a2 Media

Sigmund Freud - Unhelmich (The Uncanny)

In this  account of the modern human condition, Freud explores the uncanny as the class of frightening things that leads us back to what is known and familiar. Freud poses the idea that one should doubt 'whether an apparently animate being is really alive; or conversely, whether a lifeless object might not be in fact animate”; and compares this to the impression made by wax-work figures, dolls and automations ( a moving mechanical device). Dolls, being closely related to infants, are not typically distinguished in early childhood from being any different from a living being, and are not seen as lifeless objects. It is commented upon that the idea of a 'living doll' does not excite fear in children, but infers enjoyment. The dolls, therefore, not being an childish fear in this case. As opposed to the idea of the 'Sand-Man', dolls are perceived in a realer nature, with the story that 'he is a wicked man who comes when children won’t go to bed, and throws handfuls of sand in their eyes so that they jump out of their heads all bleeding. Then he puts the eyes in a sack and carries them off to the moon to feed his children. They sit up there in their nest, and their beaks are hooked like owls’ beaks, and they use them to peck up naughty boys’ and girls’ eyes with'. Dolls are perceived as a more real entity, therefore the having of fear towards inanimate dolls appears to be more rational in an adult's perspective, especially due to their physical nature. The animation of dolls is far more likely than the story of the 'Sand-Man' therefore the use of dolls in horror movies will likely be more effective, especially where the demographics and target audience is largely steered away from children.

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