Applying Freud

 Film Use

So when talking about Freud the norm is to use his most iconic theory being that of the conscious and the id, ego and superego. Now in a previous post we already covered what these are and the general ideas behind how they work and what they typically represent, but how can they be applied to film?

Well lets use an example and apply the idea, so for now we'll use the film Ready Player One. So before we can begin an analysis we need to identify the who in terms of the psyches, this helps us to get a better understanding and maybe an easier time in said analysis.

So lets get down to it, the Oasis from the film would be a good place to start and can be a good representation of the id, in the film its a place that basically designed to fulfill desires with seemingly no restrictions to the what or how. 

As I mentioned previously the id is unconscious part of desire and this space is all about fulfilling and representing that desire to be anything, which is actually best shown off within the trailer for the film. The location is actually preferred than regular life and is portrayed in the film as the ideal location to be compared to the actual setting of the film.

So with the idea of the id lets go to the opposite end of the scale and look at the Superego. Within the film we see that there's a supreme ruling authority that's trying to gain control over the Oasis (or Id) and a good example of this is seen at the end of the film.

Where the protagonist and Simon Pegg's character argue over control of the Oasis and as previously discussed the superego is the counterbalance of the id on the scale so this could be seen as a great example of a visual metaphor of a battle between the two with the third in-between trying to appease both.

This in-between is normally the Ego but in this case its the main protagonist and its their job to try and find balance between the id and superego which is a message throughout the main portion of the film with finding the balance between the game world of the Oasis where they can indulge in their desires with the idea of the normal world and human interactions and rules.

This is also the ending message of the film. It's where they still allow people indulge in their desires (or granting satisfaction of the id) and yet still allow for the society to continue and for the rules as well as other things to carry on (or making sure that the super is given the satisfaction that it needs.