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Existential Anxiety in Contemporary Cinema: The Example of the Film “The Substance”
Abstract
This study conducts a psychoanalytic examination of Coralie Fargeat's "The Substance," analyzing its representation of existential anxiety within contemporary cinema. Framed by the theoretical lenses of Freud, Jung, and Lacan, the research investigates how the film translates its characters' unconscious dynamics, internal conflicts, and identity crises into a cinematic language. Employing semiotic analysis as a qualitative method, the study interprets selected scenes, visual motifs, and narrative structures. The findings reveal that the film powerfully reflects the existential dread individuals face in confronting mortality and meaninglessness, articulated through the tension between the body, societal norms, and the pursuit of an authentic self. The narrative forces its characters to confront the inner void of an existence reduced to mere physicality. This process signifies a transformative reckoning with the fragmentation and reconstruction of the ego. Ultimately, this analysis posits that cinema, as exemplified by "The Substance," can function as an effective psychoanalytic tool for concretizing and deciphering unconscious conflicts and existential anxieties, highlighting the productive dialogue between film and psychoanalysis in understanding body-centric existential dread.
Keywords
References
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Details
Primary Language
English
Subjects
Radio-Television
Journal Section
Research Article
Publication Date
December 25, 2025
Submission Date
October 30, 2025
Acceptance Date
December 21, 2025
Published in Issue
Year 2025 Volume: 18 Number: Sinema Özel Sayısı
APA
Tutar, H., & Diltemiz, M. (2025). Existential Anxiety in Contemporary Cinema: The Example of the Film “The Substance”. Selçuk İletişim, 18(Sinema Özel Sayısı), 24-50. https://doi.org/10.18094/josc.1813863
AMA
1.Tutar H, Diltemiz M. Existential Anxiety in Contemporary Cinema: The Example of the Film “The Substance.” JOSC. 2025;18(Sinema Özel Sayısı):24-50. doi:10.18094/josc.1813863
Chicago
Tutar, Hasan, and Merve Diltemiz. 2025. “Existential Anxiety in Contemporary Cinema: The Example of the Film ‘The Substance’”. Selçuk İletişim 18 (Sinema Özel Sayısı): 24-50. https://doi.org/10.18094/josc.1813863.
EndNote
Tutar H, Diltemiz M (December 1, 2025) Existential Anxiety in Contemporary Cinema: The Example of the Film “The Substance”. Selçuk İletişim 18 Sinema Özel Sayısı 24–50.
IEEE
[1]H. Tutar and M. Diltemiz, “Existential Anxiety in Contemporary Cinema: The Example of the Film ‘The Substance’”, JOSC, vol. 18, no. Sinema Özel Sayısı, pp. 24–50, Dec. 2025, doi: 10.18094/josc.1813863.
ISNAD
Tutar, Hasan - Diltemiz, Merve. “Existential Anxiety in Contemporary Cinema: The Example of the Film ‘The Substance’”. Selçuk İletişim 18/Sinema Özel Sayısı (December 1, 2025): 24-50. https://doi.org/10.18094/josc.1813863.
JAMA
1.Tutar H, Diltemiz M. Existential Anxiety in Contemporary Cinema: The Example of the Film “The Substance”. JOSC. 2025;18:24–50.
MLA
Tutar, Hasan, and Merve Diltemiz. “Existential Anxiety in Contemporary Cinema: The Example of the Film ‘The Substance’”. Selçuk İletişim, vol. 18, no. Sinema Özel Sayısı, Dec. 2025, pp. 24-50, doi:10.18094/josc.1813863.
Vancouver
1.Hasan Tutar, Merve Diltemiz. Existential Anxiety in Contemporary Cinema: The Example of the Film “The Substance”. JOSC. 2025 Dec. 1;18(Sinema Özel Sayısı):24-50. doi:10.18094/josc.1813863
