Planning:Psychology and Media

Sigmund Freud: Psycho analytical theory

Sigmund Freud is one of the Psychologists, who explains why we watch media. Freud was an Austrian Neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, who created an entirely new approach to the understanding of the human mind and personality. Freud was one of the most famous neurologist and he invented the theory of the psychic apparatus. The psychic apparatus is the human mind can be broken down into three main parts which govern our behaviour and this is and they are:

The Id

The Id is concerned with pleasure and hedonism due to this it cares little about consequences as it operates on instincts and impulse.

The Superego

The superego is concerned with the reality of consequences. It is highly aware of how others perceive it, and is constantly demanding that we act in a way which others will be approving.

The Ego

The Ego negotiates between the two parts of the brain, making decisions on whether or not to follow instinctual impulse(Id) or to act according to expectation of others(Superego)

Freud's theory is used to explain why people watch media, and this is because character's appeal to either our Id, Ego or Superego. For example, we enjoy watching Superman because he appeals to our Superego which, is concerned with making good decisions. Whereas Freud also believed that people who watch Media also watch it because, they might want to see what it is like on the bad side. They know the difference between what is right and wrong however they watch movies such as Batman because, of the Joker because, they want to watch what they want to do happen without any consequences. Whereas the Ego is the normal person who watches the Media.

Jacques Lacan: Ideal I and Mirror Stage

Jacques Lacan is another Psychologist whom answers the question 'why do we watch media?', Lacan explains this through the Mirror Stage and Ideal-I:

The Mirror Stage

The Mirror Stage explains, we begin to rationalise and identify ourselves as an individual at the age of 18 months, and this is where we develop our "I" - our individual view of ourselves.

The Ideal-I

The Ideal-I is the perfect viewing of ourselves - the mental image of ourselves where see ourselves as correct, due to this we watch media. Our Ideal-I associates a characteristic(s)of a character in the media text with ourselves as we know the character is accepted and admired by society it causes us to continue watching. Seeing characters who have similar personalities and features as us gives our Ideal-I a sense of gratification as well as, the character relatable - making the media even more compelling to watch as we imagine ourselves in their situation.

Laura Mulvey: Scopophilia and Voyeurism

Laura Mulvey is also a Psychologist who developed a theory explaining why we watch media in her journal 'Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema (1975)'. Mulvey Presents that the reason we watch media stems from sexual pleasure and desires; she poses that we enjoy watching the opposite sex which is what keeps us watching. The Gaze (looking to get pleasure) constructs the binary structure(in a particular group one has power over the other - a particular person or group dominates the situation) of gender and many other groups- Region, Race, Ethnicity, Age, class and sexuality. 

Laura Mulvey expresses that as women are sexually objectified in the vast majority of representations due to the gaze and this is use to oppress females- the weaker in the binary structure. As many people are scopophilic - gaining pleasure from watching people often sexual,representing women in an objectified way appeals to the male gender - the gender with the most power in the binary structure and reinforces their power. Women often take foetal positions to and look away from the camera to appear coy and give a sense of innocence and vulnerability to them, where as men often have an open broad chested stance showing their potency and dominance.

Mulvey also uses voyeurism to explain why we watch media, Voyeurism is the pleasure gained from secretly watching a person.This gives the voyeur a sense of power and control over the situation as they are gaining knowledge without the person's knowledge. When we visit the cinema we become voyeurs as we are are watching the actors on screen without their knowledge, however the cinema setting further creates the voyeurism experience by a dark environment. The little lighting causes each viewer to be isolated even though they are surrounded by many and heightens their voyeur experience.

                                         

Laura Mulveys theory relates to Media because, she believes that we watch Media for sexual pleasure. She believes that the reason we watch it is for our own personal excitement. Her other theory is that she believes that women are sexually objectified within the Media industry. When we witness women in her belief is that the viewer turns the females into an object of sort and they gain sexual pleasure for doing just that.