Silence as Elective Mutism in Minor Cinema

This article advances mutism as a creative mode and conceptual tool to treat silence in cinema. Whereas mutism can be a productive concept for the study of auditory and visual absence in a broader theoretical framework, my focus here is on the silence of film characters. Drawing on correspondences between the critical and the clinical in Gilles Deleuze’s writing, I argue that adopting mutism as a tool of film-philosophy permits us to supersede traditional film analysis and examine silence not as an interpretive condition at the level of the plot but as a critical-clinical mode of experimentation related to the symptomatology of life. After presenting a brief clinical history of “elective” and “selective” mutism, I then draw on the suppressed understanding of “elective mutism”. I demonstrate that “elective mutism”, which might appear to be a negative and powerless disorder in its clinical presentation, transforms itself into an affirmative and empowering (dis)order that inspires creative experimentation in cinema. In postwar films with mute protagonists, such as Ingmar Bergman’s Persona (1960), “elective mutism” engenders a negative mode of existence in its symptomatology, which can be analysed according to the tenets of Theodor W. Adorno’s philosophy of negativity. By contrast, Deleuze’s philosophy of affirmativity and the concept of minor cinema allow for a renewed positive examination of “elective mutism” in more recent films with silent characters, such as Elia Suleiman’s Palestinian quartet (1996; 2002; 2009; 2019). Approaching minor cinema as both a cinema of experimentation and minoritarian cinema, I contend that in films made by minorities mutism becomes more pronouncedly “elective” in an affirmative sense. As a mode of protest and resistance, “elective mutism” is not only a rejection of the present status quo but also an expression of futurity. Finally, I maintain that the concept of “elective mutism” can relate to and stimulate the discussion of many contemporary sociopolitical phenomena.

Mental health promotion and co-evolution appreciation of familiar history: Case study

IntroductionThe developments of familiar therapy allows a systemic (collaborative) approach centered in what functions best in the system, integrating action plans which presupposes a family appreciation concept as a transformer system.Objectives/aimsPresentation of a family clinical case (X family) in which one of the members is diagnosed with “elective mutism”, this being labelled as a “a family problem” which led to familiar therapy.MethodsIn the therapeutic process we use a number of resources centered in family strengths as strategies directed to the solution and system change. We incorporate an innovating strategy, which we call “differentiated spectularity”, trying to make something different based on therapy concepts centered on solutions. The presentation of exceptions and the use of scales allowed us to monitor the change process.ResultsThe strategy materialization, where family members in their family environment saw the film of their latest session in a favourable context for the enlargement of their own vision as a family, allowed change expansion amplifying its complexity. The family members perceive themselves as having a moderate cohesion level, increasing the levels of adaptability, which places the X family in a “balanced” class. The family member with a diagnosis of elective mutism, after six months of family therapy, showed changes in withdrawal, anxiety and shyness behaviour.ConclusionsSharing family members different versions allows us to tell the story over and over again. The questioning emerging from the pro-active mirror effect is the core element of the change registered with incidence in the emotional and behaviour domains.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.