Psychological Analysis of Jigsaw - Term Paper Example

? Psychological Analysis of Jigsaw Psychological analysis of Jigsaw The movie was is one of the most trilling horror movies of all times. The story usually revolves the character ‘The Jigsaw Killer’ alias John Kramer played by the actor Tobin Bell. Usually the actor 'Jigsaw' and has featured in all the releases of the film franchise. He takes on the dark side as he tortures his victims with the majority of them ending up dead. His famous line ‘I’d like to play a game’ symbolizes the beginning of the torture, though there is always a ray of hope in that if you are able to complete the task before the expiry of a stipulation, then you are free to go, which rarely happens. Though fictitious, the character has attracted a lot of attention, especially from the psychological field. Jigsaw introduces an element of interest to the study, which is interpreted differently by different scholars and experts. Several elements in the character show a form of metal breakdown or disturbance, whereas others may associate his behavior to behaviorism. Is either case, he seems to enjoy inflicting pain on his victims, whom he expounds to the viewers the connection they have to their current predicament. Under the work of Sigmund Freud, a world-renowned psychologist, the character Jigsaw focuses on the life and death instincts. According to the psychologist, the life instincts, which he refers to as Eros (Freud, 2010), are based on the basic human survival skills. In the franchise movies, the jigsaw puts his victims under extreme conditions in which they have to choose whether they are going to try to survive, or face the consequence of death. In the films, jigsaw uses traps that he has constructed to fit the victim and the ‘rules’ which they are to follow to survive the ordeal. The traps in the films are designed to inflict as much pain as possible, such as having to fish for a key in a bowl of hydrochloric acid. In accordance to the works of Freud, pain lies in the Eros category of human instincts. Contradicting life in the works of Freud is death, which he refers to as death instincts (Thanatos) (Freud, 2010). In his book ‘Behind the Pleasure’ Freud states that the main objective tied to life is death. This instinct is particularly evident in persons who have experienced near death experiences. He states that these people have a tendency towards death, though in their unconscious mind or state (Freud, 1987). The people that he suggests would fall under this category include individuals who have witnessed acts of horror such as first-degree murder, warzone conflict, and other trauma inflicted near death experiences. This desire to die in the trauma stricken patients is widely hindered by life. Based on his studies, Freud categorically states that the destructive behavior that is linked to individuals of near death experiences can be traced back to the energy that was created by the Thanatos. This energy when expulsed to the exterior can be witnessed as extreme anger, violence, aggression and hatred towards people surrounding the patient (Freud, 2010). Jigsaw thus does fall under the category of individuals who have experienced the Thanatos instincts. I can support this statement by citing the heinous acts he exposes his victims. Through the movie franchise, it has been established severally that the traps set by Jigsaw were inescapable. Even if the victim may have freed themselves from the traps, they would still have not survived the violence that was directed towards them. In saw 3, one of his victims ‘Troy’ is chained to the walls via numerous hooks to his body parts. A live bomb left in the room set to go off in one minute thirty seconds, the challenge that he is to conquer is to flee from the hooks and be free, but it is revealed that the door was welded from the outside, Thereby eliminating the chances of troy escaping from his tormentor. In this scenario, Jigsaw’s mind was already made up in killing Troy, but he had to put him through the misery of life and death, giving him the choice of choosing either thus playing with the Thanatos and Eros as described by Freud. In case of Jigsaw towards his victims, the Thanatos is stronger than the Eros. It is apparent that he intends to kill his victims in the end. As his character is often described by various artists, he is a serial killer. Theories on this charters indicate that the y have a mental problem that might have been triggered by a traumatic event or a mental breakdown as suggested by Sigmund. Though a serial killer, there is another twist to the character, not only does he seem to enjoy his escapades, but he also enjoys watching the torture on the victims. He watches his victims as they struggle to get loose in an attempt to save their lives just before he ensures that it is terminated, which happens in the case of his young protege too. She was put under a ‘test’ even after having helped him in continuing his acts while in a somatic state. From the evidence covered above, it is safe to say that the patient Jigsaw is neurotic. The character displays signs of distress, in the mental capacity. The charter seems to base his attacks on the lives of his victims, where he identifies the victims mistakes, failures or weaknesses and uses it to engage the victim in his ‘games’. In doing this, the character assumes the role of God in that he decides the one that should live or die, but not before putting them under a lot of distress. Refereeing to Saw 3, Jigsaw needs the help of a doctor, whom she kidnaps with the help of his protege and puts the doctor under a lot of distress while forcing her to save his life. This act can be visualized as an act where the Jigsaw himself enjoys the death drive, which is the tendency of gaining pleasure in the Thanatos. Since Jigsaw, in Freud’s perspective is Death driven, he would recommend psychotherapy as a mode of treatment. Psychotherapy as a mode of treatment focuses on the behaviors of the patient, with the goal of changing it from the undesirable to the favored. This mode of treatment has a number of variances such as the psychodynamic approach, the cognitive and behavioral therapy. The principles behind this dorm of treatment are that the patient can be convinced to change his or her behavior since it is mentally rooted (Freud, 2010). According to the works of Freud, the psychodynamic approach to therapy would have been the best choice for treating the character Jigsaw. The psychologist believed that mentally anguished patients could be treated by making use of the ‘talking cure’ (Freud, 1987). The talking cure is a psychotherapeutic approach where the patient is assessed to determine the underlying and unresolved conflicts that might have been instilled in the earlier stages of development. I applaud this method of treatment, as it is evident that the character Jigsaw is talkative and shows some development with interaction. In the franchise, he is quoted asking for forgiveness, an act that a neurotic individual cannot execute. These are signs of remorse from the jigsaw and could have been easily the gateway to resolving his problem. This act may have also been triggered by the fact that he knew that he had no choice over his life, as his victims and he would have wanted the last laugh. References Freud, Sigmund. (1987). Beyond the Pleasure Principle. Middlesex: Cengage Learning. Freud, Sigmund. (2010). The Works of Sigmund Freud. 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