Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book focuses on the films of Clint Eastwood, which examines cultural mythology of screen masculinity. It examines both Titanic and Deep Impact from the perspective of the Oedipus complex. The book provides catharsis in a way that is analogous to Greek tragedy, and they also unite audiences with their culture through their mythological dimensions in the same way that Aeschylus or Sophocles provided a vision for the citizens of Athens. In the collection of essays Jacob Arlow’s perspective on Izak Borg in Bergman's Wild Strawberries has much in common with Freud's analysis of Rebecca in Rosmersholm. The cinema and psychoanalysis have a natural affinity. Claude Chabrol, the esteemed French film-maker, reported in an interview that he had collaborated with a psychoanalyst in the writing of his film, La Ceremonie.