Psychic Doubles & eXistenZ

 tags: mind-body, psychic doubles, visceral reactions, the real vs. the symbolic 

Article: Umbilical Cord iPhone Charger - In case you didn't get enough eXistenZ

eXistenZ is an uncomfortable movie. Despite the heads-up we got about the film’s bodily imagery at the end of class last week, I couldn’t help but squirm through much of the film. A good portion of the squirming might have been due to the terrible accents and the worse dialogue, but a good portion was definitely also due to the bodily imagery associated with the original gaming apparatus. And by a certain point in the film, I actually couldn’t help but physically react to the images on screen (specifically, I kept saying “Ow” aloud in anticipation of the moment when Ted cuts Allegra’s umbilical-cord-like connection to the diseased pod in the factory). A mild reaction, yes, but striking nonetheless, considering that nothing was actually happening to me – not IRL (in real life), anyway.