Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book seeks to counter the frustrations a classical application of psychoanalysis has engendered within film and media studies. It presents an overview of Wilfred Bion's theory of thinking to what has been discussed so far, paying attention to the definition of key terms that come together to form Bion's overall model. The book explains the Bionian relational approach, considers the historical use of metaphor as it was used within C. Metz's Lacanian film theory. It shows that why Bion's theory of thinking is revolutionary for the study of emotional experience with moving images, and demonstrate how object-relations theory has begun to adopt a more prominent place within moving image scholarship. The book explores Bion's concept of reverie, which he claims is the foundation of mental functioning and which makes possible psychic growth.