Refractions of the Body in the Cinematic Performance of David Cronenberg

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.23925/1982-4807.2025i38e73153

Keywords:

Cinema and psychoanalysis interface 1;, Imaginary, symbolic and real body 2; , David Cronenberg's filmography 3; , Aesthetic-artistic performance 4;, Refractions of the Real 5.

Abstract

This article explores the interface between cinema, psychoanalysis, fashion, and politics under the aegis of multi-, and transdisciplinary methodological procedures. It considers David Cronenberg's filmography through the refractions of the imaginary, symbolic, and real body proposed by Lacan, emphasizing the perceptive referent over the malaise of postmodern culture. These categories enable the analysis of distinct types of artistic and cultural
phenomena, including those of Seventh Art. The theme of this work is that the "new flesh," an aesthetic expression based on the performance of the human body, typically occurs through the fusion of the organic and the material; most often thanks to technology that situates it at the axis on which the Canadian filmmaker's cultural productions revolve. Projection, identification, and transference thrive here as aesthetic categories for examining subjectivation
in the formation of identities at the confluence of body, gender, sexuality, and power.

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Author Biographies

Josenilde Souza, Belas Artes

PhD and Master’s degree holder in Communication and Semiotics from PUC-SP, with a Bachelor’s degree in Public Relations from UNIFACS–Salvador. Holds specializations in Fashion Creation and Styling from Senac, Fashion Image from Istituto Marangoni (Paris), Fashion Communication Promotion From Vision from Central Saint Martins, STYLECORE, and the Italian Institute of Image. Completed wardrobe assessment courses with Carol Davidson and Style Works of Union Square (New York), among others. Has 30 years of experience in the cultural market, with a focus on costume design, music, and theater. Studied performance with Daniela Labra at Maria Antônia – USP and during undergraduate studies at the School of Theatre in Bahia (UFBA), where worked as an assistant on the play Once Upon a Forest, directed by Sônia Rangel. Also participated in productions with José Possi Neto, among others. Attended screenwriting courses with Monica Simões at ICBA and with Sérgio Machado at FACOM. Produced and directed experimental videos and short films (PAX, ADUPÉ, and INTERIORES), participating in the 5-Minute Festival of the Bahia State Foundation. Worked as an actress and costume designer in southern France through an exchange with director Guy Jacques in Perpignan, at Le Théâtre de la Rencontre. Has accumulated experience in cultural production in the areas of music, theater, and cinema in Salvador. Was responsible for the production and conception of the concert Nordestilhas with Elomar Figueira, Dércio Marques, and Xangai, as well as theatrical productions by German director Harald Weiss at Teatro Castro Alves and Theatro XVIII. Participated in the assembly of exhibitions and shows in the interior of Bahia. In São Paulo, from 2007 onward, created the project Fashion and Literature, with fashion shows in the subway and on Avenida Paulista, as well as the project Fashion and Cinema at Reserva Cultural. Performed at PUC, MASP, and CCBB in São Paulo, also working as a lecturer in the areas of trends, futurology, fashion, colors, image consulting, culture, and education. In 2012, was a pioneer in launching the first postgraduate program in Image and Beauty Consulting (420 hours) at Centro Universitário Belas Artes-SP, adopting an approach grounded in academic research related to diversity, futurology, inclusion, self-esteem, and image sustainability, always seeking a sensitive and multidisciplinary perspective beyond prescriptive manuals. In 2014, founded Galeria do Conhecimento to promote the exchange of knowledge and learning in the field of image consulting through a differentiated methodology. Has taught at several institutions (Escola Panamericana, IED, Senac, FMU, FAAP, UNIPÊ, and USP) and currently, at Belas Artes, teaches in undergraduate programs in Cinema, Advertising, Public Relations, Journalism, Photography, and Performing Arts. Additionally, coordinates and teaches in the postgraduate programs in Image and Beauty Consulting, Fashion and Market, Fashion Production and Styling, and serves as a lecturer in the postgraduate program in Cultural Production and Emotional Design Production. Is a member of the CPS research group at PUC-SP and of the Imaginário research group at the Milton Santos Institute (UFBA). In 2024, published the book Grammar of Image Consulting with Estação das Cores e Letras publishing house.

Juan Droguett, Belas Artes

Graduated in Communication and Languages from the Universidad Metropolitana de Ciencias de la Educación (Chile), he earned a Master's degree in Education and specialized in Semiotics of Space (Architecture and Design) and Psychoanalysis at the Oscar Pfister Institute - International Association of Freudian Psychoanalysis - affiliated with the Pontifical University of Salamanca, Spain.

He completed a post-doctorate at the Faculty of Philosophy, Letters, and Human Sciences (FFLCH) of the University of São Paulo (USP), where he developed "a oneiric method of psychoanalytic interpretation at the interface of cinema and psychoanalysis" with funding from FAPESP. He holds a Ph.D. in Communication and Semiotics from the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo (PUC/SP) and a Ph.D. in Education from the University of Salamanca, Spain.

His full Licentiate degree in Education was recognized by the University of São Paulo, qualifying him to teach in the disciplines of Philosophy, Psychology, and Educational Management (USP/MEC). He served as director, pedagogical coordinator, and counselor at several schools in São Paulo, Brazil.

In 1997, he was invited to join the founding collegiate team of the stricto sensu Graduate Program in Education at the Methodist University of São Paulo (UMESP), a role he held until 2000. He was also a member of the founding group for the stricto sensu Graduate Program in Communication at Paulista University (UNIP) until 2008.

After an exchange period in Europe (France/Italy), he returned in 2009 to teach in Higher Education, in undergraduate Social Communication programs (Advertising and Propaganda, Journalism, and Radio and TV). He organized student preparation and training for the ENADE exam, Scientific Initiation, and projects for accessibility to stricto sensu programs.

He is currently an invited professor at the Complutense University of Madrid, the University of Salamanca, the University of Navarra, and the University of Deusto (Bilbao) in Spain; at the University of Paris/Sorbonne in France; and at the University of California, Berkeley in the USA. In Brazil, he teaches in stricto sensu and lato sensu graduate programs, as well as in undergraduate courses.

He belongs to the scientific committee of the journal ELSA (Environment, Land, Society, Architectonics) from the University of Geneva and Lausanne in Switzerland. He is a professor in the Postgraduate Program in Psychoanalytic Semiotics at PUC/SP and in the Production of Art in Communication course at the Centro Universitário Belas Artes. He serves on the editorial board of several national and international publishing houses, journals, and periodicals.

He is the author of numerous book publications, scientific articles, and reviews, both in Brazil and abroad. He leads an independent film criticism group and, in 2020, founded an Institute that bears his name.

His research focuses on the aesthetic experience of contemporary filmography, methodological innovations in visuality studies, and the production of meaning in moving image production. His areas of expertise are: communication, cinema, film criticism, psychoanalysis, and education.

           

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Imagem criada por Jo Souza, Maikol Nascimento, sob o conceito de bricolagem de Lévi-Strauss, a imagem de capa do dossiê contém diversos fragmentos que se unem para delinear um caleidosópio de imagens, cores e formas. O conjunto desses elementos, constituem o todo, o qual revela camadas profundas de significados. Organizadores: Jo Souza Maikol Nascimento Cíntia Tolosa Publicado 2025-12-22

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Published

2025-12-22

How to Cite

Souza, J., & Droguett, J. (2025). Refractions of the Body in the Cinematic Performance of David Cronenberg . Ponto-e-Vírgula, 2(38), e73153. https://doi.org/10.23925/1982-4807.2025i38e73153

Issue

Vol. 2 No. 38 (2025): Dossiê: Estéticas do Poder e suas interseções entre Política, Cinema, Arte e Moda

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Artigos

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