Screenwriting, like any creative endeavor, is largely intuitive, and many film professionals believe that artistic freedom and analysis are incompatible. William Indyk categorically disagrees. Analyzing psychoanalytic theories—from Sigmund Freud and Erik Erikson to Maureen Murdock and Rollo May—the author reinforces these renowned scholars' concepts with examples from famous films featuring their timeless themes: love and sex, death and destruction, fear and anger, revenge and hatred. Examining the motives, underlying desires, and complexes that drive the characters, Indyk evaluates the authors' triumphs and missteps, which ultimately cannot be hidden from the viewer. After all, the viewer empathizes with the hero, identifies with him, goes through the path of transformation with him and achieves catharsis.

Author: William Indyk
Publishing House: Alpina
Year: 2023
Number of pages: 432
Cover type: paperback