surrealism

This week’s readings were cool. I always have been interested in surrealism, the unconscious thought, and exploring the meaning of it. The First Manifesto of Surrealism touched on many different stimulating ideas. I thought Breton’s idea that “Forbidden is any kind of search for truth which is not in conformance with accepted practices” was especially important to the concept of surrealism. Before Freud came along and made lengthy contributions to the significance of the unconscious mind, it was not really accepted to study dreams or the unconscious or even merely explore it. Even today Freud’s theories are sometimes criticized for lacking relevance. I feel that some psychologists criticize Freud’s ideas because they are “forbidden” because it is not always the common psychological approach to work with dreams and the subconscious. Freud made great strides in examining the significance in dreams and subconscious thought and Breton reminds us how little we still know of those two and suggests great possibilities in abandoning the accepted practices and exploring this majorly misunderstood part of the mind.