Freud In The Media: Step Brothers

For this project we were given the opportunity to choose either a movie or TV show character and psychoanalyise them. In the project we had to observe how Freud’s defense mechanism are used and how the id, ego, and superego relate the the defense mechanisms. For this project I got to watch ‘Step Brothers’ so I could psychoanalyse the character Brennan.

Step Brothers is a comedy about two 40 year old men, one named Brennan and one named Dale. Dale lives with his dad and Brennan lives with his mom. Their parents end up getting married and they are forced to become step brothers. They are hesitant at first, but end up becoming good friends. Throughout the movie they act very immature, which frustrates their newly married parents. Their parents continuously try and motivate them to “grow up”, and get their lives together. But their child like behaviour and their skill of annoying everyone around them, causes them to be treated like children, right up until they’re forced to move out.   

In this project I will be psychoanalyzing the character Brennan. My goal is to observe how frequently Freud's defense mechanisms are used by the character. And to analysis how their id, ego, and superego interact amongst each other to create the tension that causes us to use Freud's defense mechanism.

Rationalization: A defense mechanism in which controversial behaviors or feelings are justified and explained in a seemingly rational or logical manner to avoid the true explanation

In this scene Brennan and Dale are sitting on the couch after they had just had an intense fight outside. Their fight broke out after Brennan touched Dale's drum set, after being warned not to. Their fight caused many people distress, including their parents. Their mom and dad are very upset and are confronting them about the dispute and some of the words and phrases that were said during it.

Brennan’s mom shows her disappointment in Brennan, and his shouting of the words, “Rape,” during the fight. Brennan, knowing these words are not to be taken lightly, explains this with the words, “ I honestly thought I was gonna be raped for a second. He had the craziest look in his eyes, and at one point he said, ‘ Let’s get it on,’”.

When Brennan said this he was coming up with an excuse for his words, that didn’t put the fault on him, and somewhat made his action of yelling rape ‘acceptable’.

In this scene the superego was in crisis. Brennan knows that yelling rape is morally wrong, and he was trying to explain himself so that it doesn’t seem so bad.

Projection: A form of defense in which unwanted feelings are displaced onto another person

In this scene Brennan is getting mad at his mom after hearing some unpleasant news. Brennan’s mom just explained to him and his step brother that her and her new husband will be selling the house they all live in and moving onto a boat that they will sail the word on, the only problem is that Brennan and Dale aren’t invited. As well as having to find a new place to live, Brennan and Dale will also have to attend therapy. After hearing the news, Brennan gets verbally made at his mom and step dad.

The reason this scene is projection is because earlier that day Brennan and Dale got ‘bullied’ by a group of elementary school kids at a park while they were on their way home from job interviews. The kids physically beat them up and verbally abused them. Since they are kids Brennan was unable to treat them in the same why, or even really fight back. After this traumatic experience, hearing his parents news caused him to act out against them

In this scene the id is in crisis. Brennan isn’t getting what he wants, so he is acting out against his parents.  

Regression: A defense mechanism leading to the temporary or long-term reversion of the ego to an earlier stage of development rather than handling unacceptable impulses in a more adaptive way.

Brennan is upset about his mom getting remarried, and in retaliation to this he is acting out against his mom. He is asking irrelevant question about his new dad, saying things that a child would say, like, “I’m not gonna call him dad. Even if there’s a fire,”. He is also sitting in the backseat. This shows that Brennan is not only acting like a child, but believes he is one. Brennan is acting like a brat. He thinks that his mom getting married is ‘unfair’ to him, and that his new step dad is an unworthy candidate for his mom.

In this Brennan’s id is in crisis. He is afraid of losing his mommy to this new guy, so he’s acting needy/ snotty, like a child would do.

Repression: An unconscious defense mechanism employed by the ego to keep disturbing or threatening thoughts from becoming conscious.

In this scene Brennan’s mom is bragging to their new family about how good Brennan is at singing, Brennan even describes himself as, “the songbird of his generation,”. When his step brother asks to hear him sing, his mom explains how he doesn’t sing in front of many people, including her. Later on in the movie Brennan’s mom, Nancy, tells her new husband, Robert, why Brennan doesn’t sing anymore. She explained that in high school Brennan decided

to enter a talent show and that he sang a song from an old pirate musical. Brennan’s younger brother  Derek got his football buddies to replace the choir and sing: "Brennan has a mangina.", and that even the audience sang along. And from that day on, Brennan never sang again.

This is repression because Brennan is pushing away the feeling of embarrassment and shame he faced in high school by not singing again. The singing reminds him of the feeling, so he chooses not to sing

Brennan’s superego is in crisis. The trauma of the event left feelings that he is ashamed of, his superego is putting him in a situation were he doesn’t have to experience those feelings again.

Displacement: an unconscious defence mechanism whereby the mind substitutes either a new aim or a new object for goals felt in their original form to be dangerous or unacceptable.

In this scene Brennan is banging away at Dales drums, even though he was warned not to touch them. Brennan really gets ‘mad’ at the drums, and hits them and yells at them.

This is displacement because Brennan is taking out his anger and hatred for Dale on his drums instead of him.  

In this scene Brennan’s id is in crisis. Brennan is mad cause he doesn’t like his new step brother, so he decides to do something that he knows will upset Dale, hoping that it will make him feel better.

All and all I think everyone can agree that Brennan is quite immature. Brennan uses this defence mechanism to make it through life, because it is quite obvious that he is unable to control and maintain his feelings and problems on his own. Through using these defense mechanisms Brennan was able to protect his feelings of anxiety and guilt.