Academic Journal
Bion and Transcendental-Slow Cinema: Toward a Psychoanalytic Cinema-Viewing Practice.
| Title: | Bion and Transcendental-Slow Cinema: Toward a Psychoanalytic Cinema-Viewing Practice. |
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| Authors: | Ruffino C; E-mail: collinruffino@gmail.com. |
| Source: | Psychoanalytic review [Psychoanal Rev] 2026 Sep; Vol. 113 (3), pp. 233-257. |
| Publication Type: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Journal Info: | Publisher: Guilford Press Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 0401156 Publication Model: Print Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1943-3301 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 00332836 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Psychoanal Rev Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Publication: Original Publication: New York, National Psychological Assn. for Psychoanalysis. |
| MeSH Terms: | Motion Pictures* , Psychoanalysis* , Psychoanalytic Theory* , Psychoanalytic Therapy*, Humans |
| Abstract: | Filmmaker Paul Schrader (2018) defined Transcendental-Slow Cinema as a style that seeks to convey an ineffable experience using the formal qualities of cinema. The filmmaking techniques employed create a frustrating, withholding experience for the viewer, a cinema journey that is far from mainstream entertainment movie-viewing. This experience maps onto Bion's theory of thinking and growth and its relationship to frustration, as well as his further development and complication of those ideas in his work on transformations and O. It is recommended that by enduring the experience of these films, a psychoanalyst, or trainee, can practice Bion's recommendations for analytic attention-a state denuded of memory, desire, and understanding necessary for apprehension of a session's ultimate emotional reality, O. |
| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: Bion; negative capability; psychoanalytic film theory; psychoanalytic training; slow cinema |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260921 Date Completed: 20260921 Latest Revision: 20260928 |
| Update Code: | 20260928 |
| DOI: | 10.1521/prev.2026.113.3.233 |
| PMID: | 42766397 |
| Database: | MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1943-3301 |
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| DOI: | 10.1521/prev.2026.113.3.233 |