Human mental processes are controlled by the states that a person is in.
Ego plays a significant role in determining the wants and needs of an individual.
Fixations, unconscious thoughts and symbolism are all a part of an intricate system of energies interacting with one another.
Structure of mind and personality
People are affected by conscious and unconscious.
Unconscious is not in the awareness, so the influence is hard to determine.
Fears and personal characteristics come into play when a specific situation arises, especially a stressful one where choices are limited (Lear, 2012).
Sigmund Freud and Saw II
The movie has very tight connection to the person’s emotions and primary instincts, and a civilized person is shown to turn into animal who will kill for own life.
People are sometimes completely unaware of what they can do in a situation that demands to choose between own life and that of someone else.
Freud argued that the survival instinct will take a hold and a person will not be able to think reasonably, and the film, as well as similar situations in life, prove that it does take place.
When in the beginning of the movie Michael has a head trap on and must use a scalpel to cut own eye, his survival instinct is fighting with the instinct of self preservation.
Even though he wants to save his life, he cannot imagine the moment when it ends, as it is close to impossible to imagine. The camera does a close up, so that the viewer can feel the desperation of the human mind.
The same can be said about real life when people cannot quite imagine something that will be in the future, and focus all their energy, wants and needs on the immediate stimuli, pleasure or pain.
In moments like this, people learn their limits, as no one is able to do more than they are capable of.
Freudian “group morality”
When people face such extreme circumstances, as shown in “Saw II”, they value their life the highest (Jacobs, 2003).
Because of such extravagantly cruel tests, people learn that it is the time of their life. But still, some people are unable to kill or set others up, as their character is different from those who are able.
There are several camera angles that are shown to the audience, to make sure they understand that when such gruesomeness takes place, there is no room for kindness or pity for someone close. The close-ups of pain and blood remind of the real pain.
The diffusion of responsibility takes place within the group and the blame becomes non-existent, as people face such limitations.
Here, the instinct also takes over learned morality, ethics and fairness
Intensity between individuals and own demons
The conversations between the criminal and the police are shown to be filled with emotion. On one side there is the rage of a police officer who wants to stop the criminal from killing people. He feels that he is helpless and it devastates him even more. This is the moment when a person becomes ready for things they could not previously think as capable of doing (Abel, 1989).
The killer feels his power and control of the situation. He enjoys every moment, as his ego took over everything else in his personality.
Signs
- Semiotics, being the process of studying signs in language and communication, has a lot to do with the movie. The film is full of references to life and morality that people have. The true human nature and the horror that is sometimes present in life are displayed in full by the blood and suffering of people in Saw II.
- Signifier is the form that the sign is made to be. This is the phrase “I want to play a game” (Hoffman, 2005). The way it is said, the tone and the simplicity of the statement represent the natural and killing instinct of human character. Signified represents the idea or meaning, in this case a reference to life and death being a game where people make defining choices. It can also have a deeper meaning in a form of irony, as games are not be taken seriously, whereas here, people are playing a game of for their life.
- Connotation is a connection or association to social definitions. These are in a form of traditions, beliefs and expected norms.
- Denotation is the meaning ascribed to the context. When Amanda says “Game over”, in the film’s theme it means you are either killed or you came out a winner (Hoffman, 2005). It is often used in a social setting when someone fails or they have gotten into trouble.
Reference List
Abel, D 1989, Freud on Instinct and Morality, SUNY Press, New York, NY.
Hoffman, G 2005, Saw II, film, Lionsgate, Santa Monica, CA.
Jacobs, M 2003, Sigmund Freud, SAGE, Thousand Oaks, Ca.
Lear, J 2012, Freud, Routledge, New York, NY.
Tobias, S 2005, Saw II.
Saw II2005.