Thursday
4/4/24
Travel day. I'm writing this after settling in at the hotel where I'm staying.
When I left Chicago, it was snowing, and when I got off the plane in Fort Lauderdale, it was sunny. The temperature was in the 80s, and it was humid. My body was shocked by this.
Top of mind:
I've been reading the Emily Wilson translation of the Iliad (Amazon), and I'm thinking of how much of this story could be used for examples of psychoanalytic theory. (Psychoanalysts like their Greek myths and tragedies.)
The main thing that stands out to me now is how Achilles reacts when he finds out his friend Patroclus has been killed. Here, we see what happens when jouissance totally and completely escapes the Law and the social bond.
Achilles has a body event. He kills lots of people, he dams up a flowing river with corpses, he kills Hector, and desecrates his body by dragging it around the walls of Troy over and over and over.
In the moment, this brings Achilles so much enjoyment! But this enjoyment does not last, and Achilles will have to pay a price for indulging his blood lust.
I have a lot more to say about this, but I want to get outside and do some exploring. Maybe later.
Watching:
On the plane, I watched the film Showing Up by Kelly Richardt. I really like this kind of film because it is very true to lived experience. It is dramatic without being over-the-top dramatic, like so many big blockbuster films and TV shows.