‘Priscilla’: penis envy and men – 01/15/2024 – Vera Iaconelli

Freud was insistent when talking about the terror of castration that the boy experiences when he discovers that his mother does not have a penis, starting from the premise that we are all equal. Horrified to see that she was missing the remaining piece of flesh, the question remained as to what was so terrible the woman would have done to lose “the precious”.

Avoiding taking the same risk, the boy would be careful, stop competing directly with his father for possession of his mother and recognize that you cannot have everything in life. The girl, on the other hand, discovering that the boy has what she and her mother don’t have, would experience devastating resentment. What mother is this that didn’t give him what every kid is born with? Hence the need to get away from the traitor and seduce the father, who is the all-powerful holder of that.

The Oedipal scene can be interpreted in the most crude way, as above, to the most sophisticated. What underlies this forced plot is our incessant search to answer who we are and who or what we trust. Two questions whose answers our eternal anguish suggests are not available.

The first is because there is no consistency or stability in what we call ourselves and the second is because there is no guarantor of the guarantor. Hence, believing that someone can do anything, trying to keep them on that pedestal and making themselves smaller to fit in your lap is a failed trick that we try to do whenever possible.

In “Priscilla (2023)”, a film by Sofia Coppola, we see a 15-year-old girl in the 1960s being swallowed up by the irresistible image of the greatest singer of her time. No one is interested in seeing that Elvis is nothing more than a millionaire boy, surrounded by sycophants under the Colonel’s command — he even resembles a famous football player. Not even her zealous parents can resist Elvis’ charm and hand her over to the trash boy. The passing of the years and the birth of her daughter will have a liberating effect on her.

In “Education” (2009), a film by Lone Scherfig, we have a 16-year-old girl, also in the 1960s, with parents who are enchanted by her older, more sophisticated boyfriend. She becomes less interested in her studies, much to the chagrin of the modern teacher who sees her as a promising professional. Education is a film based on Lynn Barber’s autobiography that reveals the turn of the sexual revolution, in which women began to question the obligation of marriage and invest in their careers, reshaping the place of men in their lives.

“Fair Game” (2023), also directed by a woman, Chloe Domont, takes place 60 years later. In it, a couple of engaged couples in love work at the same finance company, where they have to keep their relationship confidential. The possibility of a promotion arises and gossip spreads that he would be chosen. They celebrate, after all, everything is in its place: the man’s status is preserved and his fragile ego will not be threatened, maintaining the balance of the relationship.

But behold, it is chosen, revealing that the order of factors changes the product. Both, each in their own way, are trapped in the same plot. The film exposes the logic of castration that Freud pointed out more than a hundred years ago, and which lies beyond the issue of the absence of a penis in women.

There we see how the weakened man, and not the woman, is the most frightening figure in castration. He is supposed to be “the” guarantor. Having overtaken him is disturbing for her too, who sometimes tries to recover his love at all costs, and sometimes identifies with the stupidity of the men in the office. On his side, all he can do is try to reduce it so as not to be forced to recognize its true size. A sexy and violent thriller, the film became a landmark for its bold final solution. I won’t give any spoilers, but if the dynamics of castration are perennial, the same cannot be said about the ways to overcome it. Unmissable

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