A Self-Inflicted Wound : Isolation in The Lighthouse (2019)

ČAPEK, Jan. A Self-Inflicted Wound : Isolation in The Lighthouse (2019). In New Pathways in Anglophone Literary and Cultural Studies in Pandemic Times, 20-21 November 2020, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic. 2020.

Basic information

• Original name: A Self-Inflicted Wound : Isolation in The Lighthouse (2019)
• Authors: ČAPEK, Jan.
• Edition: New Pathways in Anglophone Literary and Cultural Studies in Pandemic Times, 20-21 November 2020, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic, 2020.

Other information

• Original language: English
• Type of outcome: Presentations at conferences
• Field of Study: 60204 General literature studies
• Country of publisher: Czech Republic
• Confidentiality degree: is not subject to a state or trade secret
• WWW: URL
• Organization unit: Faculty of Arts
• Keywords in English: literary studies; film analysis; the lighthouse; Robert Eggers; horror film; art film; paranoia; social subjectivity; resentment; guilt; desire
• Tags: International impact, Reviewed

Abstract

Robert Eggers’ 2019 film The Lighthouse tells the story of two men working as lighthouse keepers on an island in the middle of the sea. However, instead of establishing cooperation, a sense of togetherness, or even camaraderie, the two men are faced with tension, frustration, anger, desperation, and suffering. A cursory inspection of their working and living conditions could suggest that they suffer from cabin fever, caused by the isolated nature of the lighthouse. But, as I will propose in my reading of the film, the unravelling of the two “wickies”, the Young played by Robert Pattinson and the Old played by Willem Dafoe, does not happen due to their isolation from the outside world as much as due to their isolation from each other. In my talk, I will focus especially on the Young, a troubled figure haunted by a sense of guilt and unconsciously keeping himself in a vicious circle of resentment, frustration, and violence. And I will discuss how all the suffering unfolding in the course of the plot starts with one simple refusal of a drink.

Links

• MUNI/A/1204/2019, interní kód MU: Name: Researching Communication in English: Paradigms, Strategies, Developments - II (Acronym: ReComE 2020)

Investor: Masaryk University, Category A