Castration Anxiety and Traumatic Encounters with the Real in the Works of August Strindberg and Lars von Trier

TY - CHAP

T1 - Castration Anxiety and Traumatic Encounters with the Real in the Works of August Strindberg and Lars von Trier

AU - Bunch, Mads

PY - 2012/11/30

Y1 - 2012/11/30

N2 - It is commonly acknowledged by scholars that August Strindberg has been a source of inspiration for Danish director Lars von Trier, not least due to the many interviews following the release of Antichrist (2009), in which von Trier himself has pointed out the connections to Strindberg.1 It seems, however, that this pertinent influence runs much deeper than what has so far been uncovered. In fact, the influence from Strindberg seems to permeate the works of von Trier on so many levels that he could arguably be regarded as one of the director's most important influences. Both have been understood as radical visionaries within their aesthetic form of expression, and specifically as purveyors of a distinct Nordic radicalism. Von Trier's varied cinematic expression includes the technically brilliant montage and back projection strategies of the meta-noir early masterpiece Zentropa (1991), the spearheading of the Dogme 95 movement, and the experimental films of Dogville (2003) and Manderlay (2005). Von Trier has called the two latter "fusion films"-"a fusion between, film, theatre and literature" (Björkman 241)-and coined the "fusion film" as a whole new genre. Like Strindberg's heterogeneous dramatic production, spanning the naturalist reimagination of stage space, décor, and costume in Miss Julie (Fröken Julie, 1888) to the fluid spatio-temporality of A Dream Play (Ett drömspel, 1901) with an experimental set design, von Trier's films continue to challenge commonly acknowledged artistic genres and forms and, like Strindberg's did, export a particular branch of radical Scandinavian modernism abroad. Von Trier's "Dogme 95 Manifesto" and "Vow of Chastity" (both 1995; Dogme 95, uncredited) can even be regarded as a meta-connection to Strindberg's naturalist manifesto in the "Preface" to Miss Julie, where Strindberg is propagating a new naturalistic theater form. Von Trier's manifestos also propagate a new radical naturalism in cinema (handheld camera, no artificial sets, no music, etc.). His arguments and criticism of 1995 filmmaking praxis have many similarities to the ones Strindberg uses with regard to the theater tradition in 1888. Von Trier's fusion films can also be seen as another way to follow in Strindberg's footsteps by trying to invent a whole new form, just as Strindberg did in his later experimental and expressionistic plays. Von Trier's interest in Strindberg started years before he began making films. He grew up only a few miles away from Skovlyst (now Geelsgaard), where Strindberg wrote Miss Julie during the turbulent summer of 1888. At the age of twenty, von Trier wrote a long article about Strindberg's stay at Skovlyst and published it in a local newspaper: "På vanviddets rand i Holte. En beretning om August Strindberg i Holte-en frugtbar krisetid" ("On the Brink of Madness in Holte. An Account of August Strindberg in Holte-A Productive Time of Crisis," my trans.) One of the most interesting elements of the article is that Trier signed it Lars von Trier. Scholars have mentioned that Trier added the "von" to his name when he was attending the Danish Film School (1979-83) and as a tribute to Joseph von Sternberg or even as a provocation toward his teachers (Stevenson 20-21). But the "von" signature in the newspaper appears three years before von Trier started at the Danish Film School. Von Trier himself points to Strindberg as the main source of inspiration behind this radical decision: In the middle of the 1970s I read an awful lot of Strindberg, and Nietzsche, of course. During Strindberg's crisis in Paris-which is always called his "inferno crisis"-he signed his letters "Rex," the royal signature. I thought it was pretty funny. I liked that . . . both the craziness and the arrogance of it. So I started adding a "von" to my name. (Björkman 2) Aside from adding the "von" to his name, elements from August Strindberg's dramas and personal life have found their way into the films and self-presentation of Lars von Trier (many have indeed associated von Trier with both lunacy and arrogance). The careers of von Trier and Strindberg also share further characteristics: their works have often been better received abroad than in their home countries. In addition, both continue to challenge norms of social decorum, particularly in their depiction of gender roles and sexuality. Specifically, both deal with gender-based conflicts and psychoanalytical traumas, which appear to challenge persistent Scandinavian and Western identification with rationality, moderation, and social and gender equality. This study will focus on the male protagonists of Strindberg and von Trier in order to show how the psychological complex of castration anxiety permeates the characters and determines their behavior toward the female protagonists.

AB - It is commonly acknowledged by scholars that August Strindberg has been a source of inspiration for Danish director Lars von Trier, not least due to the many interviews following the release of Antichrist (2009), in which von Trier himself has pointed out the connections to Strindberg.1 It seems, however, that this pertinent influence runs much deeper than what has so far been uncovered. In fact, the influence from Strindberg seems to permeate the works of von Trier on so many levels that he could arguably be regarded as one of the director's most important influences. Both have been understood as radical visionaries within their aesthetic form of expression, and specifically as purveyors of a distinct Nordic radicalism. Von Trier's varied cinematic expression includes the technically brilliant montage and back projection strategies of the meta-noir early masterpiece Zentropa (1991), the spearheading of the Dogme 95 movement, and the experimental films of Dogville (2003) and Manderlay (2005). Von Trier has called the two latter "fusion films"-"a fusion between, film, theatre and literature" (Björkman 241)-and coined the "fusion film" as a whole new genre. Like Strindberg's heterogeneous dramatic production, spanning the naturalist reimagination of stage space, décor, and costume in Miss Julie (Fröken Julie, 1888) to the fluid spatio-temporality of A Dream Play (Ett drömspel, 1901) with an experimental set design, von Trier's films continue to challenge commonly acknowledged artistic genres and forms and, like Strindberg's did, export a particular branch of radical Scandinavian modernism abroad. Von Trier's "Dogme 95 Manifesto" and "Vow of Chastity" (both 1995; Dogme 95, uncredited) can even be regarded as a meta-connection to Strindberg's naturalist manifesto in the "Preface" to Miss Julie, where Strindberg is propagating a new naturalistic theater form. Von Trier's manifestos also propagate a new radical naturalism in cinema (handheld camera, no artificial sets, no music, etc.). His arguments and criticism of 1995 filmmaking praxis have many similarities to the ones Strindberg uses with regard to the theater tradition in 1888. Von Trier's fusion films can also be seen as another way to follow in Strindberg's footsteps by trying to invent a whole new form, just as Strindberg did in his later experimental and expressionistic plays. Von Trier's interest in Strindberg started years before he began making films. He grew up only a few miles away from Skovlyst (now Geelsgaard), where Strindberg wrote Miss Julie during the turbulent summer of 1888. At the age of twenty, von Trier wrote a long article about Strindberg's stay at Skovlyst and published it in a local newspaper: "På vanviddets rand i Holte. En beretning om August Strindberg i Holte-en frugtbar krisetid" ("On the Brink of Madness in Holte. An Account of August Strindberg in Holte-A Productive Time of Crisis," my trans.) One of the most interesting elements of the article is that Trier signed it Lars von Trier. Scholars have mentioned that Trier added the "von" to his name when he was attending the Danish Film School (1979-83) and as a tribute to Joseph von Sternberg or even as a provocation toward his teachers (Stevenson 20-21). But the "von" signature in the newspaper appears three years before von Trier started at the Danish Film School. Von Trier himself points to Strindberg as the main source of inspiration behind this radical decision: In the middle of the 1970s I read an awful lot of Strindberg, and Nietzsche, of course. During Strindberg's crisis in Paris-which is always called his "inferno crisis"-he signed his letters "Rex," the royal signature. I thought it was pretty funny. I liked that . . . both the craziness and the arrogance of it. So I started adding a "von" to my name. (Björkman 2) Aside from adding the "von" to his name, elements from August Strindberg's dramas and personal life have found their way into the films and self-presentation of Lars von Trier (many have indeed associated von Trier with both lunacy and arrogance). The careers of von Trier and Strindberg also share further characteristics: their works have often been better received abroad than in their home countries. In addition, both continue to challenge norms of social decorum, particularly in their depiction of gender roles and sexuality. Specifically, both deal with gender-based conflicts and psychoanalytical traumas, which appear to challenge persistent Scandinavian and Western identification with rationality, moderation, and social and gender equality. This study will focus on the male protagonists of Strindberg and von Trier in order to show how the psychological complex of castration anxiety permeates the characters and determines their behavior toward the female protagonists.

KW - Faculty of Humanities

KW - August Strindberg

KW - Lars von Trier

KW - Slavoj Zizek

KW - Sigmund Freud

M3 - Book chapter

SN - 9780810128507

SP - 70

EP - 102

BT - The International Strindberg: New Critical Essays

A2 - Stenport, Anna Westerståhl

PB - Northwestern University Press

ER -