Forbidden Planet and the Classical Psychoanalytic Model - Essay Example

The Id was the part of the human mind that was primitive, uncoordinated and the repertoire of the most basic animal drives that seek immediate satisfaction unimpeded by any constraints, ethics or morality. Isolated from other aspects of the brain, the Id considered nothing inherently good or bad, moral or immoral and noble or evil. The Id was the aspect of the human mind that was considered to be existent right at the birth. Ego stood to be the conscious part of human mind that was governed by ‘reality principle’ and that resorted to ego defense mechanisms (Gill 289).

Furthermore, Superego represented the essentially moral aspect of human mind that differentiated between the right and the wrong as per the values and notions passed on to an individual by one’s parents and the culture (Gill 289). There are countless science fiction movies based on the classic psychoanalytic model. Forbidden Planet was a science fiction movie affiliated to the same genre. It is a based on a story that deals with the idea of “unleashing the Id”, a theme that has influenced literature and fiction in all ages and times.

Right from the times of the Greeks, writers and art forms have been fascinated by the belief that there exists a part of the human personality that cannot be controlled or understood or that could go out of control. It was much later that Freud classified this cognitive wilderness of the human mental faculties as Id or the unconscious mind, which presided over the realm of dreams and wishes .This concept is amply conveyed in the words of the character of Doctor Edward Morbius from the Forbidden Planet that, “My other malignant me is going to penetrate that door and I have no power at all to impede him”.

In the movie, Doctor Edward Morbius is shown to be leading the life of a loaner, bereft of any social ambience on the planet Altair IV, a situation ideally suitable for the unrestrained expression of Id, as the other two aspects of human mind are predominantly relevant in a socially structured environment. The problem arises when a spaceship comes looking for him. Till now Morbius had been using the powers of the “plastic educator” to give expression to the creative aspirations of his Id.

However, when the intruders from the guest spaceship enter his world, his Id refuses to bear with the social constraints imposed by their presence, by using the same technology to materialize into a monster bent at destroying everything. The movie Forbidden Planet is primarily woven around a technology, which could translate and materialize the thoughts from the Id into actual reality. The film deals with an extraterrestrial extinct civilization called Krell, which was so advanced in its scientific achievements that it virtually freed itself of any dependence on machinery, being able to perform the desired tasks by the sheer power of their minds.

However, while designing such a potent technology, the Krell were simply not aware of the fact that supercharging of their minds will not only add to the power of their reason, but would also set free the monstrous aspects of their subconscious minds that were not only wild and unreasonable, but also potent enough to destroy anything or