You do not currently have permission to view the full text for this document. Please sign in to an account with an active subscription or contact support.
In this book, the author takes the reader on a remarkable journey. He explores a host of films with very different plots, analyzing them from one main vantage point, that of the primal scene.
The volume begins with a quotation from Melanie Klein: "In a number of cases it became clear that theaters and concerts, in fact any performance where there is something to be seen or heard, always stand for parental coitus—listening and watching standing for observation in fact or phantasy—while the falling curtain stands for objects which hinder observations, such as bed clothes, the side of a bed, etc." (p. 10).
Dervin then presents a succinct, excellent review of the literature on primal scene trauma and fantasy, from Freud on. He notes that a number of writers have interpreted aspects of literature in terms of the primal scene. However, he also cites Aaron H. Esman's caution against attributing too much to the primal scene, lest "by explaining everything, [it] succeed in explaining nothing" (p. 13). He goes on to discuss Harold P. Blum's suggestion that the primal scene be given precise definition to avoid blurring the boundaries between it and other concepts. Blum noted that primal scene exposure is essentially pathogenic, whereas primal scene fantasy need not be harmful.