Psychoanalysis is the study of how the conscious and the unconscious mind interact, influencing a person’s personality, behavior, and attitudes. The psychoanalytical method of media analysis revolves around characterization but focuses even deeper than representations and symbols. The psychic mind of any given character of a story is divided into three realms: the id, which encompass all the instinctual passions, wishes, and desires, the superego, which dictates by morality, and the ego, which attends to self-preservation. As defined by Sigmund Freud, and other researchers since his time, the id and the superego are opposing forces in the psychic mind. The ego is the conscious mind, the superego is preconscious, and the id is unconscious. The three entities together make up what Freud refers to as a structural hypothesis of mental functioning.
Another important aspect of psychoanalysis is the idea that we use defense mechanisms, sometimes unconsciously, when reacting to anxiety inducing or distressing subjects or events. There are eleven defense mechanisms that correspond to specific descriptive behaviors that come from our unconscious: ambivalence, avoidance, denial, fixation, identification, projection, rationalization, reaction formation, regression, repression, and suppression.
The final significant aspect of psychoanalytical criticism is the concept of archetypes as characterization in media content. As defined by Carl Jung, archetypes are a universal theme found in dreams, myths, religions, and works of art. Archetypes exist independent of the personal unconscious of an individual. These are important because they contribute to the plot development.
Along with semiotics and marxism, building up analysis methods when consuming media content will result in better comprehension and deeper understanding of the role it plays in society.
Another important aspect of psychoanalysis is the idea that we use defense mechanisms, sometimes unconsciously, when reacting to anxiety inducing or distressing subjects or events. There are eleven defense mechanisms that correspond to specific descriptive behaviors that come from our unconscious: ambivalence, avoidance, denial, fixation, identification, projection, rationalization, reaction formation, regression, repression, and suppression.
The final significant aspect of psychoanalytical criticism is the concept of archetypes as characterization in media content. As defined by Carl Jung, archetypes are a universal theme found in dreams, myths, religions, and works of art. Archetypes exist independent of the personal unconscious of an individual. These are important because they contribute to the plot development.
Along with semiotics and marxism, building up analysis methods when consuming media content will result in better comprehension and deeper understanding of the role it plays in society.
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