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Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Alexander the Great





Is it possible for a son to love his mother too much? In modern society one would disagree and merely label the man as a "momma's boy," though Freud would have a different stance on this. Freud would incorporate his belief of the oedipus complex in his argument. The oedipus complex involves a father, son, and mother's relationship. In Oliver Stone's production of Alexander the Great, Alexander exemplifies a son involved in an oedipus complex, which Freud.

Freud believes that between a father, son, and mother, their triangle relationship causes psychological ambitions and issues. The son looks up to the father and wants to be as great as him, though he also wants his father out of the picture. The son wants this because he loves his mother so much he longs for her to be solely his. This triangle relationship can be conquered when the son becomes an individual and the parents grow old and weak, though under some circumstances the son does not realize his individuality. When the father by chance dies or under some circumstance is out of the picture, the son becomes confused and tries to rationalize the fathers dissapearane as well as resist his lust for his mother now that she is his. Freud believes that this happens because childhood is the most crucial component of an adults pyschology as well as their relationship with the parents. Freud says, "In my experience, which is already extensive, the chief part in the mental lives of all children who later become psychoneurotics is played by their parents. Being in love with the one parent and hating the other are among the essential constituents of the stock of psychical impulses which is formed at that time..." (814). He believes this is when the childs mind is dependent on both parents, and if the father vanishes, it will affect the their mind.

In the 2004 film Alexander the Great, Alexander's father is murdered. Alexander goes on to conquer lands and make a name for himself, though he avoids his home and his mother. When he finally speaks with his mother, he blames her for his father's death and is furious she took part in it. At the end of his rant about his hatred for her, he kisses her on the mouth in a sexual way. Though he is distraught with his mother and mourning his father, he is struggling with an internal conflict of sexual lust for her. He is an example of a confused son in an oedipus complex gone awry. In this film, Alexander proves Freuds theory that the parental relationship with a child is crucial in an adults progression to finding ones self.

Works Cited

Sigmund, Freud. "The Interpreation of Dreams." The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism. 2nd ed. New York: W. W. Norton &, 2010. 115-16. Print.

Stone, Oliver. "Alexander the Great." 2004. Film.

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