Intra-Psychic Viewpoint

Freud, Jung and Star Wars The Star Wars movies, especially the first three, are clearly a type of myth written to demonstrate archetypal personalities. The characters are driven by their behavior, so what they do and why they take the actions they take can be used to analyze their characters in terms of Jungian and Freudian theories. In the Empire Strikes Back, many of the characters are acting out of great personal need or personal striving, and many of them fit fairly well into Jung's theory or archetype personalities.

The "Self" is the highest form a personality can take, well integrated and centered. To become a self-actualized Self is Luke Skywalker's goal and the final achievement of his mentor, Obi-Wan Kenobe. In an interesting twist, Darth Vader also sees himself that way. He believes self-actualization can be either good or evil, and finds evil more powerful and rewarding. Most viewers will identify with heroes, so most will see Luke Skywalker as the hero, and Darth Vader as the shadow.

The hero often has to fight the Shadow in the story. The hero is often very naive, so we see Luke not realizing who his father is, not realizing who his sister is, and overestimating how well his Jedi skills are. The Shadow, by comparison, is connected more to our animal past, and isn't self-aware. The movie talks about the "dark side" of the Force, and the Shadow could be viewed as the dark side of an individual.

By itself the Shadow is neither good nor evil but more practically concerned with survival. Freud said that the goal of therapy was to make the unconscious conscious (Boeree, 2002). The movie has two people who might be viewed as the "Old Wise Man." The first one would be Obi-Wan Kenobe, who first guides Luke to recognize his Jedi powers. Later that role is turned over to Yoda, who is both ancient and wise.

Lando might be viewed as the "trickster." He lures Luke and Leia into a trap so they can be captured by the Emperor's forces as an act of self-preservation, but he also acts as a loyal friend at other times. The mother might be Leia, fiercely defending those she loves, grieving for an entire planet's population, and guiding those around her with a wisdom more mature than theirs. Luke and Han might be viewed as sons.

Luke would be a Type A individual, driven to do the very best he can and never satisfied with what he has accomplished so far, always focusing on the next goal. Han might be more like a Type B personality, although a flawed one. He is more easily satisfied by whatever circumstances he is in and often not driven to super-achievement. The Persona, or the parts of ourselves we reveal to others, is sometimes misleading. Lando might give a good example of the persona.

Before he greets Han when they land on his planet, he has already been in touch with the Emperor's representatives. He pretends to welcome Han as a friend but has already planned how he will capture him. This movie could also be looked at in terms of Freud's explanation of personality structure: the id, the ego, and the superego (BPS, 2001). The Id is the most animal of the three, and is driven to find pleasure and fun.

Its influence is demonstrated in Han's original reluctance to help the rebels because he has no interest in taking care of anyone but himself and what he needs. The Id can also be seen clearly in Jabba the Hut, the glutinous creature who lives only for his own entertainment and pleasure. The Superego is what drives us to do the right thing and morally be the best that we can be.

It is seen clearly in Obi-Wan Kenobe, and we see Luke constantly striving for the good that the superego brings to the person. We see its emergence in Han as he recognizes the need for the greater good the Rebels are fighting for, and especially in Darth Vader when Luke finally turns him back from the Dark Side just before Vader dies, in the last movie. The Ego is our sense of who we are.

The Ego develops gradually over time, and this development is demonstrated in the movie as Luke gradually develops his understanding of himself as a Jedi and family member. We also see ego development in Han as his vision of what is important to him changes and matures. Many defense mechanisms can be seen in the story. We see Luke identify with Obi-Wan and Yoda (Identification.) We see repression as Leia continually ignores her sexual passions because she has a job to finish. We see fixation in the Emperor,.