

RU349 MARY WILD & VANESSA SINCLAIR ON SHRINKS ON FILM- PSYCHOANALYSTS & THERAPIST IN CINEMA
May 30, 2025
01:02:20
Welcome to Rendering Unconscious – the Gradiva award-winning podcast about psychoanalysis & culture, with me, Dr Vanessa Sinclair. https://renderingunconscious.substack.com
Rendering Unconscious episode 349.
RU349: MARY WILD & VANESSA SINCLAIR TALK PSYCHOANALYSTS & THERAPISTS ON FILM https://renderingunconscious.substack.com/p/ru349-mary-wild-and-vanessa-sinclair
I sat down with Freudian cinephile Mary Wild to dish about shrinks on film. This episode was originally recorded for Mary’s Patreon channel. Mary has just launched her own Substack. Be sure to give her a follow and support independent thinkers: https://psycstar.substack.com/about
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Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/marywild/posts
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/psycstar/
In this conversation, Mary and I chat about the portrayal of mental health professionals in film and TV. We discuss the accuracy and impact of these portrayals, including the stigma around mental health and the challenges faced by therapists. We analyze scenes from films like "Spellbound," "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," and "Girl, Interrupted," highlighting issues such as the misrepresentation of therapists, the impact of funding cuts on mental health services, and the societal pressures on identity and diagnosis. The conversation also touches upon the importance of making psychoanalytic concepts accessible and the role of therapists in empowering their patients.
Mary Wild is the Freudian Cinephile – a pop psychoanalyst exploring film, philosophy, and the strange contours of modern life. She’s been hosting the Projections series of events at the Freud Museum London for more than a decade. Join her for whimsical cinematic interpretation and witty cultural critique. No one tops Mary for psychoanalytic interpretations of cinema! Stay tuned for her forthcoming book Psychoanalysing Horror Cinema (Routledge, 2025). https://www.routledge.com/Psychoanalysing-Horror-Cinema/Wild/p/book/9781032545097?srsltid=AfmBOorqpeove7e8PlV8GNwGRfi1mes8MEdFFvN_YsbtdSrZY8qpP7-b
News and events:
Coming up on Thursday, June 5th Mary is hosting her next online event PROJECTIONS: Lynchian Women. Not to be missed. You know I’ll be there! https://www.freud.org.uk/event/projections-lynchian-women/
Projections: Death Scenes in Cinema with Mary Wild, Begins September 21: https://www.morbidanatomy.org/classes/p/projections-death-scenes-in-cinema-with-mary-wild-september
Check out our previous discussions:
RU315: MARY WILD ON FEMININE JOUISSANCE & DEATH SCENES IN CINEMA
RU257: MARY WILD & EMMALEA RUSSO ON JIM MORRISON, CINEMA, POETRY, PSYCHOANALYSIS, PHILOSOPHY & CULTURE
RU233: MARY WILD ON DAVID BOWIE & PSYCHOANALYSING HORROR CINEMA
RU208: THE MAGIC OF CINEMA & THE UNCONSCIOUS WITH MARY WILD
RU158: MARY WILD ON PSYCHOANALYSIS & CINEMA, TAXIDERMY IN ALFRED HITCHCOCK’S “PSYCHO”
RU68: MARY WILD, PROJECTIONS CINEPHILE ON THE FREUD NETFLIX SERIES
RU49: MARY WILD, FREUDIAN CINEPHILE ON PROJECTIONS
Thank you for listening to the Rendering Unconscious Podcast and for reading the Rendering Unconscious anthologies. And thank you so much for supporting this work by being a paid subscriber at the Substack. It makes my work possible. If you are so far a free subscriber, thanks to you too. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to gain access to all the material on the site, including all future and archival podcast episodes. https://renderingunconscious.substack.com
If you would like information about entering into psychoanalytic treatment with me, joining the group I run for those who have relocated to another country, or have other questions, please feel free to contact me via vs [at] drvanessasinclair.net
https://www.drvanessasinclair.net/contact/
Thank you.