Psychoanalysis

“Tell me about your mother…”

Freud said…

• The psyche is divided in two:– Conscious (your mind and thoughts

you control!)– Subconscious (drives the conscious

mind, but you aren’t aware of it.)

Purpose of psychoanalysis:

• To figure out what makes a character tick

• Use what is happening in a character’s subconscious to determine their actions, motivations, etc…

• Show change in a character through conflict in his/her subconscious

• To identify and explain personality disorders and their effects

More Freud• Children have several distinct stages of

development (this was a new idea)• Interventions (good & bad) during these

stages can lead to disorders in later life• What the ego and superego tell us NOT

to do or think gets forced into the unconscious mind. This is called repression.

• The things we’ve repressed emerge in dreams, language, and artistic expression

Parts of the mind:

• Id, ego, super ego

Id

• Identify a character’s subconscious at work:

• Food, sex, violence

• Impulse/temper• Does not care

about what others think

Superego

• The morals and ideals we’ve been taught in society, by family, etc.

• help others first; make sacrifices

• do what is best for society

• That voice outside of ourselves that judges our actions

• Can make you neurotic

Ego

• The rational, conscious part of our mind

• Healthy balance of id and superego

• The ego is bound by society’s rules, but is logical

How do I analyze?

• Look for past events that motivate a character– Traumatic events– Many smaller events that may have had an

impact.

– Infer how these events may have shaped the character

• Identify which aspect of the mind is driving a character (id, superego, ego)

Put it into practice

• While you watch Seinfeld: “Soup Nazi” look for:– Characters motivated by their:

• Id• Ego• Superego

– Implied or stated past events which shaped the characters’ present

• Later: personality disorders!