Lecture 3

Psychoanalysis (pa)

superego/id/adject/object relations

Structure of consciousness

-we are always conscious, aware of self

-how we perceive the world

PA analzes consciousness and unconsciousness

-Iceberg metaphor, 10% above water, what we're aware of, unconcious 90%-unaware, inclues id, superego.

-superego is out conscience, morals etc.

-id is desires and drives, sex, death, pain

-superego stops the desires and drives (id)

-to distinguish girlf and sister its our desires that tells us.

-To live in society we must repress instinctual desires-mainly sexual or aggressive (ID)

This is the process of socialisation, how we are formed.

-trauma is the failing of superego so the ID rises

-PA interprets the motivations and drives together with the unconsciousness.

Freud wrote essay on Michelangelo portrait of moses (was he about to sit or stand (act)

PA-surrealism looking at repressed desires.

PA offers us ways of thinking about desire-GTA

-Freud thinks desire to hurt stem from secondary death drive-revenge.

Object relations

-PA concern of how we view and use objects.

-When young we have toys, blankets etc for comfort which helps transition us from mothers to the outside world.

-PA says we go through life needing objects for comfort.

The abject

-part of our body that repulses us, shit etc.

-Freud believes we are desperate to keep society clean

-abject related to perversion-anchored in superego

-abject is what society cant except, the disgusting, all that is repulsive.

'visual pleasures ad narrative cinema', laura mulvey.

-All men directors, scopohilia is the enjoyment of looking, people as objects, perversion.

-Narcissistic identification-role model, wanting to be your hero.

Jacque Lacan- when children look in the mirror and see a more perfect version.

-Men look, women are viewed.

Suture

-watch 'their' gaze without feeling guilty.

-peep show entirely suture, all through their eyes.

forms of gaze

1.spectators gaze

2.intra diagetic gaze-looking at someone looking at someone else.

3.extra diagetic gaze-someone looking directly at us in media, poster, cinema etc

Lecture two

Ideology

1. System of ideas or beliefs

2. Masking distortion or selection of ideas to reinforce power relations through creation of false consciousness.

-ideology are false ideas that cover up and blinds us from real state of the world.

Karl Marx-the ruling class has to represent its interest as the common interest of all the members of society to give its ideas the form of universality and represent them as the only rational universally valid ones.

Capitalism-a market where labour power is bought and sold

-production of comodities for sale

-use of money as a means of exchange

-competition/meritocracy

ideology/myth-work hard get most out of society.

Marxism- a political manifesto leading to socialism, communism and the 20th century between capital and labour.

-wants partly communism and capitilism, equality.

Karl Marx concept, believes theres a base which is forces of production and relations of production eg employer, employee, class.

-superstructure, social institutions, legal, political, cultural. without the base the superstructure wouldn't work.

Superstructure forms a culture and laws which can structure and strengthen the base, they work together.

Base is core to society.

Bourgeoisie is the middle class which screws over the base.

Marxist believes the church is fooling society, workers not getting paid well, led to believe the its ok because they'll go to heaven.

'Men act and women appear'-Berger ways of seeing 1972

advert for wonderbra says 'i never read the economist-lnda foster CEO

Ideology that men are the thinkers.

Althusser 1970-society has 3 parts, base, political (superstructure), ideology . Thinks ideology is our lives, the way we live.

Media as ideology state apparatus.

media creates a false consciousness

everone is brought up by the media, brainwashes us.

Media powered by politics, directed to classes, eg the times for upper class.

Daily star content isnt political which guides working class into football tv girls etc.

Frankfurt school-critical theory, Institute of social research

Theodore Adorno/MaxHorkhermer

-projected Marx's ideas into the 20th century.

-Culture industry, culture has no value same old thing.

Authentic culture vs mass culture.

Authentic is-real culture, european rather then american

-multidimensional rather then one dimensional

-requires imagination

-has the chance of working against the system.

Adorno hated pop music-all the same, mass culture.

punk was original, challenged everything.

Task one

Panopticism is the idea that we are constantly being watched or surveilled. The most obvious one in context of todays society is cctv. Where a camera is working or not we are paranoid that someone of higher authority is watching us making us behave as we are brainwashed and taught to do in society. Another example of panopticism is when we park our cars we're worried about getting a ticket or getting clamped. All it takes is one sign saying restricted parking or no parking between 8-5 etc. Not just this but when we park in car parks as a society we are constantly having to check the time to make sure our parking ticket hasn't run out. But even if it does run out there's nothing to say we will instantly get a ticket or in any kind of trouble but the threat is there and thats what keeps us in check. From the time of the plague people have been under surveillance, 'Each street is placed under the authority of a syndic, who keeps it under surveillance.' For my example of panopicism the 'syndic' is a traffic warden who keeps us under threat. Michel Foucault points out that we almost become the traffic warden because we make sure ourselves that we aren't late back to our vehicle because we don't want to get into trouble, 'He simultaneously plays both roles; he becomes the principle of his own subjection.' By simply placing signs saying this is restricted parking etc means we behave ourselves and probably don't park there even though there's noone actually stopping us just the paranoid threat. This threat can easily be related to prisoners of a panopticon prison. Each prisoner can be seen at any time be a guard in the guard tower. The guard can see the prisoner but the prisoner cant see the guard which means the prisoner is constantly paranoid of his actions because he doesn't know if he's being watched, 'he is seen but he does not see.' As the guard tower could be watching the prisoner the traffic warden could be watching our car when it's left, the threat has been set by the post saying the restrictions.

Lecture one
Notes
1926-1984 Michel Foucault uses a building as metaphor for discipline.
Madment were always free (village idiots) until 2nd half of 17th centure. At this point mad men were seen as bad people.
Late 1600's 'the great confinement' 'houses of correction' were made for mad men and criminals. They were made to work in these houses. To bring down unemployment.
In time this was seen as an error. Too much corruption in the 'houses of corruption'
17th century birth of the asylum, now controlling through mental ways instead of physical (making them work).
17th century there were breakthroughs in knowledge and medicine.
Discipline-pillory, stuck in wood, people throw tomatoes and spit at you
-public hangings
visible discipline was a warning to other people-guy fawkes was hung drawn and quartered, major warning.
Now discipline is through surveilance and monitoring.
Foucault thinks surveilance keeps us in check. Discipline makes us more useful, moulds us to be better people.
Jeremy Benthams, designed the panopticon-1791
the panopticon is a prison which all cells are on a outter circle and in the centre of the building is a guard tower. All cells have no front wall just bars so the guard tower can view every cell in the prison. This is the opposite of a dungeon, instead prisoners are always on view which makes them constantly paranoid which in turn makes them behave. The guard tower has shutters so the prisoners cant tell when they are being watched. This means they are making themselves behave because they are under the illusion that someone is watching them.
'the panopticon internalises in the individual the conscious state he is always being watched'
Today we are always under surveilance which works in the same principles as the panopticon, we are paranoid that someone is watching us, so we behave.
Foucault thinks western societies are powered by panopticism rather then a ruler.
Panopticon is a way of training out bodies to behave and fit into society.

Relationship between power, knowledge and the body.
Discipline on ourselves eg frenzy about the gym
Nazi were into fitness-fitter society is the more we can put into society.
TV propaganda-tv plays on our minds almost brainwashing us.
foucault and power 'the exercise of power relies on there being the capacity for power to be resisted'-no power no resistance.
1984.-bruce nauman/vitoaconci (following piece)/chris burden(samson)