A Necessary Moment of Self-Reflection
Upon deciding that the film Coraline was going to be the subject of my research project, as briefly mentioned in my first research log entry, I frantically rewatched the movie in an attempt to see if a particular element of the film stuck out to me.
I soon realized that I had a very hard stuck interpretation of the story; I was going to have a hard time settling on a topic if I did not open myself up to ideas that opposed my own.
The film prominently features the idea of two parallel worlds: a disappointing reality and an "fictional, but idealistic" one. I knew I wanted to talk about this idea, but I was too caught up on the interpretation that the latter world was NOT a figment of Coraline's imagination.
. . .
It is a popular opinion of the movie audience that the world behind the little door is not merely a fantasy, this is because we want to sympathize with Coraline; throughout the movie, characters fail to actively listen to her and undermine her feelings; she is repeatedly told by others that her experiences are "just dreams."
I fell victim to this narrative, and if I am being honest, I still like to believe the other world is not a fictional one. Still, this reflection allowed me to open my eyes and realize, I know exactly what my research topic should be...
"You probably think this world is a dream come true, but you're wrong."
Paracosm...
(noun) An intricate and detailed fantasy world, thought to be created by children, which features fictional human and nonhuman characters.
The Best of Two Worlds
As suggested by a few speakers who presented at the UROP/Humanities Core Research Symposium, the easiest way to get this research paper done is to write about something that I am naturally interested in. I have established Coraline as the main subject of my research, but what other topic intrigues me?*
In the most recent Humanities Core lecture I attended, Professor Roberg discussed the different ways one can approach a research paper; they helped me realize that the humanistic approach is very broad and allows for the incorporation or discussion of other subjects outside of those in Humanities.
So the question* became easy to answer; I thought some more about the feature of the two parallel worlds in the film and realized, this idea works almost perfectly with a certain sub-topic of psychology, psychoanalysis. To elaborate, I am a (passionate) psychology major and I really loved chapters or units in my classes that covered psychoanalysis.
It can be easily argued that the two parallel worlds exist as a result of Coraline's psyche; she is disappointed in her reality and manifests this ideal world, a paracosm, either through her imagination or dreams. I got excited at this topic and more specifically, all the things I could talk about including: the conscious versus subconscious, Freudian theory, psychology of dreams, etc.
I want to talk about the feature of the two parallel worlds in Coraline and how to interpret that feature using psychoanalytical ideas, including (and not limited to) Freud's theories and dream manifestation!
In my research paper, I hope to analyze Coraline's conscious and subconscious motives, her resulting behavior or actions, and the significance of her experiences.
Selick, Henry. Coraline. Focus Features, 2009.