Extension Course: A Psychoanalytic Dive into the Films of Stanley Kubrick

Instructor & Course Information

Thomas Wolman, M.D.

January 27 – March 10, 2025
Mondays, 7:00 – 8:15 p.m.

No class: 2/17

Location: ZOOM

Fee: $200

PAY REGISTRATION FEE

Course Description

I remember vividly sitting in a darkened theater watching Stanley Kubrick’s 2001 Space Odyssey in 1968. The last scenes of that film, culminating in the final chords of Richard Strauss’s Thus Spake Zarathustra, left me stunned. At that time -and in that sociocultural context -the film seemed to mimic the psychedelic experience. And even without drug enhancement, the movie still packs a punch. Some critics consider the movie “cold” – a coldness emblematic of the way they view Kubrick’s filmography as a whole. Yet despite the fact that the only “human” voice in the movie is that of HAL the computer, the psychoanalytically minded viewer will consider the film’s stirring emotional impact and its goad to the imagination. Indeed, the “space odyssey” moves seamlessly through “outer space” and “inner space” at the same time.  It was only later, that I came to appreciate Kubrick’s status as an auteur, ranging among many film genres and embuing them with his distinctive visual style. Thus, in the context of his extensive filmography, there are several films that focus on the mind of the characters and/or the psychological effects of the scenario. In this light, I choose for discussion and analysis films that – in my view – offer the most material for psychoanalytic explorations. As in previous courses, I divide the 6 sessions between early and later work. For the first three sessions, we will discuss Paths of Glory (1957), Lolita (1962), and Dr. Strangelove (1964). In passing, I observe that – for example, Kubrick establishes Lolita as a person in her own right – a true subject – and not simply an object of Humbert’s desire. The second grouping includes Barry Lyndon (1975), Full Metal Jacket (1987) and Eyes Wide Shut (1999). This last film – inspired by Freud’s contemporary Arthur Schnitzler’s novel “Dream Story”- is a kind of ode to Kubrick’s continuing interest in psychoanalysis.

It is expected that registrants watch each of these films on their own time prior to the class discussion.

Bio

Thomas Wolman, M.D. was born and raised in in New York City. He moved back here recently after having lived in Philadelphia for 45 years. He attended Johns Hopkins University and the Pennsylvania State University Medical College. Subsequently he trained at the Psychoanalytic Center of Philadelphia, where he taught in both the psychoanalytic and psychotherapy training programs. He has taught at Jefferson Medical College, the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and most recently, the psychiatry residency at Temple University School of Medicine. He has written on Winnicott, Mahler, Kohut and Lacan, as well as on contemporary film and literary themes. He is married with two adult children and three grandchildren.

Continuing Education

No CME/CE credits offered for this course.