South African film TSOTSI Assignment | Custom Essay Services

I would like you to watch the South African film TSOTSI. Now that you know Freud’s psychoanalytic theory, you will notice and appreciate that film in this special way. Let’s examine Tsotsi’s emotional and psychological healing process through his interaction with different people in his life. Tsotsi was traumatized early in his life and has repressed that memory. We see Tsotsi from the beginning of the movie with no emotional display and you know that it signals repression when feeling any emotion is dangerous because it might elicit the original trauma. You will see a trigger to that memory when his friend mentions a “dog.” Tsotsi explodes; he can no longer hold back the repressed memory and all that energy results in his friend called Boston’s beating. Why the mention of the dog? How is that connected with Tsotsi’s trauma? Watch the movie to put all the pieces together.

Some things to watch for. Tsotsi, as a “gangster” which is the meaning of his nickname, has no conscience. Conscience develops in the phallic stage, so Tsotsi’s trauma fixated him in that stage without the development of a conscience. This is the time of the Oedipus Complex. Do you see how his love for his mother and hatred of his father shaped him into who he is? How can he heal himself? Remember that the healing process (abreaction) necessitates reliving the original trauma with a new understanding. How do Tsotsi’s relationships provide him with the opportunity/possibility of healing himself? What is the evidence that he is healed?

ASSIGNMENT

Analyze the psychological development of Tsotsi (also called David later in the movie)) according to the framework of Freudian psychoanalysis through his interactions/involvements with the figure listed beside the letter that begins your last name. Use appropriate terminology, demonstrate recognition of the issues of that particular developmental stage, and discuss how Tsotsi’s engagement with that particular person contributes to his abreaction process of healing. Do not retell the movie, but analyze its narrative to develop your argument.

Letters A through E: Father/Men

Letters F through K: Mother/Women

Letters L through R: Child/Baby

Letters S through Z: Animal/Dog

1+ pages, single-spaced