Psychoanalysis: WTF? Sigmund Freud and the Oedipus Complex Explained | Tom Nicholas

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Developed by the Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud, psychoanalysis argues that the human mind contains within it three opposing forces, the superego, the ego and the id. Through the interpretation of dreams, Freud believed that we could access repressed thoughts, feelings and traumas which we like to think we have purged ourselves of but which, in fact, remain in our unconscious mind.
Todd Phillips' Joker (2019) is not a high-minded conflict between good and evil like many other comic book to film adaptations but a psychological drama focusing on a marginalised working-class man suffering from mental ill health. This makes it a useful object of study for exploring a school of psychiatric thought known as psychoanalytic theory or psychoanalysis.
In today's episode of What the Theory?, I use Joker (which stars Joaquin Pheonix and Robert De Niro) in order to introduce some of the key concepts of psychoanalytic theory and psychoanalysis. As well as Freud, I also take a brief look at the work of Jacques Lacan and Slavoj Žižek (although I hope to cover these more extensively in a future episode of What the Theory?).
We'll be taking a look at Freud's "topographical" model of the mind (consisting of the preconscious, conscious and unconscious mind) as well as his model of personality (consisting of the superego, ego and id) as well as the Oedipus Complex.
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#Freud #Psychoanalysis #Joker

[@Tom_Nicholas]

The first 1000 people who click the link in the description will get 2 free months of Skillshare Premium: skl.sh/tomnicholas

[@juliangerth4640]

would you consider making a video on Altered Carbon? I think that especially the first season explores some very interesting themes that fit right into your channel:) much love from Germany, fantastic videos

[@oxymoron136]

Freud always interpreted based on his own way of thinking. Wrong on so many levels. You just itirate that. Real psychogists should not do that

[@ppcruddd6750]

z

[@lucaskenui6379]

Ah, Freud... When you say one thing but you mean amother...

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Haha, if I wasn't contractually obliged to have the Skillshare comment pinned, I would definitely pin this one!

[@mltiago]

When you say one thing but you mean you mother... I mean another...

[@nefwaenre]

Yes... but i mean No.

[@komilarakhimova201]

Deleuze would drink to that

[@pw6002]

When you say one thing but some psychanalist absolutely wants you to mean something else…

[@DeadDancers]

Freud’s theory that boys inherently wanted to sleep with their mother is doubly strange when you consider the fact that his own theory suggests a more likely reason (if in fact this urge existed at all): that if the child is jealous of the father taking the mother’s attention, it would logically proceed that trying to replicate what the father ‘provides’ that the son lacks would be the son’s next attempt to regain his mother’s focus.

[@RamTalks]

32 minutes (plus thinking pauses) that made my quarantine better. Great job and thanks a lot!

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Thank you! I’m always a little wary of long videos so I’m glad you liked it all!

[@alexandranicholas6310]

I may be weird but I tend to prefer longer content on youtube.

[@yes0r787]

I also prefer 30 to 60 minute videos.

[@felipeeduardosandovalcarde7489]

RAM talks ❤️

[@AnirudhPsychPixel]

@@Tom_Nicholas Contribution on this channel are only from a single contributor? Very impressive.

[@xSTTS]

the way you said Joaquín damaged me

[@ssc172]

Me Too

[@aldernate8606]

Yaqueen Phoenix

[@jeffersonclippership2588]

Joey Queen

[@LittleDogTobi]

Enjoying this video so far! Freud is Austrian.

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Haha, I have no idea how I didn't spot this... Good to get the mistakes out early in the video, I guess?

[@auarartfilmes6739]

Freud is born in Příbor, a municipality in the Czech Republic in the Moravian region.

[@otto_jk]

@@auarartfilmes6739 There was no Czech Republic when he was born, the town was a part of Austrian empire. His parents were German speaking Galician jews. They also moved to Vienna when Sigmund was young and he lived there for most of his life.

[@petebateman143]

Freud tells us more about himself than about anyone else.

[@Louize-Poggie]

one must know that freuds mom was really hot

[@OH-pc5jx]

Hey just for reference: many psychoanalysts, including Lacan, are vehemently opposed to Jung’s innovation of the Electra complex, as a crude hetero-normative copy-paste of the Oedipal complex. The Lacanian interpretation is that *all* children have an Oedipal complex, and sexuation into masculine and feminine (correlated but not identified w the binary genders) is a result of different attempts to resolve the Oedipal dilemma, rather than prior to it

[@coffincornered554]

Great content! I was thinking about the Oedipus complex in the context of Joker the other day, and while I think Freud's theories are a bit too obsessed with sex, this one does seem to apply here. The movie never explicitly shows that Arthur has some dark feelings towards Penny (other than, you know... when he kills her), but it does imply a twisted sense of sexuality resulting from repression merged with being cooped up in one flat with his mother and basically playing the role of the husband. I doubt it's a coincidence that his love interest is also a mother (the relationship isn't real but his interest is) and that at the Murray Show he's seen readily making out with Doctor Sally, who could be his mother or even grandmother. Granted, he'd do the same to any woman that was there, but the choice of character felt deliberate. There is also the fact that after Penny is taken to the hospital, we see Arthur lying in her bed, smelling her pillow, and in a later scene touching himself while he smokes there. Big no-nos. The next points don't relate to mother lust, but warped sexuality in general. In Arthur's journal, we can catch glimpses of distorted, pornographic images that don't really have a place there. It's a small thing, but it isn't there for the laughs. Plus the huge moment when he imagines going to Sophie after the subway killings... the man was massively turned on by what he did, and I'm glad we got the scene with the neighbor instead of something like the barn scene in the Lighthouse. But leaving the subject of mother and sex... Arthur's longing for a father figure is pretty apparent. Notice how childlike/timid his entire demeanor is in his positive/neutral interactions with the three men you mentioned (though I got major creep vibes from Randall with his 'You can pay me back some other time' line - the way he says it has implications). When he meets Murray as Joker, he still behaves like an excited boy - even after Murray has ridiculed him, he feels an inherent reverence towards him. But all three 'relations' end with explosive violence - cue Freud smiling smugly. Joker kills two of the men; Wayne punches him, but then dies by another hand. The King of Comedy (sike!) is dead, the future leader of Gotham will never be. The new king takes their place. To conclude, he neither fucks his mother nor kills his father, but the concept is there. One could go even further and say the origin of Joker is also similar to that of Oedipus - as a result of neglect (abandonment), he becomes this tragic character, leading to the death of both parents. I'd add that Joker overall exhibits an emotional immaturity that neatly brings us to id. It's true he provides for his mother and tries to get by, but he is doomed because of his multiple conditions. I think the head trauma from his abusive childhood is a huge factor here. With his first taste of blood, the only way is down, yet he still maintains this strange innocence that makes it hard to see him as an adult. He acts towards children as if he is a child himself. I've said this before, but this is what disturbs me the most about him - by the end of the film, he's a mixture of childishness and depravity that's so unpredictable you don't know how to respond. Uh. That was a long one... I'll shut up now

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Some really good points here I think! I was struck by how easily the film lent itself to psychoanalysis; it was complete chance that I happened to watch it whilst thinking about doing a video on the topic! As you point out, there's far more to pick out than I could even fit into 30 minutes of video!

[@safardebon9720]

+ Coffin Cornered - Nope, not long enough. You have said some brilliant stuff ... do go on a bit more... or do you have a channel or works you have written. Really enjoyed your comment.

[@zw6201]

we all come from sex. sex is all there is. everything is a produkt of sexxx xxx xxx xx xx x.... everything is a synthesis of a thesis and antithesis ... the sexual relations between the thesis and her counterpart

[@Zeyede_Seyum]

*This is a great analysis, wow*

[@seba-jo3tg]

Not long enough my dude, remember in our study we have to get accustomed to reading 120/600 pages in one case in particular or theory of 8/10 papers in total in order to be able to sit in on our 3 hour class and then do our exams on the specifics we are learning about. So reading is must and something I love to do, specially if its about something Im so passionate about! That was actually amazing may I say so. Of course there is more to the Oedipux complex than just mother and sex and is connected to the castration complex which is key in order to surpass that stage and the violent attitudes that stem from all of this. There is a natural tendency to develop this stance against the authority figure not just in man but it is also seen reflected in the animal world, where the act of killing the father in order to gain status and at the same time gain the capacity to reproduce is achieved. The only difference is that since time immemorial, we as humans have sense of guilt to smash this in order to quell what would mean in time, our own demise. The Oedipux complex was central seen from this POV and the necessity to effectively surpass it, as central to the creation of religion and societal organization in what Freud shows of the totemic banquet and how after the fact of the murder, the perpetrators lamented the act and intimately connected themselves to the father figure and became it (Oedipus complex surpassed). Also important is how all of this was able to push exogamy and prohibit incest as a form of achieving our own survival. In my focus group we were seeing how the observations of the Oedipux complex in a part of our development pre latent stage, was a memory that had been repressed but with age and maturity came back to the light of consciousness. Some were affected by this and others were not. We were interested in being able to tell from experience the veracity of this stage and how it influenced their upbringing. In women the Oedipus complex does not get triggered by the fear of castration but by the already consumed castration and we did see that there was more of a rejection by women in order to observe this phenomenon and partake in it. They dont take to well to the penis envy. When it comes to the joker character I would say like you have, that he is the representation of the id with an unsurpassed oedipal condition. You hit the nail in the head that his story is a symbolic modern King Oedipux. Reich did indicate that the lashing out in violence was in fact due to the repressed unconscious oedipal urge or the incapacity to achieve the satisfactory choosing of the object of desire, from this primary narcissistic stage. Anyway thank you for that, it was absolutly brilliant piece of writing. I hope that you have in mind maybe writing a book about this and other psychoanalytic topics since you really have a way with words my dude. Love ❣

[@Principles_of_Psychology]

There is an error in the video: The superego and ego also have unconscious aspects. So they do not not correspond to the preconscious and conscious mind, respectively.

[@berkleypearl2363]

I really like the idea of thinking of Freud as philosophy. It honestly seems more useful when read that way compared to when we just look at it as an interesting start to a field of scientific study

[@ReddyCat1976]

Psychoanalysis is more like a combination of psychology and philosophy.

[@donnymurph]

This channel is an absolute gem. Accessible, well illustrated introductions to complex topics. I've been using the videos to help me through my literary criticism course (I'm studying a BA in hispanic literature), and I always finish each video with a clearer idea of where to approach different critical stances from.

[@IrontMesdent]

I like the more minimalist intro!

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Thank you! I'd wanted to change it for a while (the aesthetic of the old one was pretty in-style when I first made it but very much less so now) but wasn't entirely sure what to go with. Hoping that others agree with you on it being a good solution!

[@AnchoviePossum]

long, loud intros are a bit much for showing my parents these videos. the shortness is an improvement.

[@LogicGated]

"We live in a society" -Freud, probably.

[@marcelhartwig6875]

Very good reading of Joker, thank you, just a minor correction: Sigmund Freud was an Austrian neurologist, not Swiss.

[@sarapocorn]

I think Jung was Swiss if I‘m not mistaken, maybe that leads to confusion. Anyway, hi from Switzerland!

[@nickd4310]

I didn't see Fleck as a realistic human but as a sort of mythical character who shines a light on society. He's like the Pied Piper, Candide or Forrest Gump. I guess that's why mental health professionals disliked the portrayal, although the Freudian analysis works.

[@Tom_Nicholas]

I suppose the journey of the film is him going from one to the other. The Forrest Gump comparison's actually a really good one given that both inspire big societal movements without really meaning to!

[@TheUnseenRapper]

Your video's are bloody brilliant, Tom, thank you!

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Thank you, really appreciate you saying so!

[@tekoshararam3126]

Hoped you also mentioned the Killing of the Oedipus figure (De Niro) in the end. Thanks for the amazing video from Kurdistan :)

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Oh yeah, I don't know how I didn't manage to follow that line of thinking through but really good point!

[@beyzagokterim8476]

Great work! Thank you, Tom, this has made me understand more about psychoanalysis.

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Oh great, I'm really glad it's helped!

[@raghavsharma1477]

Really enjoyed the videos. I'm really fascinated by the clarity of your expression and thoughts. Your knowledge and understanding of the major and critical works of intellectuals from various field and using that knowledge to comment on the present societal issues is really inspiring. Keep up the fantastic work. Love from India.

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Thank you so much for your kind words about my videos. I’m really glad you’ve got something out of them!

[@gregorysalazar8370]

Great video. Well researched and conveyed in an entertaining format. Well done.

[@agoodreader]

Thank You so soo much for making such amazing, interesting and educational videos. 💝📚👌

[@johncarmack1174]

I really appreciated the segment on how the mental health community feels about this representation. That's been left out of a lot of cultural commentary and I appreciate when anyone makes the effort to point it out. Proud new Patron here!

[@noeliabarbero5622]

Loved it, looking forward to the Lacan video!

[@nancyyu9116]

Really enjoyed this video, you're so eloquent with your ideas yet still fun to listen to. I'm looking forward to your episode on Lacan and how he analyzes the psyche of society at large.

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Thanks Nancy! Not sure when I'll get round to the Lacan video just yet but it's certainly on the To Do list!

[@jackfrosty4674]

Romans 10:9-10 - That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (Read More...) Ephesians 2:8-10 - For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: (Read More...) John 3:16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Romans 10:13 - For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. John 3:5 - Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. Acts 2:38-39 - Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. (Read More...) Acts 22:16 - And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord. Romans 3:23 - For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

[@bajolunapod]

When Lacan? Looking forward

[@MultiLeandrini]

@@Tom_Nicholas looking forward to the Lacan video.

[@blackhwa8041]

Thank you for this video! I really loved the movie and totally enjoyed the way you used the psychoanalytical lens to analyze it! Great video! Thank you so much :))

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Thank you! I had really mixed feelings about the film but felt it really seemed a fitting one for introducing some of Freud’s ideas.

[@manuag3886]

Out of all of the educational videos on youtube, I find this one most helpful

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Thank you for saying so!

[@jorgerangel2390]

Quality content, thanks!

[@Emma-zc5jm]

The idea of analysizing someone's beliefs, actions, and personality based around their childhood and traumatic experiences is 100% founded in reality. The problem Freud faced when coming up with his theories is he didn't realize he was just analyzing himself and presuming he and his development are the exact same as everyone else. In other words, it's all projection. He did an incredible job at analyzing himself.

[@Ameer-qc8zi]

great work Tom

[@eupraxis1]

Well done! Really enjoyed this.

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Thank you, really glad you liked it!

[@effyfu9704]

Thanks Tom for saving someone who constantly can't seem to make it at the right time to the ever changing schedule of the university online classes!

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Glad to have helped out in some small way!

[@benjifricker-muller6104]

As a doctor working in mental health, psychoanalysis may not conform to some people's idea of 'science' but concepts from psychoanalytic theory such as transference/countertransference, unconscious, defences, resistance etc are used everyday and readily observable in any mental health ward or clinic. I also contest that psychoanalysis isn't scientific (or at least anymore so than other theories of the mind). Psychologists (like the one who wrote the article you mentioned) don't understand psychoanalysis anymore than a dog understands mandarin, they're obsessed with justifying their own existance in their own bizarre laboratory-setting terms. They pretend to science but can't every seem to repeat a study and get the same results! Ultimately though should we be colluding with the idea that science is the only source of value to human life? Consciousness, love, freedom, dignity etc - these are all pseudoscientific, unfalisifiable ideas - yet still valuable and things that can be said to exist in a real sense. In other words, fuck the dogma of scientism, metaphysics over physics!

[@weegingerdug3581]

Just found your channel! Brilliant content dude!

[@Professor_sckinnctn]

Swiss? Thinking of Carl; Jung? A Freudian slip?

[@milztempelrowski9281]

19:46 you have the most amazing stock materials! Keep it up!

[@Gormathius]

"I'm not gonna speculate over what mental illness the film wants us to believe he has" No point speculating on that anyway. The writers of the bulk of the portrayals of mental illness in media likely don't even realise there are different kinds.

[@sakouraboukrif2380]

Really nice job

[@thegamergoat975]

Great video.. helped a lot to learn for my English exam!!

[@bhasb9067]

Very good, thank you. Now to go back to the beginning to take more in.

[@8lec_R]

I personally took away from the movie how our societies shun away discussions of mental illnesses and then indirectly causes it to become sort of a taboo subject. It gets further reduced to something which only weirdos have which then results in people who are not acting normal to be bullied and the ways that they(mentally ill) can achieve some sort of normalcy, being stripped away from them because the people making decisions are so disenfranchised from the people who are living through it.

[@iliasberrada5021]

Great video as always! Can you do a video shedding some light on Merleau-Ponty's theory on cinema ?

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Thank you! I may do at some point in the future. Keen to find a way to do some basic film theory stuff at some point but I've got lots on the list to cover!

[@zacharysmithers2226]

The way he says id, breaking my mind

[@jaybi5419]

Great contents as always! More videos pls

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Thanks! I do my best to get out as many as I can, haha!

[@blackedmirror5073]

You are a good teacher!

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Thank you very much, really appreciate you saying so!

[@chagoriver7159]

awesome video. thanks.

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Thanks for saying so, glad you liked it!

[@intellectually_lazy]

i gotta say, arthur is freakin' hilarious, 'specially when he dropped that gun, the bit with the shoes. i'm dead!

[@manuag3886]

Good content!

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Thanks, glad you thought so!

[@maskman9675]

Looking forward to the lacan episode dear sir.

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Thank you, I'll get on to it at some point!

[@LustStarrr]

Check out a channel called Plastic Pills if you're a Lacan fan.

[@intellectually_lazy]

i have a friend with a full blown oedipal complex. i've spent many a 3 day crack or molly binge hearing detailed descriptions of what he'd've liked to have done to her when she was alive. he says his brother tried, and ran off and killed himself for fear of their father. sometimes i half expect to find out mike is tom's middle name, like that one episode of ds9 with garreck

[@filmandpsychoanalysis8556]

very interesting tnx

[@cigdemeltugral4277]

Such an inspiring video! Thanks! How do you study-prepare so well on topics? :3

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Thank you! Generally, I tend to choose topics I have some preexisting knowledge of, but then it's a mixture of digging out some good introductory sources and delving into primary works (such as Freud's own writing) and then trying to come up with a good way of explaining it all!

[@cigdemeltugral4277]

Tom Nicholas thank you for sharing! Your videos increase my curiosity for learning!

[@sukritrajesh5723]

@@Tom_Nicholas Nice method.

[@bobbybriggs7126]

excited for your lacan video

[@dwavyy300]

YAOKIN PHEONIx ?!🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@ankersman]

Great explanation of Freud. Thanks.

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Thank you, really glad you thought so!

[@intellectually_lazy]

and everyone kept saying, "oh shit! you're _her_ kid." that had to be unsettling, even before he found out why

[@fragments6758]

Thank you for this video! Was great to hear you discuss philosophy of desire. Since you already mentioned Zizek, critique of capitalism and Oedipus - I believe that Deleuze and Guattari's work Anti-Oedipus would serve as a great follow up. I know Goodchild have wrote an insightful book covering Deleuzian thought, but tracing this philosophy of desire into contemporary literature is kind of a conundrum. Would love to hear your thoughts about more of this!

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Thank you, really glad you liked it. Deleuze and Guattari are on my list for some point in the future. I'm not overly familiar with their work so it will take some research and I'll need to find some way to make it engaging but I will likely get round to it at some point. Lacan will probably come first but, after I've fleshed out some more of the basics around psychoanalysis, I'll try and come up with something around D&G!

[@fragments6758]

@@Tom_Nicholas Glad to hear! I would recommend Philip Goodchild's (1996) "Deleuze and Guattari: An Introduction to the Politics of Desire" as a good place to start. It even has one part dedicated to tracing the philosophical underpinnings of desire (Hume, Bergson, Nietzsche, Spinoza) as well as a second part with focus on power and a third part on emancipation and liberation. The original work by D&G takes a lot of effort to digest in my opinion. Also happy to see how you engage with your audience; your work on this channel is highly valuable beyond the academic sphere. To engage with scholarly thought in everyday or even mundane life and make it accessible outside academia is very important in my opinion. Although I am currently a PhD student myself, I would have appreciated your content just as much before enrollment into my programe. Perhaps this makes me appreciate the fact that you take your time to produce this content whilst also being committed to a project of your own even more.

[@safardebon9720]

@@fragments6758 Yes this is a brilliant channel - beyond trivial specialised academia. You might like to delve into works of Bohm (Physics - implicate order/enfoldment/unfoldment), Sheldrake (Biology - morphic resonance), Graves (Psychology - spiral dynamics) and Wilbur (Integral - AQAL). Pulling together from different fields gets into synthesis. All the best with your PhD :)

[@bravovince3070]

i cant wait for the lacan video

[@sayedlincoln]

Great video👌Can you please add a list of further reading ?

[@Tom_Nicholas]

I'd definitely recommend Daniel Pick's Psychoanalysis: A Very Short Introduction (although much more focussed on psychoanalysis as a clinical practice than philosophy/theoretical framework. Todd McGowan's Psychoanalytic Film Theory and the Rules of the Game it great too.

[@sayedlincoln]

@@Tom_Nicholas Thank you very much ❤

[@fredwelf8650]

I appreciate the discussion of the Oedipus Complex especially in the context of a movie like "Joker." The problem is connecting the Joker's revenge behaviors to the infantile feelings regarding the father and mother. For example, before the Joker shoots Murray, the Talk Show host, he practices shooting himself and appears to begin to shoot himself before shooting Murray. The issue now regards the ambivalence between self-destruction and homicide, or self-blame and blaming the other. The Joker, Fleck, has killed a co-worker for making fun of him, and three Wall Street strangers! Connecting all of this to his relation to his father, or his fantasy of his father as a normative belief or structure is necessary to complete the analysis of the Oedipus Complex. Complex however is an entendre, there is the other Oedipus story or myth following Oedipus Rex, namely, Oedipus at Colonus where Oedipus has blinded himself and rages furious at everyone and the world. Perhaps, this version is relevant to explaining the narrative of Fleck's personality changes in the Joker. Lastly, your discussion seemed to legitimate or justify the rioters who applauded Fleck who again presented himself as if on stage, or within a peculiar frame, as he did on the Talk Show. Aside from the issue of grandiosity, claiming that the rioters were expressing moral outrage instead of a similar mental illness or breakdown, like Fleck's, requires more explanation. What are the pervasive norms and beliefs that drive these behaviors and are they similar to the surrounding norms and beliefs of the mother-infant dyad, or the intrusion of the father? How did the representation of the "father" as the state, law, or markets, transition from father-figures to the narcissism of revenge?

[@anotherrenan]

Yo, do a follow-up in Lacan. Will suit well your videos on structuralism.

[@ronrice1931]

Much better than most explanations I've seen. Still .... The unconscious contains words, not feelings -- jumbled up and meaningless words that can *impact* a person's "feelings, urges, and desires" but are not synonymous with them. That is why the method used in analysis is free association: the analyst tries to gently tease the jumbled words out of the analysand's unconscious into the his or her speech. That is why it is called "the talking cure". The results may reveal existing feelings and urges and may generate new ones, but that does not mean these feelings and urges are "contained" in the unconscious. It is precisely "information" that is contained, information *about* feelings and urges, just as consciousness contains information about the world rather than the world itself.

[@johnadrianferatienza6988]

It's amazing! :)

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Thank you John, really glad you think so!

[@manuag3886]

More videos on psychoanalysis please 🙏

[@Tom_Nicholas]

It's definitely in my plans to return to at some point in the future!

[@intellectually_lazy]

at the core of his character the joker has always been an agent of chaos. joker is totally unpredictable, except in his unpredictability, and even in some sense indefinable

[@ArielVHarloff]

Applying Freudian psychoanalysis to Freuds writing is a fun game XD

[@michaelharris679]

Can't wait for your Lacan video

[@PackinForSuperbowl]

Tom: " a desire that's sated at the end of the film" Me: *launches water out of his mouth across the room* that's one way of describing it. LMAO

[@Ralnon]

I came into this video with the "oh god how is Freud still a thing?" I came away even more convinced he talked a load of bollocks........

[@BL-sd2qw]

I wonder how Freud's first works would have influenced the field had he not been pressured into changing them to what we now generally know him for

[@KakiT1]

This video was inadvertently a comedic masterpiece. Froid noticed some fragments of real stuff but was too blinded by himself and his own fantasies to look at them objectively, instead projecting his own issues onto the whole of humanity. I feel I'm above average in understanding the human psyche, I fixed on my own with no qualifications in 3 years more than a whole childhood and teenagehood worth of nonstop therapy never made a scratch in. Humans are in fact very logical if you can see all the pieces, sadly most ppl can't even begin to see their own logic. This is bc most ppl don't think. At all. They think in the sense of "what will I get from the store after work" but they have something blocking them from thinking "how do I function, what is my ego like". It would be delusional to think that I'm perfect and above everyone else, but I never had this blockage and I think about these things every moment I'm bored (I have ADHD, I'm bored a lot) It's fascinating stuff and I think that humanity as a whole would be better off if everyone was aware of their internal functions. It helps in processing trauma and makes it way harder for you to be manipulated, let's say hypothetically, by a class of rich elite who want you to act like a good little drone and be exploited until you are too old, sick, and fragile to be of use and then be discarded like a used tissue paper.

[@PeterZeeke]

Looking forward to that Lacan video

[@cyanah5979]

Sigmund Freud was Austrian, not Swiss. When the Nazis took over, he had to emmigrate to London.

[@seavpal]

Where'd 'e go? 'E 'id there.

[@sean..L]

of course you could also interpret Arthur's murderous outburst in the latter half of the movie as taking place all in his mind and being another fantasy.

[@Doctor_Straing_Strange]

People who say Joker demonizes mental illnesses don't understand the film. The film blames those who are incapable of caring for people like Arthur, and society as a whole, it condemns Arthur's actions, but makes us understand where they come from. Saying it demonizes mental illness is reductive and utterly incorrect.

[@vegan.3176]

I think if you listened to the video he said it was problematic how in the movie mental illness was directly connected to gun violence. This was a product of his circumstances, yes, but it can still stigmatize mental illnesses in the minds of uninformed viewers and make them seem inherently violent.

[@bridgetcooney5085]

...learning Santa wasn't real, was legitimately traumatic for me. I know that sounds dumb, but I believed it completely for longer than most people. Learning that my parents care about each other, as much if not more than they care about me and my brother, NOT traumatizing. I feel like I always knew it, can't actually remember that far back, but that sense of full but devided love from my parents seems obvious my whole life.

[@mikejacob3536]

Freud was not Swiss.. Born in Prior Czechoslovakia, later moved to Vienna, exiled in England...

[@looxluthor802]

Born in Freiberg in Mähren/Pribor, Austrian Empire. It was not even Austria-Hungary at that point yet. And "later" here means moving to Vienna at the ripe old age of 3. Definitely not Swiss, though.

[@ritambasu8880]

Excellent, my friend. Could you also attempt a psychoanalytic reading of R.K. Narayan's 'The Guide'? I can send you the book if you want...

[@DanaTheLateBloomingFruitLoop]

The division of the mind into Superego, Ego and Id remind me of the division of society in the Ancien Régime (pre-napoleon europe) into Clergy, Nobility and Peasants, and with a bit of stretch todays society into state, business, and workers.

[@mltiago]

Triad worldview.

[@tomom9184]

Comentario para el algoritmo, saludos desde 🇨🇴 Sos un grande

[@sirlordhenrymortimer6620]

Fantastic episode . I really enjoyed it . I want to know whether it is possible for you to make any videos regarding foreign policies

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Thank you, really glad you liked it! Do you mean as in the foreign policies of certain countries?

[@sirlordhenrymortimer6620]

@@Tom_Nicholas there are several strains of foreign policies like realism , neoconservatism(neo liberalism), isolationism etc

[@MattAngiono]

@@sirlordhenrymortimer6620 he has one on neoliberalism... look back a few months

[@sirlordhenrymortimer6620]

@@MattAngiono neoliberalism in terms of foreign policy instead of economics

[@MattAngiono]

@@sirlordhenrymortimer6620 my understanding was that neoliberalism was inherently both of those ... I think of it as the implementation of markets forcefully around the world without question... also, as an evolution of imperialism.... In a global economy, I don't think they could ever be separated, as the markets must move into other countries in the search for endless resources... Anyway, I agree more is better! These videos are excellent

[@farkasmactavish]

The only thing of Freud's that we've nailed down as definitely correct is "Hey maybe we should actually discuss our patients' mental health with them instead of (as was previously done) treating them like zoo animals we do experiments on." Everything else, I posit, is pure projection on Freud's part. And let's not even discuss when he thinks human sexuality starts...

[@seba-jo3tg]

As a psychoanalyst, I have to say this video is outstanding amist all the hatred and resistances we get from majority of "scientific" psychologists and the masses in general. Freud´s discoveries were monumental in order to understand the human enigma. Thank you for a great video.

[@matthewkopp2391]

The discrediting of Psychoanalytic theory with all of its varieties has been one of the most destructive events of the late 20th century. It can only be described as barbaric, perhaps in Freud’s terms a death drive in regards to oneself, others and civilization as whole. Popper was partly right that much of psychoanalytic theory is not falsifiable. After all it was primarily a therapy. But there is still a great deal of empiricism and now contemporary scientific correlating evidence. attacks on psychoanalysis based on Popper's theory of science are illfounded and are usually ignorant. But what was far worse was what mediocrity replaced psychoanalytic theories with the cry “Freud was wrong about everything.” Identity politics based theory is one example. Material reductionism that excludes the subject as having any relevance is another tragic example. And Psychopharmacology which is arguably far less scientific, empirical and ethically questionable. One of the greatest disappointments has been to see how the gay movement dismissed Freud not knowing that he encouraged his colleagues to view homosexuality and bisexuality as normal and not pathological and Sigmund Freud and Hirschfeld corresponded with each other helping each other getting their ideas published. Another disappointment is how feminists attacked him never acknowledging that early psychoanalysis had an unprecedented number of women in the profession who created revolutionary theories.

[@seba-jo3tg]

@@matthewkopp2391 This Response Matt is worthy of being able to quote because I could have not put it better than that and I agree 100% that the push back on Freud and psychoanalysis in general is due to some type of destructive impulse and a defense mechanism of ignoring what all of this entails. Its like you know this in observing the flight reaction when you speak of this that psychoanalysis touches something profound that makes others run away from it, including professionals of mental health, who I have seen take an agressive stance towards it and actively try to destroy it or strip it away of all importance and credibility. Let us take the Oedipus Complex for example where I have had study groups of diverse males recount their memories of an instance where they saw the mother in a dream as an object of interest or them having had a period of sour relationships with the father figure. It is spot on. Same goes with the stages of psychosexual development. But anyway every certain moment in time we must go ahead and do as Lacan did...Go back to Freud. Cheers mate.

[@intellectually_lazy]

ja, ja, i was totes gonna say, but murray was very fatherly toward arthur in his fantasy, but didn't upon recalling arthur did kill him in the end. also, unrelatedly, i find it very reminiscent of requiem for a dream

[@benicolay]

"psychoanalysis... has its problems" understatement of the year. I've never spent such a long time learning about a concept which I assume to be completely wrong. TLDR: Freud got nothing right.

[@icefirexd]

Am reviewing for my mcat/nmat atm lol. Its new Sigmund freud Oedipus complex . 🤔🤔 Its new for me. Am not a psych major am a pharma Electra complex for girls. My dad have died 10months ago to date.. I am a first child n someone who lookliked her mom.. and i was d person who look after him for yrs before he died.. Months before he died. I prayed to met someone who is younger version of him when he was still not in 40s. The way he works not just on looks n height. I donnu apparently my prayer did came true. 😅😅😅 Just sharing. I read on wiki that oedipus /electrica complex for girls.. is that attachment they got with their father. And when they got old. It makes them look for someone whose just like that 😅😅😅 Okaaaay finally know the term Man. Indeed everything i need to hear just came when i need to hear or need it k xD

[@lochnessamonster1912]

No one has focused on the comedy of the film: If you notice, the comedian who is getting laughs in the club’s act is all about denigration, while Arthur’s jokes try to reflect a more wholesome point of view. This makes him a target for Murray’s comedy, who directly denigrates Arthur for laughs. This is a reflection of us, the audience, rather than the presenters and is a condemnation of what we find funny, as a society. Arthur starts to get it by the end of the film, when he tells Murray how comedy is subjective, but when he tries his hand at “popular comedy” he falls flat with the car wreck joke, because it just isn’t in his makeup. He’s spent a life being kicked while he is down (literally, as the film shows) and seeks positive reinforcement from people not able to give it to him, people who see his humanity as weakness (down to one of his coworkers giving him a gun to protect himself from being victimized). Arthur has basically been at the butt end of one big joke, handed to him by life. Each killing is a sort of escape from his bonds and the people who set the rules, in a world that never had a place for him.

[@Tom_Nicholas]

I think the way comedy can often "punch down" is definitely a really interesting angle to explore the film from. As you say, Arthur essentially decides to turn the "joke" onto everyone else by the end of the film after being the butt of the joke for so much of it.

[@Sirmenonottwo]

He says "EE-d" but not "Eggo" surprisingly. I've never heard anyone say "Id" like "EE-d"

[@abandonstrings]

Yeah, had to wince at that every time, good video otherwise though.

[@Commanber]

I find it so weird that it's spelled "Id" in English. Freud called it "Es", why isn't it just "It"? Why spell it randomly with a d?

[@guri13]

Good job Tom, thank you. I don't know if someone has already told you but Freud was not swiss. He was born in Moravia.

[@nefwaenre]

Repeat after me, bruh, HO-aH-KEEn. Thankfully, Joaquin doesn't care how people pronounce his name. Such a care-free dude. ♥ Tbh, i do related to Arthur, in the sense that i can understand the struggle, the bullying, the marginalisation, the desire for appreciation but getting nothing but insults in real life. There are people who, when in full mental breakdown, will either harm themselves, or harm others. Arthur actually understood that he had nothing to lose. Absolutely nothing. He had already lost everything, including his own sanity. So, nothing, not even killing or morality, meant anything to him. This is different from a psychopath, as they are unable to emote at all, but we saw deep emotions in Arthur.

[@badkafka908]

Just an unrelated clarification question- I thought psychopaths could typically feel (some) emotions, they were just very muted, if there at all?? And that some high functioning psychopaths could even learn to “flip their switch” and choose to turn things like empathy on and off? Like sure, most probably don’t really ever feel anxiety, guilt, shame, etc. But what about rage? Pride? Glee? (Even if muted compared to non-psychopaths) I feel like I always assumed they could at least feel a limited and/or muted amount.... but this could also just be because Patrick Bateman pops into my head whenever I hear/read the word psychopath lol

[@shrutipal333]

Hi . It'll be really helpful if you could make a video referring to post colonialism in terms of Edward Said , Aijaz Ahmad and Gandhi particularly

[@alrecks619]

7:35 Arthur *FLAC* lmao

[@apl7098]

Can you please consider a video on the study of emotions or feminist history. Have finals coming up and would be a great help. Thank you

[@HewisonAnimation]

First thing we need to do with these types of films. Disclaimers to the audience that this film does not generalised mental illness or any particular circumstance in which divides or depicts certain groups of people.

[@Daniel-rw9um]

watching this video was like having a daydream

[@ruthvermeulen2098]

It’s kinda crazy to think about the Incel community that obsesses over the jonker. There was even a guy in Belgium a few years ago who dressed up as the joker and walked into a day care and killed a bunch of people/ baby’s. I really creep out when I see one of the incel quotes on a picture of the joker. People who glamourise figures like that in incel groups genuinely scare me.

[@dustind4694]

...Dammit 21:12 just reminded me that Bleach's main character is literally Freudian.

[@MattAngiono]

Joker is all of us...

[@0xGEEK]

Freud was Austrian, not Swiss.

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Yeah, I even put Austrian in the video description so I don’t know what happened there. My apologies!