(sub)Text: Trauma and Repetition in Roman Polanski’s “Chinatown” (1974) | The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast | A Philosophy Podcast and Blog (opens in new tab)

Roman Polanksi’s 1974 film “Chinatown” seems to have little to do with its titular neighborhood, which is the setting for only one horrible and final scene. Chinatown functions instead to represent the traumatic moment that drives this story just because it is hidden from view—a place indecipherable even to the hard-boiled private investigator who has seen it all … the place he doesn’t go … the place that bothers him to talk about … the place where inaction and evasion are the only ways to av...