This chapter addresses a particular class of ghost movies: those where the ghost is ultimately refused and relegated to the realm of human imagination and trickery. It focuses on the case of Paul Leni’s 1927 The Cat and the Canary, to show how this film remediates a long tradition of spectacular entertainments based on the rejection of supernaturalism, and how such rejection has important consequences in the narrative frame and in the nature of the gratification invited in their audience. The chapter applies the concept the “spectralization of the mind,” proposed by literature scholar Terry Castle, in order to explain the narrative and conceptual role played by ghosts in this film. Particular attention is also given to the use of superimposition techniques and to the interpretation of noise as a sign of ghostly presence.

Specters of the Mind: Ghosts, Illusion, and Exposure in Paul Leni’s The Cat and the Canary

Simone Natale
2015-01-01

Abstract

This chapter addresses a particular class of ghost movies: those where the ghost is ultimately refused and relegated to the realm of human imagination and trickery. It focuses on the case of Paul Leni’s 1927 The Cat and the Canary, to show how this film remediates a long tradition of spectacular entertainments based on the rejection of supernaturalism, and how such rejection has important consequences in the narrative frame and in the nature of the gratification invited in their audience. The chapter applies the concept the “spectralization of the mind,” proposed by literature scholar Terry Castle, in order to explain the narrative and conceptual role played by ghosts in this film. Particular attention is also given to the use of superimposition techniques and to the interpretation of noise as a sign of ghostly presence.
2015
Cinematic Ghosts: Haunting and Spectrality from Silent Cinema to the Digital Era
Bloomsbury
59
76
9781628922134
https://www.bloomsburycollections.com/book/cinematic-ghosts-haunting-and-spectrality-from-silent-cinema-to-the-digital-era/ch3-specters-of-the-mind-ghosts-illusion-and-exposure-in-paul-leni-s?from=search
Simone Natale
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2318/1770568
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