Sigmund Freud

Psychoanalysis is a way of understanding our subconscious and unconsciousness. It tries to show what makes us do certain things.

Although psychoanalysis was originally developed by Sigmund Freud, many academics apply it today through the work of Jacques Lacan. Lacan called this the ‘Mirror Stage’s‘ if it reflects who we are what our place in this world is.

We define ourselves with what we are not

The founder of Psychoanalysis was Sigmund Freud and others have developed his ideas through the years, Freud believed that dreams had meaning and that they could be interpreted. In other words, they showed all more about what is going around in your brain.

He believed that we are driven by a “pleasure principle” in which we want easy rewards. While this is permissible in babies, if this principle continues into adult life it will lead us to dangerous behaviours.

According to Freud our minds have 3 parts which had constant conflict

ID -> this is our animalistic self who wants gratification.

THE EGO

THE SUPEREGO – > our supreme self, the logical and intelligent part.

The Virgin whore Dichotomy

This theory was based upon men who were unable to find women sexually attractive if they showed that they were good, however they could not trust women who showed that they were bad. This put men and women in a position where women would have to adapt to either the Madonna or the whore persona, but not both. Which left men in anxiety.

“Where such men love they have no desire and where they desire, they cannot love” (Sigmund Freud, 1916)

The Oedipal/Oedipus complex

This theory is based on how we all prefer one parent over the other.

This is also based off a Greek tragedy of Oedipus who accidently killed his father and married his mother without knowing that they were his parents. This largely concerns male children who are completely dependent on their mother, as she fed them and nurtures them.

Infant want to have their mother’s attention, so they see the father as a threat, and want to remove them.

In addition, infant slowly become aware of the fact that later in life they will also have a companion much like their mother. This sexual confusion causes them to panic. Sometimes, the daughter resents the mother from the way the mother’s relationship with the mother.

The theory has been developed to suggest that men get ‘womb envy’ and women get ‘penis envy’.

These issues are often in films, not literally but symbolically. For example, the male character might become obsessive of female characters who represent a matriarchal figure, or they resent other male characters who represent patriarchal figures. For females, it is portrayed as a female character becoming obsessive over a patriarchal male character, and resenting matriarchal female characters.