Freud's Theory of the Self in Film

Theory of the Self

Theory of the self also known as personality theory created by neurologist Sigmund Freud in 1923, which stated his belief that peoples personalities/consciousness or psyche were split into 3 parts the Id, Ego and Superego which form us as human beings by balancing desires with the rules of morality and society as we grew and developed through time/age. Simplypsychology.org

verywellmind.com

Freud believed that society dictates and controls pleasure wants needs through neurotic distractions and cultural beliefs that suppress pleasure, that society itself causes the necrosis that makes us feel bad like depression, anxiety, etc. As without the constrictions of society we would follow are natural dispositions we innately have (Ego, Superego and Id). Films use these examples to portray these dispositions and elements of ourselves through characters and settings however these morales, mindsets and experiences from the creator cannot portray the individual psyche of each viewer due to our different perspectives on life.

He believed that our desires could be broken down through Psychoanalysis which is the theory/therapy which seeks to bring our unconscious mind repressed fears/conflicts into the conscious selves with dream interpretation and free association, moments when the unconscious self showed its desires through action (error in speech, etc.) was called a parapraxis later coined as a Freudian slip.

I'm going to breakdown this theory by defining each of these three sections of our selves and use a film as an example of how this is represented in the cinema through the characters in a narrative.

verywellmind.com

Id, Ego, & Superego by PsychU

   

PSYCHOTHERAPY - Sigmund Freud by The School of Life

Id

The primal urges and instinct of a person first developed during adolescence of newborn children.

This stage of development is where the Id is created and is considered the Oral Stage (Birth to 1-year-old) of Freud's psychosexual theory where they are entirely Id as they seek to achieve the primal needs of survival and self-satisfaction. In the film, this is often represented by the devil on the shoulder of a character whether it be the antagonist of a film who fulfils there own desires and chooses to break moral and societal laws to achieve them, only caring for themselves for the most part.

Examples of Id in Films and TV:

No Country for Old Men (2007)

Anton Chigurh is an example of Id in the Film No Country for Old Men as he is a murderous psychopath who kills everything and anyone in the way of his gaol using fate and chance to decide the fate of his victims Anton embodies the Id as he follows only his own desires and ignores all morales and social boundaries that a Superego would provide. He is often noticed as the face of chaos and the most accurate depiction of a psychopath in cinema.

Lucifer (2016 to 2020)

In the show, Lucifer, the character of the same name embodies the Id as he is unfiltered never lying and fulfilling all his cardinal desires that being the literal devil entitles without any shame or guilt as he plays off the superego Detective Chloe Dekker. Unlike other examples of the Id Lucifer is an example of a hero as he uses this lack of shame and filter to live life to the fullest and to help stop crime. Despite being the actual devil who has been unfortunately marked as the ultimate evil.

Pirates of the Caribean Franchise (2003 to 2017)

Captain Jack Sparrow is another prime example of Id as he stumbles through situations as a chaotic entity his androgynous costume and general demeanour seek's his own desires, wanting to be free to sail the ocean he lacks shame and has overbearing confidence in himself allows him to get the upper hand on his enemies. He is freedom incarnate as like Id he just seeks one pleasure to the next forever seeking the next thrill for fear of losing his untethered lifestyle.

Technical Analysis of Id Example:

Beetlejuice (1988)

Mise en Scene:

The Costume/Makeup is used in this scene make Beetlejuice the embodiment of Id, his green hair which is often used to represent harmful substances like acid and poison as a symbol of untamed nature, which is further instated by the use of fungus-like makeup on the sides of his face. This Colour represents Id due to its link to our volatile natural impulses in all are minds in Freud's Theory of the Self. This is also showcased through the choice of Costume with his tattered wool coat and a red button-up shirt, the coat being tattered makes him seem uncivilised and animalistic due to its contrast with the more sophisticated clothing of the Maitlands neat and proper clothing, once again linking to the feral aspect Id plays in our minds. When compared to the Colours in Beetlejuices clothing to the Maitlands Beetlejuices clothing is darker making him seem more sinister symbolising the darker thoughts and feeling in our minds which is the state of the Id when compared with Ego and Superego.

The Performance of Micheal Keaton as Beetlejuice establishes the character as a symbol for Id, as he portrays a rude, vulgar perverted character. From his gruff voice where he uses grunts as well as his overall body language as he mocks them by using rude gestures and belittles the Maitlands with his overbearing and uncomfortable proximity with unwanted hugs/contact with them. This combined with his uncensored attraction to Barbra when they meet as he kisses her and tries to look up her skirt indicates this character as filterless and a true embodiment of Id as he follows his every whim and desire towards the Maitlands as a sinful embodiment of untamed nature.

Camera:

When Beetlejuice appears to the Maitlands the camera switches from normal still static to moving to Handheld Camerawork showing how his chaotic impact of the characters as an unstoppable force of nature as it increases as he tries to bring the darker impulses from the Maitlannds as he asks if they want him to kill someone or possess and torture them. He is also shown in two different shots from a Low Angle, he has power over them as the Id he symbolises there inner desire to rid the family living in there house and represents the feral desire the Id represents in that same regard and the power these subconscious animal thoughts have on our minds and decision making.

Editing:

The use of Digital Effects in the scene establish Beetlejuice as Id with the use of CGI during the characters literal head-spinning scene as we see his head spin on its shoulders and scream uncontrollably. This represents the lack of control we have on our own Ids as individuals but also its use when he shows how he can be scary to the Maitlands showcases him as dangerous when the extended horrid appendages come out of his face and scare them we are reminded of our fears of our subconscious thoughts brought on by the Id we all share, accomplished with its use of Fast Motion making Beetlejuice seem supernatural and more powerful than the Maitlands as a primal force of chaos capable of anything.

Super-Ego

An ethical counterpart to the Id, Superego provided the learnt morality as we grow older as it applies the Reality Principle (risks and rewards) to our ego/subconscious so we can act within the rules of our world.

Rules and guidelines the principles of reality, by abiding by these rules of society causes neurosis by suppressing pleasures as the view of all societies is neurotic due to them constricting are natural instincts and urges but also is seen in media and in the theory of the self as necessary to keep us grounded and prevent us from committing acts of evil in the goal of self-pleasure. The counterpart to our devil (Id) the Superego is the angel watching out for us in order to keep our mistakes at the minimal.

Examples of Super-Ego in Films and TV:

Harry Potter Film Series (2001–2011)

Hermione Granger is a Superego especially in her friend group between Ron (Id) and Harry (Ego) she is the classic archetype of as she follows the rules to the letter and rarely uses her abilities for selfish desires, including her lack of ability to express her feeling to Ron throughout the series. She is the A-grade student as she wished to be the best in all aspects of the Wizarding world due to her insecurities about being a so-called "half-blood".

The Lion King (1994)

Mufasa is a Superego due to him following the circle of life as king to the animal kingdom, he respects the natural order of life in there home and acts as Simba's father/role model for how to become a great king. His death is caused by his brother Scar betraying the natural order to take his place which causes the Id of Scar and his Hyena army to cause chaos in their kingdom as they fulfil there own hunger and desires leading to famine for the kingdom as they disregard the circle of life and lose the stability and order Mufasa provided. 

The Devil Wears Prada (2006)

Amanda Presley is an example of a Superego antagonist as she strives for perfection from all who she works with as she is the brutal and cruel embodiment of the fashion industry as she berates everyone to be there best selves. But she follows the rules and keeps order as one slip up could mean disaster she is efficient, her career comes before all personal or self-interests as she teaches the audience about the downfalls of this lifestyle and how she suffers severe consequences to her personal life because of it.

Technical Analysis of Super Ego Example:

Interview with a Vampire (1994)

Mise en Scene:

Louie's Costume defines him as the Super-Ego as he is formal and put together with his outfit contrasting him with Lestat with his casual half-dressed ensemble as a symbol of order for the scene. Further infused by the Colours of his clothes being a clear white shirt and a green overcoat that looks black in the Natural Lighting, depicting the characters morales as being strict and un-wavering his clothes representing the Black and White morales Louie refuses to shed after becoming a vampire. He is the moral compass the Superego represents and the fact that the Costume is green when not shaded from the Low-Key Natural Lighting showcases how Louie still wishes to keep the natural order of life that green represents.

 The use of Props/Setting also indicates him as a metaphor for the Super-Ego as he rejects and smashes the wine glass filled with blood, showing his denial of Lestats Id as he wishes to corrupt Louie to his inner passions and a primal hunger to consume the ladies blood. And the Settings use of decore with the mirror highlights Louie as he stares at himself in the mirror showing how he is locking himself within its frame to prevent the desires coming to the surface.

The Performance of Brad Pitt as Louie as he actively denounces Lestats (Tom Cruise) who wishes to corrupt him by making him indulge in the carnal desire to consume blood displays him as humanity which is the most adept connection to the Super-Ego to Louie as it is always related to our connection to morality and the rules of our society, Louie knows that the act of drinking this woman blood is wrong so he stops himself from indulging to in his own words to keep his very "soul" intact.

Showcased through Brad Pitts uses of Body Language as he is rigid and straight to imply he is keeping himself composed and the use of Positioning from the other characters as he backs away and recoils from the woman and Lestat as he refuses to take part in this murder.

Camera:

The cinematographers use of Closeups on Louie to highlight his performance and his morality compared to the Medium Shots of Lestat who is absent of such barriers held by the Super-Ego as the Id. This distance from the camera and the audience shows how Louie still holds our morales as human beings compared to the isolated and sociopathic relationship Lestat has to humans as cattle for consumption.

The Composition of the shot of Louie staring in the mirror shows how he refuses to abandon the image of his former self, he wants to keep the morales retained from humanity and the fact that he retains his reflection in the mirror unlike some other tales of Vampires like in the film Van Helsing (2004) shows how unlike other characters like Lestat, Louie wishes to keep order between life and death and is still able to sympathise with humans retaining morality and the inner consciousness that is often linked to the idea of the Super Ego.

Ego

The balance between the urges of pleasure and reality it uses the Id and the Superego to make the best decision's for ourselves.

The ego acts as our self-balance between the Id and the Superego, finding the middle ground between these two opposing elements and is the neutral judge that keeps them both in order as it keeps you centred. Making sure that Id doesn't make you act out of the rules around you and that Superego allows you to accomplish your goals without the crippling fear and buckling in dread of breaking the rules we all learn to follow.

Examples of Ego in Films and TV:

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

The Writer is the ego of the narrative as he acts as the neutral spectator of the audience as we experience him learning the tale of the hotel at the same time we do as he judges the questions and occasional interrupts with questions eventually coming to care for the story and the characters within it.

Ferris Bueller's Day Off  (1986)

Sloane acts as the ego between Ferris (Id) and the Cameron (Superego) keeping the balance between the two of them and taking both of there advice throughout the film. She keeps order between the two of them just like an Ego should and switches between both of there sides during there arguments. Without her Ferris and Cameron wouldn't agree on anything and would most likely not be friends by the end of the film due to her reasoning skill and showcasing the perspectives of the characters as she keeps order.

Good Will Hunting (1997)

Sean Maguire is the therapist to Will in the film, throughout the film he switches between siding with Will (Superego) and Society (Id)  as he switches between being Wills friend and his therapist as he judges and slowly discovers his coping mechanism and eventually helps Will transform from a cynical superego who believes that the world will hurt him due to past trauma and helps him become an ego as he is able to get him to see the world and what he wants out of it. Sean is ego as he allows both parts superego and Id to be seen with Will and teaches him that despite the world being overwhelming (id) he has a place in it.

Technical Analysis of Ego Example:

Thoroughbreds (2018)

Mise en Scene:

The Performance of Anton Yelchin as Tim portrays his character as the Ego in the theory of the self as his dialogue tries to keep the balance between the characters Lily (Anya Taylor Joy) and Amanda (Olivia Cook) as he talks about patent trusting Lily as she is the symbol of the Superego but distrusting the Id represented by Amanda. However, we see him position himself between the other two characters painting them as the classic example of the angel and devil on their shoulder as he is convinced of what decision to make and when he attacks Amanda he succumbs to his natural desires of the Id.

Lighting also provides proof of Tim as the Ego as we see he is between the lighting of both Lily and Amanda who represent the Id and Superego with Amanda being shown in Low Key Lighting as the dark thoughts of the Id and Lily being lit in High Key Lighting representing the Super-Ego as it is clear and reflects the morality associated with this segment of the self from Freud's theory. As Tim is stuck in between these two light sources as the one keeping a balance between there ideas as the Ego and when he decides to use violence siding with the Id he moves into the low-key lighting and is consumed by it.

The Setting of a parlour space with an area overlooking the outside making the contrast between the spaces with there Lighting as I have previously stated. Lily standing in the white Coloured conservatory area which symbolises her visual innocence as the Super-Ego and Amanda in the interior decorated in shadow, this contrast between the outside and inside showcases the inner self and desires of the Id and the outer appearance and acts of the Super-Ego demonstrate in order for us to function in society. Tim stands in between these two borders/parts of the self literally in the doorway to both rooms as the Ego he tries to keep balance and him stepping into the interior away from the outside conservatory shows his decision to follow the Id.

Camera:

The shots in this scene carry a repeated Composition of showing Tim between the two other characters who represent the Id and Super-Ego invoking the idea of the devil and angel on the shoulders of individuals showcased in other media like The Emperor's New Groove (2000) however as the scene goes on we see them transition to more Over the Shoulder shots of Amanda looking at Tim showing how she is drawing him to follow his primal desire for violence which is exactly what she wants in order to gain power over him as the Id corrupting him as the ego and unbalancing his chracter.

The camera Zooms In on Tim as he is drawn further and further away from his path of the balance of his position of Ego and eventually ends in a Closeup as we see his emotions and the Id of Amanda takes control over his decisions and he ultimately choices to follow that and loses his position of power and control between them further emphasized by the High Angle shot (a position of weakness) he is shown from before he is knocked unconscious.

Editing:

Editing is also showed to highlight Tim as the Ego with Cuts/Shot-Reverse-Shot from his perspective mocking a P.O.V as he moves his head as he tries to make a decision and compromise between the Id and Super-Ego as the Ego, however, the shots then Cuts from his perspective to Amanda's symbolising the Ego's loss of control to the Id.

The Witch (2015) Theory of the Self Sequence

In The Witch Directed by Robert Eggers, this sequence follows the families eldest daughter Thomason after killing her mother in self-defence making a bargain with Black Phillip (the devil) to have a better life.

The scene uses the theory of the self as we Thomason act as an Ego to Black Philip's Id, as he tries to seduce her to make an infernal deal. This is symbolized through the scenes use of cinematic techniques like Mise en Scene like her Costume symbolising this with the put together conservative white nightgown of the period symbolising her as the superego with its link to innocence/purity and her commitment to god. But the red blood stains is metaphoric of her sins and passion meaning Id and as she converses with Philip it becomes clear she is having an internal struggle between siding with these two sides of her self (Id vs Superego). 

We also see the scene bring up Freud's thoughts on society, this is especially apparent in Black Philip's Performance and Dialogue to convince Thomason with promises of a better life as a society in Freud's opinion is innately neurotic as it causes unnecessary pain to those in it due to its restrictions and rules unnatural to us as animals, in this case, it also expands into Thomason's religion as despite praying and believing in god her life has not improved leaving her vulnerable to this temptation by Philip as she wishes to embrace pleasure and be enveloped by the Id he represents. This is added by the Costume of Philip as we see is dressed in spurred black leather gloves and a  tricorne hat in all black like a swashbuckler/pirate an entity based in Id as pirates in modern culture represent freedom to do what we like to sin and pursue pleasure without judgment.

The use of Natural Lighting in the scene showcases this battle between the vulnerable Ego of Thomason vs the Id of Philip as she is the only subject lit for the majority of the scene giving it an almost Butterfly Lighting technique appearancee to the shadow, by her being the only one visible due to the Low-Key Lighting around her developing the area in shadow we see the true battle of the scene between her free will as an ego represented by the light and the darkness and loss of self in the heresy and pleasure of the Id, and as the scene goes on we see the shine of the jewellery of Philip further enticing her to act in greed and self-interest and as he touches her we see his black gloves corrupt her pale skin as it further consumes her in darkness.

The use of the continuous Long Take Closeup of Thomason for this scene invokes imagery of the angel and devil on the shoulder we see her at a slightly Low Angle showing us that it is her decision and her decision alone to some to the devil's bargains as this angle represents her power to decide her fate. And as she accepts this bargain she disrobes throwing away and disregarding her control as the ego symbolised through this use of Costume, the use of diegetic whispers for Phillips dialogue further creates this feeling that he is the embodiment of our innermost desires the quiet whispers of desire we all have in our head. As he guides her hand to sign her book we see Thomason has accepted the chaos and the primal pleasure of satan as the scene uses Editing to transition by Cutting to her outside in the night as she walks naked into the dark wood being completely consumed by its darkness (Low-Key Lighting) and due to how vast it looks form the isolating Long Shot we know there is no turning back.

Overall this scene from the Witch shows the theory of the self as we see the balance of the ego and the free will to decide between our desires (id) and society (superego) with its use of Mise en Scene and harsh Natural Lighting/High-Key Lighting the seduction of Black Philips dark desires and through the use of Costume as she disrobes to embrace the primal nature of Id. As well as its use of the Camera as it uses isolating Long Shots to show her vulnerability and her debating the deception between ego and id and how society has driven her to want to experience a pleasure rather than abide by its rules of religion, etc.

My own Example of Id, Ego and Superego (4 Hour Film Challenge)

I think it accurately portrays the archetypes of the 3 elements of peoples personalities with my performance and use of colour and costume design however, I wish I could have perfected the clone editing technique.

Reference List:

Id, Ego and Superego Simplypsychology.org Written by Saul McLeod Updated in 2019 Available (Online):

https://www.simplypsychology.org/psyche.html#:~:text=Freud%27s%20personality%20theory%20%281923%29%20saw,or%20in%20any%20way%20physical.

Freud's Id, Ego, and Superego verywellmind.com Written by Kendra Cherry Medically reviewed by Steven Gans, MD on September 28, 2019, Available (Online):

https://www.verywellmind.com/the-id-ego-and-superego-2795951

Id, Ego, & Superego by PsychU, Jul 13, 2017, Available (Online):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRtItnRRV1M&ab_channel=PsychU

PSYCHOTHERAPY - Sigmund Freud by The School of Life, Nov 28, 2014, Available (Online):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQaqXK7z9LM&t=251s&ab_channel=TheSchoolofLife

No Country for Old Men (2007) Directed by Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

Lucifer (2016 to 2020) Created by Tom Kapinos

Pirates of the Caribbean Franchise (2003 to 2017) Directed by Joachim Rønning, Espen Sandberg, Rob Marshall, Gore Verbinski

Harry Potter Film Series (2001–2011) Directed by David Yates, Alfonso Cuarón, Chris Columbus, Mike Newell

The Lion King (1994) Directed by Rob Minkoff, Roger Allers

The Devil Wears Prada (2006) Directed by David Frankel

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) Directed by Wes Anderson

Ferris Bueller's Day Off  (1986) Directed by John Hughes

Good Will Hunting (1997) Directed by Gus Van Sant

The Witch (2015) Directed by Robert Eggers

Writing the Freudian Trio: Id, Ego, Superego Character Design LaScreenwriter.com Written by John Bucher Available (Online):

https://www.la-screenwriter.com/2016/05/25/writing-the-freudian-trio-id-ego-superego-character-design/

Beetlejuice (1988) Directed by Tim Burton

Interview with a Vampire (1994) Directed by Neil Jordan

Thoroughbreds (2018) Directed by Cory Finley