La schizophrénie à l’écran : processus de subjectivation et de verbalisation dans Clean, Shaven (Kerrigan, 1994) et Spider (Cronenberg, 2001)

Jocelyn Dupont (1)

1 CRESEM - Centre de Recherche sur les Sociétés et Environnements en Méditerranées

This article seeks to analyze the tension between the filmic representation of mental illness and its potential verbalization into words in Clean, Shaven (Lodge Kerrigan, 1995) and Spider (David Cronenberg, 2001), two recent North American films that tackle schizophrenia in a radical manner, leaving aside the many clichés long associated with that specific form of mental illness on screen. Both films adopt challenging narrative strategies that compel spectators to accompany their respective protagonists through their terrifying journeys. The main question underlying this discussion is that of the possible “subjectivation” of mental illness in the fiction film, notably through the use of speech and verbal processes. That is the reason why, following a detailed discussion of how the two films approach psychopathology, the article concludes with a comparative analysis of two key sequences in which the protagonists struggle to come with verbal strategies in order to confront an ever-oppressive Real.

Keywords: Schizophrenia; Psychopathology; Film and mental health; David Cronenberg; Lodge Kerrigan; Mad narrator; Patrick McGrath

Keywords: Patrick McGrath; Narrateur fou; Schizophrénie; Psychopathologie; Cinéma et santé mentale; Lodge Kerrigan; David Cronenberg

Domains: Literature; Art and art history; Psychology

Jocelyn Dupont. La schizophrénie à l’écran : processus de subjectivation et de verbalisation dans Clean, Shaven (Kerrigan, 1994) et Spider (Cronenberg, 2001). Revue Française d'Etudes Américaines, 2015, 143 (2), pp.72. ⟨10.3917/rfea.143.0072⟩. ⟨hal-02321571⟩