Trauma as trademark : the textual and extratextual significance of psychological wounds in Roman Polanski's films

• Main Author: Timmermann, Lisa
• Format: Others
• Published: 2007
• Online Access: http://spectrum.library.concordia.ca/975599/1/MR34466.pdf; Timmermann, Lisa <http://spectrum.library.concordia.ca/view/creators/Timmermann=3ALisa=3A=3A.html> (2007) Trauma as trademark : the textual and extratextual significance of psychological wounds in Roman Polanski's films. Masters thesis, Concordia University.

This study deals with the representation of traumatic experience in Roman Polanski's oeuvre. I focus particularly on four films: Chinatown (1974), Bitter Moon (1992), Death & the Maiden (1994), and The Pianist (2002). My argument is that in these films, trauma acts not only as a textual (thematic and formal) motif, but also as an extra-textual element that offers insights into the emotional and psychological effects of traumatic experience. Polanski's own traumatic history--beginning with his experience of the Holocaust--makes him a fascinating and tragically fitting candidate for study. By examining Polanski's work from an authorial perspective as well as in relation to various psychoanalytic concepts, I trace the director's signature in the films' portrayal of male and female traumas. Through my analyses, I hope to show that a psychoanalytic auteur study generates an insightful point of entry into the discussion and understanding of Polanski's work.