Christopher Nolan and the Art of Anamorphosis by Farzad Kolahjooei Alvar A thesis presented to the University of Waterloo in fulfilment of the thesis requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, 2017 © Farzad Kolahjooei Alvar 2017 Examining Committee Membership The following served on the Examining Committee for this thesis. The decision of the Examining Committee is by majority vote. External Examiner Todd McGowan Associate Professor Supervisor(s) Alice Kuzniar Professor Kevin McGuirk Associate Professor Internal Member Ken Hirschkop Associate Professor Internal-external Member Bojana Videkanic Assistant Professor Other Member(s) Ashley Rose Mehlenbacher Assistant Professor ii Author’s Declaration I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis. This is a true copy of the thesis, including any required final revisions, as accepted by my examiners. I understand that my thesis may be made electronically available to the public. iii Abstract This dissertation explores the cinema of Christopher Nolan over a 15-year period. It focuses on the portrayal of the subject in five of his major films: Memento (2000), The Prestige (2006), The Dark Knight (2008), Inception (2010), and Interstellar (2014). In its chronological critique of Nolan’s cinema, this project explores subjectivity, to use Lacanian terminology, as a distorted vision provided by the desire for the impossible objet petit a. It records a shift of perspective in Nolan’s later characters, which endows them with a better understanding of their relationship with the object cause of desire. The dissertation studies the relationship between the subject and the objet petit a through the encounter with the anamorphotic gaze, which reveals the impossibility of fantasy at the heart of desire. In doing so, this project provides several ways through which anamorphosis proves to be a point that exposes the limitations of what Lacan calls the Symbolic Order. This dissertation proposes the term structural anamorphosis to introduce the Lacanian gaze as a temporal point in the film’s narrative. Structural anamorphosis is what retroactively uncovers the futility of fantasy and reveals the distorted views of the spectators. In its discussion of subjectivity, this dissertation shows that the quest for the objet petit a, which is the essence of desire, is similar to capitalism’s obsession with objects. In his films, Nolan shows how the subject’s desire is shaped by ideology unconsciously. By doing so, Nolan dismantles ideology and provides a space for rethinking the surrounding world: the spectators who watch the films of Christopher Nolan understand that they need to reconsider what they have taken for granted as normal. iv Acknowledgements I would like to express my special thanks to my supervisors, Dr. Alice Kuzniar and Dr. Kevin McGuirk. They provided timely and insightful feedback, which helped me significantly in preparing this dissertation. Dr. Kuzniar inspired me with the idea of writing on film in the first year of my PhD studies. She taught me how to watch films and how to decode every shot that I see. Dr. McGuirk, opened my eyes to the ways through which I could create and develop arguments. I am really obliged to Dr. McGowan, my external examiner, who provided some wonderful comments regarding the future development of this dissertation and turning it into a book. I am also grateful to Dr. Gordon Slethaug, Dr. Ken Hirschkop and Dr. Ashley Rose Mehlenbacher, who accepted to serve as the readers of my dissertation. I appreciate the unique opportunity that the English Department at the University of Waterloo provided for me to pursue my PhD studies. Here I learned how to better think, listen, watch, speak, teach, and write academically and professionally. And finally, I am unable to find any words to thank my wife, Homeira, who accompanied me in the mission to complete my PhD program. I know how hard was for her to endure many years of staying far away from her family and friends, but she never complained. She supported me unconditionally and helped these hard times pass. v Dedication To my wife, Homeira, the only fantasy that came true. To my mother, whom I can now only see in my dreams. vi Table of Contents Examining Committee Membership…………………………………………….………ii Author’s Declaration……………………………………………………………...........iii Abstract………………………………………………………………………………....iv Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………………...v Dedication……………………………………………………………………………....vi Table of Contents………………………………………………………………….…...vii List of Figures…………………………………………………………………….…….ix Introduction……………………………………………………………………..……….1 Chapter 1: Lacan, Film Theory, and Nolan…………………………………………....19 1.1 Introductory Statements………………………………………………….…...19 1.2 Subjectivity Before Lacan………………………………………………….…20 1.3 The Lacanian Subject, the Real, and Anamorphosis……………………….…28 1.4 Lacanian Film Theories and Ideology………………………………………...57 1.5 Nolan and the Irruption of the Anamorphotic Real…….…..……….…...........67 Chapter 2: The Loop of Desire in Memento………..……………………………….…73 2.1 Introductory Statements………………………………………………………73 2.2 The Unconscious Core of Desire……………………………………….….…74 2.3 The Objet Petit a and Transgression of the Symbolic Order…………………78 2.4 The Big Other and Leonard’s Subjectified World……………………………88 2.5 The Intrusion of the Real in Death and Dreams………………………………97 Chapter 3: The Unconscious Core of Magic in The Prestige………………………...110 3.1 Introductory Statements……………………………………………………..110 vii 3.2 Magic Acts and the Annihilation of the Original……………………………111 3.3 Manifestations of the Imaginary and the Intrusions of the Real…………….119 3.4 Ideological Considerations of Self-Annihilation and Sacrifice……………...130 3.5 Narrative Structure as an Anamorphotic View of Filmic Image…………….135 Chapter 4: The Dark Knight and Radical Politics of the Real………….…………….144 4.1 Introductory Statements……………………………………………………..144 4.2 Gotham’s Dark Knight and the Fantasy at the Core of Capitalism……….…145 4.3 When the Real Betrays the Void of the Symbolic…………….……………..157 4.4 The Anamorphotic Surplus and the Subversion of the Film………………...173 Chapter 5: Inception’s Impossible Encounters………………………………….……178 5.1 Introductory Statements…………………………………………….….……178 5.2 The Endless Core of Dreams and the Endless Path of Desire……………….179 5.3 Traumatic Encounters with the Missed Reality………………………….….194 5.4 Paradox as a Hole in the Symbolic Order………………………………...…203 Chapter 6: The Blurred Vision of the Real in Interstellar……………………………210 6.1 Introductory Statements………………………………………………………210 6.2 The Dust as a Stain in the Picture………………………………………….…211 6.3 Science as an Accomplice of Capitalism…………………………………..…218 6.4 The Illusory Other and the Doomed Promise of Desire…...…………………222 6.5 The Anamorphotic Surplus: Rethinking Consciousness………….…..……...232 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………239 References......………………………………………………………………..………246 viii List of Figures Figure 1. Hans Holbein, The Ambassadors, 1533…………………………………………2 Figure 2. Memento: shot 1…………………………………………………………….…81 Figure 3. Memento: shot 2……………………………………………………………….81 Figure 4. Memento: shot 3…………………………………………………………….....81 Figure 5. Memento: shot 4……………………………………………………………….81 Figure 6. Memento: shot 5……………………………………………………………….83 Figure 7. Memento: shot 6…………………………………………………………….…83 Figure 8. Memento: shot 7……………………………………………………………….83 Figure 9. Memento: shot 8……………………………………………………………….83 Figure 10. Memento: shot 9……………………………………………………………...87 Figure 11. Memento: shot 10………………………………………………………….…87 Figure 12. Memento: shot 11………………………………………………………….…87 Figure 13. Memento: shot 12…………………………………………………………….87 Figure 14. Memento: shot 13………………………………………………………….…90 Figure 15. Memento: shot 14………………………………………………………….…90 Figure 16. Memento: shot 15…………………………………………………………...104 Figure 17. Memento: shot 16……………………………………………………….…..104 Figure 18. Memento: shot 17…………………………………………………………...104 Figure 19. Memento: shot 18…………………………………………………………...104 Figure 20. The Prestige: shot 1………………………………………………………....121 Figure 21. The Prestige: shot 2…………………………………………………………121 Figure 22. The Prestige: shot 3………………………………………………………....121 ix Figure 23. The Prestige: shot 4…………………………………………………...…….121 Figure 24. The Prestige: shot 5……………………………………………………...….142 Figure 25. The Prestige: shot 6……………………………………………………...….142 Figure 26. The Prestige: shot 7……………………………………………………...….142 Figure 27. The Prestige: shot 8……………………………………………………...….142 Figure 28. The Dark Knight: shot 1………………………………………………….....154 Figure 29. The Dark Knight: shot 2………………………………………………….…154 Figure 30. The Dark Knight: shot 3…………………………………………………….162 Figure 31. The Dark Knight: shot 4………………………………………………….…162 Figure 32. The Dark Knight: shot 5………………………………………………….…162 Figure 33. The Dark Knight: shot 6…………………………………………………….162 Figure 34. The Dark Knight: shot 7…………………………………………………….171 Figure 35. The Dark Knight: shot 8…………………………………………………….171 Figure 36. The Dark Knight: shot 9………………………………………………….…171 Figure 37. The Dark Knight: shot 10…………………………………………………...171 Figure 38. The Dark Knight: shot 11………………………………………………...…175 Figure 39. The Dark Knight: shot 12…………………………………………………...175 Figure 40. The Dark Knight: shot 13…………………………………………………...175 Figure 41. The Dark Knight: shot 14………………………………………………...…175 Figure 42. Inception: shot 1…………………………………………………………….199 Figure 43. Inception: shot 2…………………………………………………………… 199 Figure 44. Inception: shot 3……………………………………………………….……204 Figure 45. Inception: shot 4…………………………………………………………….204 x Figure 46. Inception: