Key words : Postmodernism ; Anxieties ; Freud ; Taboos ; Psychoanalysis ; Fantasy ; Reality ; Uncanny ; Illusion ; Technology
Introduction
Reality and illusion , or more specifically the illusive nature of the fantasy worlds created in the films , both consume the narratives of The Matrix 63 and The Company of Wolves , dir . Neil Jordan 64 , along with the question of how reality is embedded within fantastical elements . The mise-en-scene and use of fast cutting shots increase the tension and anxieties that are a result of the illusive alternate realities . The use of camera angles such as high angle shots develop the notions of reality and illusion throughout both films , demonstrating power dynamics and anxieties about growth through the manipulation of height due to the type of shot . This article will explore how presentations of reality and illusion are used in order to highlight and reflect real life anxieties . These include Rosaleen ’ s anxieties about growing up , as well as the wider taboo of menstruation : the latter theme will be discussed in relation to the work of Keith Hopper 65 . This piece will also explore the anxieties that those who are unaware of the matrix encounter , as well as the real-life implications of this anxiety and epistemological lacuna . The article will actively apply Sigmund Freud ’ s The Interpretation of Dreams 66 , and ‘ The Uncanny ’ 67 to explain the anxieties that arise in the characters and how the mediums of reality and illusion allows for real life implications and anxieties to be explored through the dream world and the digital .
Dreaming and ‘ The Company of Wolves ’
63 ibid .
64
Neil Jordan , dir . The Company of Wolves ( United States : Palace Pictures , 1984 )
65
Keith Hopper , “ Hairy on the Inside : Re-Visiting Neil Jordan ' s ‘ The Company of Wolves .’” The Canadian Journal of Irish Studies , vol . 29 , no . 2 ( Japan : IASIL – Japan , 2003 )
66
Sigmund Freud , ‘ The Interpretation of Dreams ’ and ‘ The “ uncanny ”’, in Literary Theory 2 nd edition ( Oxford : Blackwell , 2004 ).
67
Andrew Bennett and Nicholas Royle , ‘ The Uncanny ’ in An Introduction to Literature , Criticism and Theory , 5th ed . ( London : Routledge , 2016 ).