Music as Image: Analytical psychology and music in film

178 Pages·2015·0.97 MB·English

by  Benjamin Nagari

Music as Image
Through a theoretical and practical exploration of Jungian and post-Jungian con-
cepts surrounding image, this book moves beyond the visual scope of imagery
to consider the presence and expression of music and sound, as well as how the
psyche encounters expanded images – archetypal, personal or cultural – on both
conscious and unconscious levels. By closely examining music in film, Nagari con-
siders music’s complementary, enhancing, meaningful, and sometimes disruptive,
contribution to expressive images.
Chapters present a Jungian approach to music in film, highlighting how ‘music-
image’ functions both independently and in conjunction with the visual image,
and suggesting further directions in areas of research including music therapy and
autism. Divided into three cumulative parts, Part I explores the Jungian psychologi-
cal account of the music-image; Part II combines theory with practice in analysing
how the auditory image works with the visual to create the ‘film as a whole’ expe-
rience; and Part III implements a specific understanding of three individual film
cases of different genres, eras and styles as psychologically scrutinised ‘case histories’.
Music as Image will be of interest to academics and students in the fields of applied
psychoanalysis and Jungian psychology, music, film and cultural studies. With impli-
cations for music therapy and other art-based therapies, it will also be relevant for
practising psychotherapists.
Benjamin Nagari gained a PhD in Jungian and Post-Jungian Studies from the
University of Westminster, UK. He is also a prolific musician and composer; hav-
ing started in Pop and Rock music he went on to composing for stage, radio and
television, followed by film scores and concert music (symphonic, chamber, vocal
and choral).
Research in Analytical Psychology and Jungian Studies Series
Series Advisor: Andrew Samuels, Professor of Analytical Psychology,
Essex University, UK
The Research in Analytical Psychology and Jungian Studies series features research-
focused volumes involving qualitative and quantitative research, historical/archival
research, theoretical developments, heuristic research, grounded theory, narrative
approaches, collaborative research, practitioner-led research, and self-study. The
series also includes focused works by clinical practitioners and provides new research-
informed explorations of the work of C. G. Jung that will appeal to researchers, aca-
demics, and scholars alike.
Books in this series:
Time and Timelessness
Temporality in the theory of Carl Jung
Angeliki Yiassemides
Apophatic Elements in the Theory and Practice of Psychoanalysis
Pseudo-Dionysius and C. G. Jung
David Henderson
C. G. Jung and Hans Urs von Balthasar
God and evil – A critical comparison
Les Oglesby
Bridges to Consciousness
Complexes and complexity
Nancy M. Krieger
The Alchemical Mercurius
Esoteric symbol of Jung’s life and works
Mathew Mather
Archetypal Psychotherapy
The clinical legacy of James Hillman
Jason A. Butler
Jung’s Theory of Personality
A modern reappraisal
Clare Crellin
Psychological, Archetypal and Phenomenological
Perspectives on Soccer
David Huw Burston
Music as Image
Analytical psychology and music in film
Benjamin Nagari
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Music as Image
Analytical psychology and
music in film
Benjamin Nagari
First published 2016
by Routledge
27 Church Road, Hove, East Sussex, BN3 2FA
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2016 B. Nagari
The right of B. Nagari to be identified as author of this work has been
asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from
the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Nagari, Benjamin.
Music as image : analytical psychology and music in film / Benjamin Nagari.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Motion picture music—Analysis, appreciation. 2. Motion
picture music—Psychological aspects. 3. Psychoanalysis and motion
pictures. 4. Psychoanalysis and music. 5. Motion picture music—History
and criticism. I. Title.
ML2075.N33 2015
781.5'42111—dc23
2014049720
ISBN: 978-1-138-85325-6 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-72290-0 (ebk)
Typeset in Bembo
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
To my brother Moshe and my best friends Daniela Cohn
and Thomas Aron
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Contents
Acknowledgements xi
Introduction xiii
PART I
The psychological image: imaging and imagination –
a Jungian perspective 1
Introduction 1
1 Jung, image, archetype and complex 3
2 Jung, opposites and psychic energy 10
3 Jung’s psychological types 12
4 Jung, sign and symbol 16
5 Image, imagery, imagination: a perspective of placement 20
6 The autonomous ways of images: dreams and synaesthesia 22
6.1 Dreams 22
6.2 Synaesthetic imaging 23
7 Conclusion: the nonvisual image 26
PART II
Music as image: the encounter of visual and
nonvisual in film 27
8 Music as image: an emotive introduction 29
9 Music as image: its placement in film 34
9.1 Music and emotional subplacement 37
9.2 Volume: relative, internal and external 38