Fear and Desire: The Psychology of War and the Conflict Within

By Tim Madsen

Fear and Desire: The Psychology of War and the Conflict Within is a provocative and deeply analytical exploration of Stanley Kubrick's rarely discussed first feature film. Long overshadowed by his later masterpieces, Fear and Desire is here reexamined not as a cinematic footnote, but as the psychological and philosophical blueprint of a visionary director's career.

Across ten essays, this book unpacks the film's abstract war setting, fractured characters, and minimalist storytelling to uncover Kubrick's early meditations on fear, madness, identity, and moral ambiguity. Drawing on film theory, psychology, existential philosophy, and Kubrick's evolving cinematic language, the work situates Fear and Desire as the genesis of the filmmaker's cold, clinical gaze on humanity and conflict.

This is not just a book about a war film-it is a study of war as a state of mind. From the destabilizing use of sound and space, to the symbolic violence of language and silence, the book offers a compelling argument: that Kubrick's first film contains in embryonic form all the contradictions, anxieties, and obsessions that would define his greatest works.

Perfect for film scholars, Kubrick enthusiasts, and readers interested in the intersection of cinema and psychology, Fear and Desire: The Psychology of War and the Conflict Within challenges us to reconsider where one of cinema's most enigmatic minds truly began.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0FJ8Z3WQT
• ISBN13: 9798293384372
• Release Date: July 2025
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 34 Pages
• Weight: 0.23 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.1" x 8.5" x 11.0"