteristics, the film’s unreliable narrator appears to simply be imagining many of the fantastical events that are occurring, such as the spaceships outside the hospital window. In this way, the unreliable narrator is used to subvert the genre of science fiction. The Freudian distinction between id, ego, and supergo frequently emerges in film. Freud believed that the ego was the part of the psyche that supported the reality principle. The id was the part of the individual’s psyche that sought pleasure and satisfaction. Finally, the superego reflects the internalization of rules; the superego is in opposition to the id. Freud (2011) indicated that these psychic elements are in competition and act as defense mechanisms against one another, resulting in further subconscious confusion. It is subsequently possible that this is reflected in the film. One source indicated that the division between id, ego, and superego is often used in film by having different characters represent a separate elements of these subconscious elements (Tvtropes.org n.d.). For example, in The Dark Knight, Batman represents the ego, the Joker represents the id, and Harvey Dent functions as the superego (Nayman, n.d.). In “Cuffed,” the id appears to be symbolized by the scenes where the man discovers his wife has been cheating on him, and his instinctual drives lead him to, apparently, murder her. His superego is symbolized by the instances where he is in anguish over the murder of his wife. These instances occur at the beginning of the film and then at the end of the film after he awakens in the hospital bed. Finally, the man’s ego is symbolized by the instances where he is writing the screenplay. This represents the ego as it embodies the most clearly defined instance of “reality”. In “Cuffed”, the film implements the unreliable narrator technique. The film’s complexity makes it such that precisely identifying its narrative elements is challenging; however, a number of assumptions can be established. At the beginning of the film the protagonist is featured with a handcuff hanging off his arm in a disheveled state. While this originally appears to be an aspect of the narrative, the fact that the scene is soon juxtaposed with the man writing a script implies that these events were only part of his fictional world. One considers that the film’s entire narrative then may simply be the man’s screenplay. Additionally, the man appears to be suffering from psychological issues which may further have impacted the extent that the story is an accurate reflection of actual occurrences; this is clear when he clutches his head after listening to the walkie-talkie, and later after he wakes up in the hospital and spaceships suddenly appear in the window. Such a trope was similarly implemented in the film Fight Club, where at the end of the film the viewer discovers that one of the film’s main protagonist was actually the other protagonist’s split personality (Ferenz, 2005). Of course, Fight Club is not the only film that has incorporated the unreliable narrator trope. This approach has additionally been implemented in a host of films. For example, in Frankenstein, Victor Frankstein is an unreliable narrator in a way that is similar to the protagonist, as in both instances – Victor with his monster and the protagonist with his screenplay – the events that are unfolding are their creations. The unreliable narrator has a number of significances in science fiction films and can be a representation of the turbulent social and political conditions of the present day. Church (2006) argues that the unreliable narrator symbolizes the male “crisis of masculinity”. This is an interpretation that appears to link the unreliable narrator to a larger cultural symbol, rather than only a narrative or plot device. Of course, in the film the man finds out that his wife is cheating on him. Such an occurrence seems to directly affirm Church’s (2006) perspective on the unreliable narrator as suffering from a crisis of masculinity. Within a broader context, however, the unreliable narrator trope also has implications for the turbulent social and political conditions of the present day. One of the most prominent issues in the Western world in recent weeks has been the Guardian’s discovery that the United States was accessing its citizens’ telephone and Internet records (Black 2013). Such an instance speaks to the institution of government as representative of unreliable leadership. Of course, the 2008 global economic recession, which was partially caused by nefarious business dealings, further attests to unreliable social and political conditions. Ultimately, while Church (2006) locates the unreliable narrator concept a crisis of masculinity, further examination demonstrates that this narrative trope is just as indicative of broader ranging Western cultural issues. In conclusion, this essay has examined the short film “Cuffed” in relation to a variety of analytical elements. Within this spectrum of investigation, the research argues that the film implements science fiction semiotic elements through its use of futuristic technology and unexplainable noises. However, the film’s use of the unreliable narrator trope ultimately subverts the science fiction genre by characterizing the protagonist as insane. In addition to these concerns with genre, the film also makes use of the Freudian ego, id, and superego dichotomy through its juxtaposition of different incarnations of the protagonist. Ultimately, these complex and at times conflicting elements combine to make the short film a challenging psychological thriller. 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Semiotics Encyclopedia Online - Science Fiction. [online] Available at: http://www.semioticon.com/seo/S/science_fiction.html# [Accessed: 13 Jun 2013]. Tvtropes.org. n.d.. Film - Television Tropes & Idioms. [online] Available at: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/FreudianTrio/Film?from=PowerTrio.Film%20> [Accessed: 13 Jun 2013]. Read More