Beschreibung

Join us for a monthly multimedia exploration of popular literature and film. Take a look at any bestseller list and you will notice that for decades thrillers have consistently topped them. This quarter we want to turn our attention to psychological thrillers – a subgenre that overtly explores memory, perception, morality, mental illness and reality itself. By incorporating elements of crime, mystery, horror and occasionally the supernatural, psycho-thrillers aim to generate tension and suspense. So, considering the extent of psychological manipulation in American politics today, we shall focus on the phenomenon of “psychic bullying“ or “gaslighting” – a tactic commonly used by sociopaths, narcissists, cult leaders and tyrants. The term originated with the play Gas Light and its subsequent screen adaptations. Over time, gaslighting manipulates victims into doubting their own memory, perception and sanity. In short, we shall probe the psychology of existential dread through classics of the genre and ask why audiences are drawn to nerve-shattering and nightmarish stories?

All dates:
4.9.: Patrick Hamilton, Gas Light (1938: film, 1944)
2.10.: Francis Beeding, The House of Dr. Edwardes (1927: film, Spellbound, 1945)
13.11.: Ira Marvin Levin, Rosemary‘s Baby (1967: film, 1968)
4.12.: Thomas Harris, The Silence of the Lambs (1988: film, 1991)

• Location: d.a.i. hall
• Admission free

Deutsch-Amerikanisches Institut Tübingen (d.a.i.)

Karlstrasse 3
72072 Tübingen

Lageplan