Id, Ego and Superego and Their Resemblance in Film

Id, Ego and Superego and Their Resemblance in Film

The id, ego, and superego are three aspects of Freudian psychoanalysis, representing different personalities of the human psyche and behaviour (Fillit, 2017). This theory was established by Sigmund Freud, an Austrian neurologist. The theory not only left a mark on psychology but also on cinema. From thrillers to dramas, filmmakers use the id, ego, and superego to create unforgettable stories that dive deep into human nature. In this blog, we’ll explore how some classic films bring Freud’s theory to life. We will start with a quick look at what the id, ego, and superego are before getting into how they are shown on the big screen.

According to Sigmund Freud, our mind can be divided into three levels of consciousness, these are the unconscious, preconscious and conscious mind. 

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)

The Id

The Id is the one that operates in the unconscious part of our mind. This is the part that is often described as the ‘devil’ on our shoulder because it is selfish and all it wants is satisfaction and pleasure, such as sex and eating (Freud, 1920). Freud describes this as the pleasure principle (Freud, 1920). When the id gets what it wants, we get a sense of pleasure, and when it is denied, we experience ‘unpleasure’ or tension (McLeod, 2024).

The Superego

The superego is mostly unconscious, this is because it is the unconscious part of the mind that acts as our inner voice of conscience, guiding us to do what is morally right (McLeod, 2024).  In contrast to the id, this part of our mind is often pictured as the ‘angel’ on our shoulder telling us to do the things that are morally right. It operates on the moral principle.

The Ego

Finally, the ego. The ego is the conscious mind and the mediator between the id, and the superego. The ego operates on the reality principle. It is the mediator between the two because it tries to satisfy both the id and the superego (McLeod, 2024). 

This is an example of how the ego works in real-life situations: You don’t feel like going to the gym, you’d much rather stay home and relax (that’s what the id is saying because it wants only satisfaction). But your superego is reminding you of your goal to achieve your dream body, pushing you to go (superego reminding you of what’s morally right and good for you). Then the ego comes in with a compromise to satisfy the two: head to the gym now, and then reward yourself after by relaxing. In this way, both your mind’s need for relaxation and your goal of a dream body were both satisfied thanks to the ego.

Id, Ego and Superego in The Dark Knight (2008)

In the film The Dark Knight (2008), the characters show the ideas of the id, ego, and superego in interesting ways, especially through the battle between Batman, the Joker, and Harvey Dent.

The id in this film is clearly represented by the character of the Joker. He takes all his decisions without thinking much about what’s good or what’s bad. He bases all his decisions on instinct and on his primal self. If he needs to do something bad for him to survive, he will do it no matter what. His selfishness and violent actions are driven purely by the need for satisfaction, just like the id.

The Joker (Id)

The superego in this film is represented by the character of Harvey Dent. He wants everything perfect in the city of Gotham. He wants no crime at all, and his decisions are only based on what’s morally right. Later in the film, Dent’s fiancée, Rachel Dawes, is murdered by the Joker. Batman reaches Dent first, to save him from the explosion, but not before half of Dent's face is burned. This traumatic event and the death of Rachel caused Dent to turn into the villain, Two-Face. After turning into Two-Face, he abandons all his morals (superego) that he had before and becomes a villain, like the Joker (id).

Harvey Dent (Superego)

Lastly, the ego is Batman. He wants what is morally good for his city of Gotham, he wants to reduce the crime not get it completely gone, he is being realistic (ego) here not like Harvey Dent (superego). Batman is the ego because he has some of the id as well. He gets satisfaction through beating up criminals but holds back from going overboard, like killing them like the Joker and Two-Face. By having balance, he can restrain crimes that Dent could not, yet still let out his rage in a controlled manner, which the Joker could not (Drouillard, 2015).

Batman (Ego)

In conclusion, Freud's ideas about the id, ego, and superego give us an interesting way to understand why movie characters do what they do. This approach adds more depth to storytelling by showing how our everyday basic urges, morals, and real-life choices interact.

 

Reference List:

Drouillard, E. (2015). Freud’s Super-Ego and Nolan’s The Dark Knight. [online] Writing. Available at: https://edrouillard.wordpress.com/2015/11/05/freuds-super-ego-and-nolans-the-dark-knight/.

Fillit, H. (2017). Freudian Theory - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics. [online] www.sciencedirect.com. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/freudian-theory.

Freud, S. (1920). Beyond the pleasure principle. Mineola, New York: Dover Publication, Inc, pp.1–64.

Gohain, O. (2023). 10 Films With the Freudian Trio. [online] MovieWeb. Available at: https://movieweb.com/films-with-the-freudian-trio/.

McLeod, S. (2024). Freud’s Theory of Personality: Id, Ego, and Superego. [online] Simply Psychology. Available at: https://www.simplypsychology.org/psyche.html.