Friday, May 7, 2010

Perchance to dream

Because I am supposed to teach a short-term course next year on dreams in literature and film, I have been thinking of my own strange dreams and they often involve the anxiety of being unprepared, especially to teach. After 45 years of teaching, my unconscious mind keeps telling me I am hopelessly disorganized, sloppy, and stupid, maybe even a fraud.

I wonder if my readers have similar anxious dreams worth sharing. (My e-mail is schiffhorst@yahoo.com unless you wish to leave a comment below.)

Hitchock turned his nightmares into classic films that scared millions: I think of Psycho, Rear Window, and Vertigo, probably his best movies. Salvador Dali is but one painter who has put his fantasies and dreams, often produced by large amounts of Camembert cheese, according to the artist, onto his surreal canvases. Dreams have inspired R. L. Stevenson, Mary Shelley, and countless other writers to produce masterpieces. I watched a Fellini movie last night and was reminded of his dreams. So this topic is overwhelming, and I am not sure how to approach it in a one-week course.

Dreams, after all, are so personal. Yet what is personal is supposedly universal.... I will have to return to this topic at another time.

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