Verified Document

Intra-Psychic Viewpoint Term Paper

Freud, Jung and Star Wars The Star Wars movies, especially the first three, are clearly a type of myth written to demonstrate archetypal personalities. The characters are driven by their behavior, so what they do and why they take the actions they take can be used to analyze their characters in terms of Jungian and Freudian theories.

In the Empire Strikes Back, many of the characters are acting out of great personal need or personal striving, and many of them fit fairly well into Jung's theory or archetype personalities.

The "Self" is the highest form a personality can take, well integrated and centered. To become a self-actualized Self is Luke Skywalker's goal and the final achievement of his mentor, Obi-Wan Kenobe. In an interesting twist, Darth Vader also sees himself that way. He believes self-actualization can be either good or evil, and finds evil more powerful and rewarding.

Most viewers will identify with heroes, so most will see Luke Skywalker as the hero, and Darth Vader as the shadow. The hero often has to fight the Shadow in the story. The hero is often very naive, so we see Luke not realizing who his father is, not realizing who his sister is, and overestimating how well his Jedi skills are.

The Shadow, by comparison, is connected more to our animal past, and isn't self-aware. The movie talks about the "dark side" of the Force, and the Shadow could be viewed as the dark side of an individual. By itself the Shadow...

Later that role is turned over to Yoda, who is both ancient and wise.
Lando might be viewed as the "trickster." He lures Luke and Leia into a trap so they can be captured by the Emperor's forces as an act of self-preservation, but he also acts as a loyal friend at other times.

The mother might be Leia, fiercely defending those she loves, grieving for an entire planet's population, and guiding those around her with a wisdom more mature than theirs.

Luke and Han might be viewed as sons. Luke would be a Type A individual, driven to do the very best he can and never satisfied with what he has accomplished so far, always focusing on the next goal. Han might be more like a Type B personality, although a flawed one. He is more easily satisfied by whatever circumstances he is in and often not driven to super-achievement.

The Persona, or the parts of ourselves we reveal to others, is sometimes misleading. Lando might give a good example of the persona. Before he greets Han when they land on his planet, he has already been in touch with the Emperor's representatives. He pretends to welcome Han as…

Sources used in this document:
Sources

Boeree, C. George. " Carl Jung." BioWeb. Accessed via the Internet November 3, 2002. http://www.studiocleo.com/librarie/jung/boeree1main.html

British Psychological Society (BPS).

2001. "Freudian Therapy." Freud: the Id, Ego, and Superego. Published on the Internet by PsycheNet-UK. Accessed via the Internet November 3, 2002. http://www.psychnet-uk.com/psychotherapy/psychotherapy_freudian.htm.

Lukas, George. The Empire Strikes Back. Produced by LucasFilm. ISBN 0-7939-6098-3
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Relationship and Development of Child's Personality --
Words: 1765 Length: 5 Document Type: Term Paper

relationship and development of child's personality -- developmental theories in Integrative psychotherapy and their use by working with clients The foundation of our daily lives is created on the relationships that we have with other people. This contact with others, a feeling of reverence it produces and the relational needs it satisfies are all the requirements for us. Our capability to make complete contact with others is frequently disturbed as

Object Relations Theory
Words: 2900 Length: 10 Document Type: Term Paper

Object Relations Theory What exactly is 'Object Relations Theory'? What does it deal with? What is it about? The Theory as such is based on the belief and conviction that every single person has within themselves a completely world of relations and relationships that may well be quite different and at times even infinitely more compelling and forceful and convincing than what actually is happening in their real world filled with

Anthropology Historical Foundations of Anthropology
Words: 7138 Length: 23 Document Type: Essay

Gift giving creates a bond between the giver and the receiver. Mauss felt that to reject a gift, was to reject the social bond attached to it. Likewise, to fail to reciprocate is viewed as a dishonorable act in some cultures. Gift giving is a means to create social cohesion among the group. What Distinctive contributions did Weber make to social theory? Weber used his work to attempt to understand the

Clinical Psychology
Words: 60005 Length: 200 Document Type: Dissertation

Clinical Psychology Dissertation - Dream Content as a Therapeutic Approach: Ego Gratification vs. Repressed Feelings An Abstract of a Dissertation Dream Content as a Therapeutic Approach: Ego Gratification vs. Repressed Feelings This study sets out to determine how dreams can be used in a therapeutic environment to discuss feelings from a dream, and how the therapist should engage the patient to discuss them to reveal the relevance of those feelings, in their present,

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now