This essay explores the undermentioned statement from a psychoanalytical position: Persons with damaged or disabled organic structures may see serious emotional jobs and/or great bravery and finding. In researching this statement, illustrations will be provided from two of the movies presented in the series of ‘Minds Trapped inside Imperfect Bodies. ‘ A brief outline of these movies is provided, before presenting the psychoanalytical position and using it to these movies.
Children of a Lesser God, directed by Randa Haines in 1986, is a love narrative with the chief character, Sarah, being a 25-year old deaf adult female. Sarah is inexorable that she merely wants to pass on through mark linguistic communication, defying the oralist belief that deaf kids should larn to talk and lip-read. Sarah ‘s spouse Teachs deaf kids to talk, which causes tenseness between the coupl.
My Left Foot, directed by Jim Sheridan in 1989, tells the narrative of Christy Brown, an Irishman with intellectual paralysiss who was diagnosed as retarded for the first 10-years of his life. Christy can merely command his left pes and do croaky noises ( sounds articulated in the pharynx ) . He uses this left pes to make a calling as an creative person and author.
Introduction
The psychoanalytically informed position comprises a organic structure of theories depicting the relationship between witting and unconscious mental procedures. Theoretically, the psychoanalytic attack is formed around three cardinal constructs: the unconscious ; opposition ; and, transference. The unconscious is the cardinal construct, which can be described as a digest of ideas, feelings and experiences of which the person is incognizant, but which can attest through behavior. Resistance, in psychoanalytic footings, is the procedure that makes these ideas, feelings and experiences unconscious through the person forcibly quashing them from witting consciousness. Transference is the unconscious redirection of one ‘s ain feelings onto person else. At the nucleus of these constructs is the theory that behavior is determined by childhood experiences that are left in the unconscious head and to which the person is incognizant of. The theory emerged from Freud ‘s work on early childhood experiences ( Freud, 1895 ) .
When applied to the survey of persons with damaged or disabled organic structures and how they might see emotional jobs and/or great bravery and finding, the psychoanalytical positions provides assorted paths to understanding single experience. It provides insight into how to do sense of psychological factors related to disablement ( Mitchell, 1974 ) , every bit good as how societal and cultural factors shape this experience via alterity ( ‘otherness ‘ ) and the development of the ego in relation to others ( Burman, 2008[ 1 ]) .
Childhood Experiences
Harmonizing to Wallander and Varni[ 2 ]( 2003 ) , whether persons with damaged or handicapped organic structures experience serious emotional jobs and/or great bravery and finding will depend on their childhood experiences. This is supported in Children of a Lesser God, when Sarah admits that “ I ‘ve been aching since I was a small miss. ” In Sarah ‘s instance, the hurting that started in childhood persisted into maturity, the effect being that this made it hard for her to organize relationships through fright of sing more hurting. She had become so allergic to trouble that she developed what Freud would name ‘maladaptive defense mechanism mechanisms ‘ ( Freud, 1937 )[ 3 ]to protect herself from any more hurting. Maladaptive defense mechanism mechanisms are unconscious psychological procedures designed to keep self-image and aid people cope with their world. Sarah ‘s defense mechanism mechanism was to stay “ locked in a cherished silent palace, ” non allowing anyone enter her private universe. Indeed, this defense mechanism mechanism was so strong that she confidently professes that “ I do n’t ache from other people. ” By avoiding hurting, nevertheless, she is besides avoiding love and felicity. At an extreme, this could take to avoidant personality upset ( Oberlander, Schneier, and Liebowitz, 1994 ) .
During her childhood, Sarah was bullied by other kids when she tried to larn to talk and even her female parent said she “ sounded and looked atrocious ” when trying to talk. These experiences impacted Sarah negatively, making an association between speech production and negative reactions from others. This provides some penetration into why she harbours so much choler towards people who can hear and why she is so immune to talking. Talking has many negative associations for her.
In My Left Foot, Christy ‘s childhood experience is disputing but at the same clip more supportive than Sarah ‘s. Whilst Christy does hold troubles socially and with his male parent, despite being misdiagnosed as retarded, his female parent is confident that his head is unaffected. Her assurance in his turning abilities ne’er hesitations and therefore there is a focal point on his abilities, non merely his disablements. This empowers Christy to encompass his abilities, such as his ability to utilize his left pes to pull and compose. It is likely that because Christy was non treated as helpless, he did non experience or move incapacitated, hence his victory in his authorship and art. The bond between female parent and boy is a cardinal constituent of Christy ‘s bravery and finding, with this relationship being seen as cardinal in adaptative accommodation to disablement ( Seligman and Darling, 2007 ) . In My Left Foot, Christy ‘s female parent actively encouraged him in his art and authorship, learning him to read and compose the alphabet at a immature age.
Lacan ( 1995 )[ 4 ]theorised that kids with disablements form their individuality based on what they lack in respect to their disablement, which he termed being ‘symbolically castrated. ‘ The kid so develops a desire to get that which they are missing as a consequence of the disablement. This desire to get that which is ‘missing ‘ can be linked to get bying mechanisms and the grounds that some people cope by giving in and others cope by contending ( Moos and Holahan, 2007 ) . In Children of a Lesser God, Sarah ‘s ‘lack ‘ is made apparent to her at a immature age and throughout her maturity. In My Left Foot, nevertheless, much focal point is placed on what Christy does non miss, which, credibly, helps him to contend against any ‘lack ‘ ensuing from his disablement.
Alterity
The development of the ego in relation to others can present many deductions for people with damaged or disabled organic structures. As kids and grownups, how others experience their disablement finally impacts how the individual with the disablement experiences themselves ( Burman, 2008[ 5 ]) . In Children of a Lesser God, Sarah was blamed for her male parent departure, with her female parent admitting, “ You are right, I did detest you for driving him [ her male parent ] off. ” This created a fright of forsaking in Sarah that was apparent in her romantic relationship, where she continually feared being left if she did non run into her spouses oralist outlooks. This created a immense sense of force per unit area to be who she perceived her spouse wanted her to be. She was n’t who her male parent wanted her to be, and he left. She was n’t in understanding with her spouses oralist positions, therefore she feared a repetition of her childhood experience, a repetition that up until now she had defended herself against by non loving and non leting herself to be loved.
In contrast, in My Left Foot, the support of others helped construct Christy ‘s strong will and finding. With the support of his female parent and instructor, both of who believed in Christy and his endowments, Christy learnt to go to to physical undertakings and header with psychological troubles such as unhappiness and hurting. He was besides able to hammer a successful calling as a gifted painter, poet and writer. Without support from others during his childhood, it is questionable whether this could hold been achieved since people learn about themselves through others ( Burman, 2008[ 6 ]) . If others believe in a individual, they are more likely to believe in themselves. This is demonstrated within My Left Foot, where Christy self-educates himself and goes on to transcend the success of many non-disabled people.
Unlike Sarah in Children of a Lesser God, Christy is non pitied but accepted. In bend, Christy accepts his emotions and the ups and downs of life. Whilst Sarah represses and denies her hurting and the injury she has experienced by others, which is often reported in people with traumatic childhood experiences ( Terr, 2003 ) , Christy accepts his hurting and choler and directs it outwards via his art. In many ways, Sarah is denying her true ego, whilst Christy is accepting his true ego. It could be posited that this is a cardinal differentiation in footings of the emotional convulsion that is witnessed in Sarah versus the great will and finding witnessed in Christy ; they each express their emotions otherwise, Sarah directing them inwards and Christy directing them outwards.
Transference
It could be argued that the psychoanalytic construct of transference provides more insight into the non-disabled community than the handicapped, which in bend illuminates how this might impact people with disablements. Indeed, Watermeyer ( 2009 )[ 7 ]high spots how non-disabled people sometimes transfer their ain ideas, feelings, frights, and anxiousnesss about the disablement on to the individual with the disablement. In this sense, any sense of loss associated with the disablement, with loss being assumed as coexisting with disablement ( Freud, 1895 ) , is experienced as transference of the sense of loss that exists in the heads of others ( Evans, 1992 ) . The stigma associated with disablement has been linked to human antipathy to comprehending the organic structure as weak or vulnerable because of its reminder of mortality ( Becker, 1973[ 8 ]) . Therefore, disablement can take to reactions of commiseration or horror from others ( Marks, 1991 ) . Marks[ 9 ]( 1999 ) besides refers to this procedure as being of benefit to the non-disabled and moving as a ‘psychic final payment, ‘ via the chance to disinherit one ‘s ain anxiousnesss and frights by puting them onto the handicapped individual. Indeed, without the construct of disablement, there is no comparator by which people can measure their ain abilities and experience better about their ain fortunes.
In Children of a Lesser God, Sarah appears to hold contended with this signifier of transference for much of her life. As offered by Lacan[ 10 ]( 1995 ) , persons are, from the really beginning, defined by what they lack ; they are ‘symbolically castrated. ‘ For Sarah, who was born wholly deaf, she is likely to hold experienced no sense of loss until her inabilities were made apparent to her through others. Indeed, Sarah ‘s spouse appears to hold greater trouble accepting her hearing loss than she does. Sarah is content to be herself and be accepted in the relationship, but her spouse can non assist but feel for her, which makes her even angrier. A powerful message is portrayed when Sarah meets with a deaf community of friends and takes her spouse with her. It is here that Sarah is at her most comfy and is to the full prosecuting with people. She is relaxed and able to be herself. It is the outlooks of the hearing community that disable her, non the hearing loss. Sarah begins to ‘lack ‘ because others percieve her to be missing ( Watermeyer,[ 11 ]2009 ) . Interestingly, in this scenario, Sarah ‘s spouse feels like the ‘different ‘ 1 among them, showing how disablement is, in many ways, socially and culturally derived.
Such transference can ensue in handicapped people experiencing obligated to protect others from the lived, emotional, experience of their disablement ( Gallic, 1993 ) . Indeed, psycho-therapeutic work with handicapped people has shown the consistent presence of pent-up internal experiences which are hidden from external position, as a consequence of countenances of silence exercised in societal discourse ( Watermeyer, 2000[ 12 ]) . For illustration, turning away of speaking about one ‘s disablement can originate through experience and association, whereby such discourse has antecedently provoked anxiousness in others. Withdrawal can be a manner of supporting oneself from such reactions, every bit good as protecting others ( Watermeyer, 2000 ) . The psychoanalytical position besides shows how some handicapped people adhere to stereotypes of disablement comparing with dependence because this is expected of them. They internalise the function of ‘victim ‘ placed upon them, which becomes a disablement in and of itself ( Heatherton, 2003 ) .
Bing on the having terminal of the loss discourse built-in within society is one portion of the experience of handicapped people and the manner they deal with this can impact whether they have emotional troubles or bravery and finding ( Marks, 1999 ) . For illustration, whilst some people with disablements can go dependent by following the loss discourse and experiencing the demand to be soundless, pacifying and thankful to non-disabled people, others refuse to follow the stereotypes inherent within their disablement ( Watermeyer, 2000[ 13 ]) .
Resistance
Some people with disablements will be determined to be ‘not handicapped ‘ and travel in the complete opposite way to pigeonhole. This was surely evidenced within Children of a Lesser God, with Sarah demoing vigorous independency and stolidity. It was as though she felt force per unit area to specify herself in resistance to a stereotype. Sarah wanted to be seen as able to hold the same chances as other adult females her age. This is unhappily demonstrated in her confession that when she was younger she would hold sexual intercourse with male childs in order to turn out that she might non be able to talk like ‘normal misss, ‘ but she is still a adult female. This has resulted in a deep misgiving of others purposes towards her, a often reported result of sing early sexual brushs ( Davis and Petretic-Jackson, 2000 ) .
Related to the construct of opposition is the demand for control, which is frequently apparent within persons with damaged or disabled organic structures who, if they can non command their disablement seek to command their milieus ( Harvey and Miller, 1999 ) . For illustration, Sarah tries to keep control by declining to be told what to make. She states that “ I ‘ve decided no 1 can talk for me once more. Peoples do n’t cognize what I want or think. ” She expresses her understanding that relationships are about being two separate existences besides joined as one, saying to her spouse, “ You need to allow me be an I. Until so you ca n’t come in into my silence and cognize what it feels like to be me. ” This overpowering sense of solitariness, exacerbated by her conflict for independency comes from holding some inevitable trust on others when a disablement is present. Indeed, disablement can intend that some signifier of aid, nevertheless little, is required from others. Therefore, the opposition that can develop from a demand to turn out one ‘s abilities can make internal struggle in footings of one ‘s demands and wants ( Watermeyer, 2009 ) .
Where Sarah and Christy are similar is in their opposition to play the handicapped discourse. In My Left Foot, Christy resists his disablements, but in a manner that illustrates victory over hardship. Whilst Sarah internalises her choler, Christy externalises it and directs his defeats through his picture and authorship. Harmonizing to the psychoanalytic position, internalizing emotions can take to anxiety upsets and other abnormal psychology ( Southam-Gerow and Kendall, 2002 ) . This is non to state that Christy does non see emotional jobs. Indeed, at one point he becomes so down that he attempts self-destruction. However, he overcomes his emotional convulsion through his love of art and authorship, every bit good as through the support he receives from others.
Decision
In depth psychology, an attack that focuses on ability as opposed to disablement is likely to be less psychologically damaging to an person. Psychoanalytical surveies show that disablement is subjective and can be experienced in a figure of ways, including as a loss, every bit good as in an enriching manner. This has been demonstrated through the application of the psychoanalytic positions to two movies on disablement: Children of a Lesser God and My Left Foot. In peculiar, it appears that utilizing the psychoanalytic position critically, offers insight into the subjugation experienced by people with damaged or disabled organic structures. It is the manner in which these persons cope with this subjugation, as opposed to their disablement, that seems to hold the most influence over whether they experience serious emotional jobs and/or great bravery and finding. In bend, as indicated within the literature critiqued in this essay, get bying ability is influenced by childhood experiences, societal support, and other societal and psychological factors.
