Munch’s Scream

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Edvard Munch’s extraordinary 1893 painting The Scream consistently places near the top of various lists of the most recognised and impactful works of art. It’s an iconic image, imitated and parodied countless times.

The Scream transcends politics, of course, and resonates with its admirers for more enduring reasons. Munch depicted a universal human emotional experience, strikingly raw and vivid, with the skeletal and androgynous figure’s face devoid of nuance or subtlety. Yet the remarkable purity and nakedness of the image leaves much to the imagination, as the artist surely intended. Why is our subject screaming? What has driven him to such despair?

How many of us resonate with this image beyond artistic appreciation, but realise that our scream is internalised? Our outward expressions paints an image leaving those around us to arrive at their own conclusions. How many of us muffle the scream whilst wearing the mask of a smile?

Is it okay to scream openly?

Or is it better to keep it internalised?

Is it healthy to keep our scream inside?

Maybe your scream is ready to come out, but you just don't know how to do it. You may be afraid of what others may think, or who you may offend by screaming.

There's a reason why this image painted such a long time ago invokes such strong emotions even now. Munch could see what so many of us feel, but are afraid to indulge outwardly.


Wojciech Mach

Global Networker I Breakthrough coauthor | Consultant | Business partnerships

4 年

thanks Amando, scream sometimes is liberating, from some seminars experience i had it helped me to let go of some hidden unaware emotions, sometimes in the car i shout my incantations so my neighbours keep sane...:)

Amando Brown

Executive Director at BESTuition Ltd | Non-Executive Director | Executive Coaching | Public Speaker | Education Specialist | Leadership Development

4 年

Thank you for your insightful response Brigid. It certainly makes me wonder whether culture teaches us to internalise our natural outlet and as such suppresses our ability to fully express ourselves. The strangest part for me is that external scream isn't always negative! I appreciate your input as always. I've definitely learned from your response.

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Brigid Wells

Director of Clinical Services at Space To Thrive and Kintsugi Wellbeing

4 年

Wonderful article Amando! I've just run some training on the Polyvagal nervous system that helps us to scan for danger and safety; and screaming or sounding the alarm was the most immediate way of expressing our distress and need for care and attention, when we were infants. Depending on how well our needs were attended to, and how often, shapes our capacity to notice our needs and express them - or suppress them - and move into a 'collapsed' / withdrawn or 'frozen' state... Our nervous systems have had so much 'threat' to deal with in these Covid times - and 'business as usual' feels like a squashing of our healthy impulse to sound our alarm at the stress! Thank you for sharing!

Paul Kennedy

Principal, PGV Consulting

4 年

Hi Amando - many thanks for sharing. Interesting & thought-provoking. Personally, very rarely (only once or twice) have I felt the urge to scream (& even then, I didn't actually do it - no doubt for the reasons touched on in your message - conscious of what others may think, etc.). To do so, I feel as if it would represent a loss of control (& we all want to be in control, don't we!). Perhaps the answer lies in the question: By screaming, will I feel better afterwards? And the answer is probably yes! Thank you for causing us to pause & think about it! Paul K. Brisbane, Australia

Vanessa Brown

Director at DeliciousNess Nu

4 年

There are many ways to express how we feel, screaming being one of the most powerful as it expels harmful toxins that can build in our bodies and cause ‘dis-ease.’

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