The Crying Wound: (Re)capturing Lost Love and the Repetition of Trauma in Films

• Main Authors: Chang, Ya-Chu, 張雅筑
• Other Authors: Lim, Kien Ket
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2009
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/47504958360273405071

碩士 === 國立交通大學 === 外國文學與語言學研究所 === 97 === My thesis studies the trauma that is related to lost love and its repetition in films. Trauma is an unspeakable injury that, under the effect, occurs as the result of an unexpected event. The traumatized are haunted by the trauma, which manifests itself, insistently and belatedly, in the dreams and the repetition of particular behaviors. The films I choose to analyze, 2046, Dancer in the Dark, and Talk to Her, are the narratives concerning trauma and lost love. Therefore, this thesis aims at analyzing how the films represent the traumatic experiences of the protagonists, the compulsive repetition of incomprehensible trauma through their endless and obstinate chasing after lost/absent love, and how tuch�� (an encounter with the real) functions and connects with the issues of trauma and the identity in films. This thesis is divided into five chapters. Chapter One serves as the introduction in which I explain the purpose and direction of my analysis, and build up the theoretical foundation in it. This section outlines the argument for the following chapters I delve into to discuss the issues of the trauma and lost love. Chapter Two examines the effects of the trauma that has happened and the representation of trauma in 2046. It aims at analyzing the aftereffect of the past trauma and the interplay of trauma and love. Chapter Three focuses on analyzing the visual representations of trauma in love that is taking place in Dancer in the Dark. It scrutinizes how the split world of fantasy and reality is bound up with the response to trauma and lost love for the protagonist and is related to the awakening and surviving. Chapter Four explores how loneliness and lost love pave the way to trauma in Talk to Her. It also indicates the significance of distinction between loss and absence; that is, the conflation of them determines the doomed trauma. Chapter Five serves as a conclusion that summarizes my observation on these three films concerning the issues of trauma, lost love, and repetition.