A book I thought y'all might be interested in. One of our
subscribers, Harvey Greenberg is writing as good psychiatric
criticism of movies as there is.
--Norm Holland
SCREEN MEMORIES: HOLLYWOOD CINEMA ON THE PSYCHOANALYTIC COUCH
by Harvey Roy Greenberg
SCREEN MEMORIES: Hollywood Cinema on the Psychoanalytic Couch
delves into the psychological aspects of mainstream American
movies from CASABLANCA to ENEMIES: A LOVE STORY. Much psycho-
analytic film criticism is dryly theoretical. Greenberg writes
in a candid, entertaining style which will appeal to cineasts and
scholars alike.
Greenberg begins with a comprehensive overview of the field. He
then directs his focus on character, motivation, and conflict in
detective, war, science fiction and horror movies, as well as
cult cinema. The author addresses problems of adaptation in an
essay on THE BOSTONIANS, novel and film. In the realm of
cultural criticism, "On the McMovie" probes the hollow, escapist
fare which emerged from Hollywood in the 1980s and 1980s, embrac-
ing nearly every genre. Greenberg zooms in on the pathological
narcissism of heroes in McMovies such as Rambo and Top Gun.
In a consideration of ALWAYS, Steven Spielberg's ill-fated rehash
of Victor Flemining's A GUY NAMED JOE, Greenberg analyzes the
Oedipal dynamic which may be latent in the remaking process.
SCREEN MEMORIES concludes by addressing two important films of
the late 1980s. Greenberg describes Working Girl as an exemplary
"Co-opt" film with a seemingly liberal agenda, which mocks and
subverts very social advances it would seem to affirm. Enemies:
A Love Story -- with its humor, manic energy, and theme of
renewal in the very teeth of death -- is seen as evidence of a
tentative, but hopeful return to quality in Hollywood.
Harvey Roy Greenberg, M.D. is a Manhattan psychiatrist and psy-
choanalyst. He is a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the
Albert Einstein College of Medicine, where he teaches adolescent
psychiatry and medical humanities. He has written widely on
cinema, in The New York Times Sunday Arts and Leisure Section,
Tikkun, Movieline, Camera Obscura, Psychoanalytic Review, and
Film Quarterly. His television appearances include Today, Good
Morning America, Larry King Live, and CBS Sunday. He is the film
critic of the Psychiatric Times, author of a pioneering psycho-
analytic study of cinema, THE MOVIES ON YOUR MIND, as well as
several highly regarded books for teenagers on drung abuse,
adolescent and family mental health issues.
"Harvey Greenberg brings a unique and important voice to psycho-
analytically based film theory and criticism. He possesses the
unusual combination of clinical psychiatric experience, a broad
knowledge of film theory, and a writing style that reveals the
flair of an accomplished journalist; his work is accessible,
informed, and substantial. SCREEN MEMORIES is an insightful
engagement of contemporary psychoanalytic film discourse."
--William Luhr, Saint Peter's College
"Deft, mordant, frolicsome, SCREEN MEMORIES delivers on its
pledge to be entertaining as well as instructive."
--Ellen Handler Spitz, author, IMAGE AND INSIGHT
"Movies are a collective dream, a way of dreaming together; Har-
vey Greenberg's criticism is like dream interpretation, full of
bright new insight. He is fresh, funny, tough, holding all of us
who make movies accountable to rigorous standards of emotional
truth and social responsibility...We must listen to this man."
--Frank Pierson, Screenwriter, DOG DAY AFTERNOON
SCREEN MEMORIES delves into the psychological aspects of film
characters in mainstream movies ranging from CASABLANCA to WORK-
ING GIRL. Greenberg writes in a candid and entertaining style as
fun and convincing as the movies themselves.
+===================================================================+
| Norm Holland Department of English |
| University of Florida Gainesville FL 32611 Tel: (904) 377-0096 |
| BITNET: nnh@nervm INTERNET: [log in to unmask] |
+===================================================================+
|
