I had to write a page summary of it for the visual examiner to look over during summer, so here it is :)
“The Fetish of the Wound: An exploration of the psychological disturbances in ‘Crash’, ‘Secretary’ and ‘Fight Club’.
My paper explores psychological theories of the fetish of wounding particularly relating to the three films (Crash, Secretary and Fight Club) which explore wounding in very different ways.
Wounding brings many images to mind (the physical breaking of skin, torn flesh, damaged bodies) and most, whether religious/spiritual or with no religious beliefs at all, believe the skin to be important - pain is one of the fundamental human sensations, and for the skin that houses our ‘souls’ – In the Cartesian philosophy of mind-body dualism – or, biologically, the skin protects the body interior... for this to be damaged is something to be feared or amazed by. For this reason the physical damage of skin or any form of violence upon the body brings questions of mortality, life, and consciousness of our human form and existence. The fact that that the wound can constitute a site of sexual pleasure is not a typical, ‘normative’ response and is rather paradoxical, which is why the subject interests me so much and why I wanted to write this paper. I find that Crash employs the Death Drive and fetishises death and immortality as heroes within the context of the wound and car crashes. Secretary employs largely the idea of intensity and the high and thrill of S&M acts (which closely replicate an extreme of self-harm but in a happier healthier light) to explain wounding and a sexually unconventional relationship, and Fight Club employs the idea of spirituality and masochism and freedom from a corporate life to explain wounding within the context of male fighting. In the end I tie all three films together and find links between the three on many levels. I find the feeling of intensity is a theme that runs through-out all and the idea of extremes closely links to all.
I find that reasons for wounding go beneath the skin metaphorically, and can be attached to childhood traumas, painful events mid-life, emotional and sexual releases, transformation, spirituality, freedom and denial. They can take the form of harm or of liberty; they can give rise to a freedom fighter or a slave. The idea of sexual fetishism has been discussed throughout history, and within Psychology, Sociology and Philosophy the ideas of such are always being explored, renewed and mused upon and I try to explore many areas of these while talking through the films.
I end up relating wounding to Roland Barthes’ idea of Punctum, as although there are many theories as to why people enjoy wounding sexually – no one theory fits all people, it has meaning for some and not others, symbolic importance to some but not all. The fusion of the erotic and life threatening is always being explored and is always intriguing.”
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