Ok film theorists and psychologists-- I know some doper out there has training in this stuff. Suture. I’ve been trying to work out what it means, really, but on the web it seems to be used in wildly different manners and I fear that, as usual, 95% of the stuff on the web is shite. Can someone pitch to me the traditional psychoanalytic meaning (i.e. make sense of Lacan for me) and also the most dominant use in film theory/ narratology?
(No this isn’t really for homework, per se-- trying to see if it’s a concept/term that might apply to a narrative/devotional effect I’m trying to write about in my diss).
Thanks, smart people!
I vaguely remember suture in film courses in college and grad school, but as of right now it’s entirely beyond me to even attempt to make sense of Lacan for myself, much less for you. He makes my head hurt, even at the best of times. I think the most common use of suture in film theory has to do with discussing how a film manipulates perspective, subjectivity, and identification with characters on screen. I’d say take a look at the Kaja Silverman essay on suture; as she’s building off Lacan’s theories it should offer some kind of overview of the concept in general.
JP-- thanks for the Silverman cite-- I’ll have a look at it.
[makes thread-falling-like-a-rock sound. . . heh.]