Unheimlich

Freud, beloved godfather of the subconscious, described the uncanny as a sense of unease with the familiar or “unheimlich” literally “not at home” or creepy–an uncomfortable dissonant psychological state. When Kathleen O’Hara offers the familiar archetypes of a cozy 50’s home: a breezy curtained window, sweet wallpaper and cheery greeting cards, they make us feel surprisingly uncomfortable and anxious. The symbolism of ease and comfort don’t seem to be working and the uncanny is born. I’m reminded of Indiana Jones’ iconic scene of terror inside a fake 50’s home at a nuclear test site. The existential threat at hand evokes the lurking hidden power on the other side of the wall and yet the interior facade is quintessentially home-like. We see the paradox of a time when a clean orderly life was existentially threatened and manifested in the “duck and cover” anxiety of every child’s classroom.