Psychoanalysis in Dr. Edward
Dr. Edward is actually conceived based on many theories of Freud, such as Oedipus complex, such as the principle of dreams, such as depression and release. This is involved in many Hitchcock's films, and the first one is Dr. Edward. In this film, Hitchcock shows his understanding and recognition of Freud as much as possible, and at the same time shows the cold theory with pictures.
The psychological image of the film is firstly the influence of black and white stripes on Gregory Parker's Fake Doctor Edward. When he saw any similar stripes, he felt guilty as if he had been stimulated. In fact, his situation is a kind of defense mechanism against stress, which can be considered as a kind of "potential inhibition", that is, the brain inhibits his "participation" in the process of crime, which can only be reflected under the stimulation of certain things and produce serious psychological effects. For example, Gregory Parker's fake Edward makes you feel guilty when you see black and white stripes, such as tablecloths and sheets. Although in a sense, his performance is too artificial, it is enough to externalize this psychological effect. Similarly, a similar scene appeared in the movie Marnie. When Marnie, the heroine, sees lightning, she will have strong psychological stimulation, fear and fear.
Symbolic significance of surrealism
The most important part of this film should actually be the extensive use of surrealism. Salvador dali, a Spanish surrealist painter, agrees with Freud's Oedipus complex and repressed dreams, so many of his paintings involve this issue, such as Eternal Time. Dali participated in the creation of films, especially in the scene starring Parker depicting Dr. Edward's dream memories, which was widely used. This provides a very good material for finally solving the mystery.
Let's explain this dream to this fake Dr. Edward. First of all, he dreamed of eyes, which can be regarded as a symbol of surveillance, that is, he was afraid to expose his behavior. Then he saw many people playing cards in the casino, which symbolizes that the activities of the whole society are table after table of cards, and there is a psychological state of isolation and helplessness, which can be considered as the hidden experience of Oedipus complex. Then someone cut his eyes with scissors, which can be considered as his heart trying to get rid of this meaningless fear. The second is playing cards, which may have other meanings, but we can know that he seems to be playing cards with a difficult person, and there is a backstage. Then there's the murder scene. One man fell from the sloping roof, and the other man stood behind the chimney and fell off a deformed wheel. This has been explained in the movie. The runner was a pistol, the man behind the chimney was the murderer, and the real Dr. Edward fell, and Parker happened to witness all this. Then dreaming that you are running on a big downhill can symbolize the instinctive escape after witnessing the criminal process. The eagle chasing him symbolizes the huge psychological shadow of fear.
This dream seems simple, but it actually has Dali and Hitchcock's profound understanding of Freud's psychoanalysis. Dreams are always vague and unspeakable to people, but Hitchcock and Dali have concretized them and produced great artistic charm. This can be said to be the perfect combination of film art and fine arts!
Hitchcock's preference for this surreal symbolic role is closely related to the influence of his early German expressionist films. He combined expressionism with Freud's psychological theory, and with the help of surrealist wings like Dali, it can be said that it is even more powerful! Therefore, such an attractive film also shines with great brilliance!
There are many symbolic clips in the film, among which the stairs are typical. Stairs symbolize upward or unattainable, even the "climax" of women, especially the upward steps can also be compared to the exploration of the unknown or the anxiety and fear of the unknown. The first step in the film is the scene in which ingrid bergman enters Parker's room, which shows Bergman's surging passion and some anxiety about love. Such a delicate description is really excellent. On the other hand, Bergman knew the real murderer and went into the murderer's room (formerly Parker's room). There are a series of action expressions and close-ups of steps, and the steps become unknown anxiety here. Finally, she bravely stepped into the door symbolizing overcoming anxiety.
There is also a symbolic close-up of the constantly opening door with the effect of expressionism "grafting". When screen symbolism and expressionism play a role, music also follows in time. At this time, Bergman and Parker's surging passion and release seem to be inextricably linked with the open door. This seemingly absent feeling and distant emotional description are all expressed through soothing and beautiful music. At this time, the strings played a melody lyric movement, describing the strong love atmosphere of the hero and heroine. The music of this film is Audrey glanville, the imperial composer of Hitchcock's early Hollywood films. He composed music for many Hitchcock films.
Psychological counseling and therapy
This film not only discusses psychoanalysis, but also shows some means and methods of psychotherapy. For example, the dream analysis method mentioned just now analyzes the reasons for his current situation through dreams. Another example is supportive therapy. Bergman's support for Parker is like this, giving Parker the greatest love psychologically. Another example is the free association method, in which Bergman often asks Parker to associate according to black and white stripes. In fact, the skiing plot at the end of the movie is also a free association. In a relaxed and happy mood, Parker finally remembered an accident that killed his brother when he was a child. Through association, he also actively corrected the source of guilt and wrong ideas when he was a child, and found clues for the subsequent killings. The love between them was initially considered as empathy in psychological counseling, but it can also be considered as not, because the heroine fell in love with the hero first.
After the film was released, the public's reaction was at two extremes. Many people felt good and many people felt bad. Many psychologists think that the film shows serious psychoanalysis in the artistic way of the film for the first time, while others think that the plot inside is "false", lacking theoretical correctness, too abrupt and far-fetched. Anyway, this is a very good attempt after all. Hitchcock perfectly combined his suspense view with Freud's psychoanalysis and applied it in a large number of subsequent films, which was an unprecedented initiative!