, Psychological Counseling Center of East China Normal University (Copyright, please indicate the original author and source: China Autopsychology Network)
Kunshan struggled and gave birth to a ridiculous mouse.
The mountains will be in larror, a ridiculous mouse will be born.
(Horace, Ars Poetica, 139)
1. Synopsis and introduction of narcissism:
"God created the world in 7 days, and I destroyed myself in 7 seconds. "
Seven Pounds," the movie "Seven Pounds" starring Will Smith, kicked off with this sentence.
The plot of the story is roughly like this:
Tim, 39 years old, is a successful, confident, and personable middle-aged man. He has been eager to fly since he was a child, and grows up to become an engineer who builds spaceships. He lost his wife in a car accident two years ago and six other people were killed. At that time, he was checking the information on his mobile phone and did not notice in time the vehicle on the opposite side that violated the rules, which caused a catastrophe.
Seven lives weighed heavily on Tim's heart, causing him to fall into a severe depression, living in isolation, thinking about death all day. After donating a lung to his younger brother Ben, he decided to use his other body organs and property to help others, and then committed suicide. He asked friends to help, and borrowed his brother's identity as an ISR tax investigator to get to know those in need. In the process, he fell in love with Emily who suffers from congenital heart disease. Love rekindled his hope in life. But Emily was in desperate need of a heart transplant. Eventually Tim called an emergency call in the hotel. During the painful struggle and the flashback at the scene of the car accident, in the bathtub filled with ice, let the beautiful and deadly jellyfish help him end his life...
Tim was carrying his wife, probably going to a restaurant for dinner, and driving on the fast lane correctly. The only mistake was that he didn't concentrate on driving, because he checked the information on his mobile phone and didn't notice the traffic on the opposite side in time. It stands to reason that he did not need to bear legal responsibility for this serious car accident, but what made him so guilty and self-blame, and finally used his entire life to pay off the debts of seven people, including his wife, by donating organs and real estate. Woolen cloth?
God is mentioned at the beginning of the film. If Tim is a religious believer, he can get God's forgiveness through confession and use other methods to atone for his sins, not necessarily committing suicide. Aristotle, Plato, Saint Augustine, and the Bible are all committed to prohibiting suicide. If there is suicide, it must be a manifestation of arrogance in the eyes of the church. This is a very narcissistic person. "God used 7 days to create the world, and I used 7 seconds to destroy myself." From Tim's words, people are not uncomfortable with the smell of narcissism. That beautiful and deadly jellyfish reminds the author of the ancient exaggerated self, from the accidental car accident to narcissistic rage, and Tim’s suicidal salvation reminds of the break and recovery of the self.
Next, from the perspective of narcissism, this article re-examines the film from the perspective of self-psychology, and attempts to speculate, analyze and understand Tim’s self-development and his explicit behavior.
2. Related concepts of
autopsychology : The term "narcissism" often implies a derogatory meaning in daily life, which is disgusting or pathological. In Freud's time, people who believed that narcissism could not empathize with the analyst, and therefore could not be cured.
Heins Kohut did the same for narcissism as Charles Dickens did for the poor: legitimize it. He defines narcissism as the betting object of the original desire in the body, which persists in the overall structure of the spirit. Everyone pursues the maturity and development of narcissism throughout their lives.
The development route of narcissism:
Cohut regards the grandiose and idealized parent imago as "archaic narcissistic configuratins", because they all originated in the early stages of life The subconscious attempts to preserve the original perfection. Their central mechanism can be said like this-"I am perfect" is equivalent to exaggerating the self; "You are perfect and I am a part of you" is equivalent to an idealized parental image.
Kohut argued that these two types of narcissism co-existed from the beginning, and then each had its own development path.
Under the most suitable development conditions, the expressionism and exaggeration of the ancient exaggerated self are gradually tamed, and the whole structure is finally integrated into the adult personality, and instinctive energy is supplied to our ego-syntonic ambitions. Purpose, enjoyment of one's own activities, and important aspects of self-esteem. In similar favorable situations, idealized images of parents are also integrated into the adult personality. It is introjected as our idealized superego, and by presenting its ideal guidance to us, it has become an important component of our spiritual organization.
The ancient exaggerated self will eventually be tamed and integrated into the adult personality; it provides "fuel" for "self-suitable ambitions and goals, our enjoyment of activities, and an important part of our self-esteem." (kohot) , 1971, P27) (The maturity of "expressive narcissism" begins with the exaggeration of the self, with "ambition" as its ultimate; the maturity of "idealizing narcissism" (idealizing narcissism) begins with idealized parental images, and finally ideal Formation.
The best development of the self is by exaggerating the self (omnipotent, ambitious struggling to gain power and success), idealized parental images (values and goals), and skills and talents maintained by the tension between the two. In the middle domain, the progress of these three elements is consolidated into a unified self (Cohesive self), which requires a keen, fascinating, and accurate parental image (self-object). The mirror image they applaud reflects the child’s Self-worth thus encourages the development and maintenance of self-esteem and self-affirmation.
The stagnation of narcissistic development:
Regarding the exaggerated self, if a child encounters a serious narcissistic trauma, the exaggerated self cannot be integrated into the appropriate self content, but stays in the unchanged form, and continues to achieve its ancient goal effort.
Also, if the child feels traumatic disappointment with the admiring adult, the idealized parental image will remain in its unaltered form, unable to transform into a tension-regulated mental organization, and unable to achieve an attainable introphotographic state. Still maintained in ancient, temporary, self-objects used to maintain narcissistic homeostasis. (Kohot, 1971, p.28)
3. The development of Tim's own structure:
From the hypnotic story that Tim told Emily, we can roughly understand his growth process and infer the development of Tim's own body from it:
Tim was very good at it when he was a child Making a paper airplane for his brother, one day he wrapped his arms in leaves and branches, climbed onto the old oak tree, and jumped off regardless of his brother's prevention. It turned out that the tree was high and he broke his arm. Since then, he realized that he wanted to fly, so he devoted all his life to building spacecraft. His dream was to send humans to the moon. Until one day the dragon appeared...
Before the car accident, Tim had basically realized his dream. He is a successful person with a happy career and a happy family. He is confident, personable, and humorous. This shows that he has a well-developed unified self. But I can vaguely feel that there seems to be a potential defect in exaggerating the element of the self in his self structure.
The younger brother is younger than him, and even knowing that he can't fly, Tim seems to have exaggerated and unrealistic ideas about himself since he was a child. The fantasy of flying is full of abilities that are not limited by the ability and intelligence. Checking the phone while driving on the highway is also because you exaggerate your superiority, uniqueness, sturdiness, and infinity, which are all unmodified. Common features of infantile exaggeration. In addition, exploring the universe and flying into the universe are also obvious manifestations of human beings exaggerating themselves.
Continue to look at it from a relationship perspective. In romantic relationships, people often repeat the mother-infant relationship and often become an important self-object of the other party. Tim has a good fascination with Emily. He listens to her troubles on the phone, uses stories to help her fall asleep, and stays with her all night, just like a mother treats a child. But Emily was unable to tune with Tim due to illness and sleepiness, especially when it comes to the appearance of the dragon, the feeling is completely opposite. The dragon in Emily's heart is probably the auspicious Chinese dragon, but what Tim is talking about is the dragon in the universe that is blazing fire. They are so bad that they are probably the original body of the devil mentioned in the Bible. In addition, when Tim saw a jellyfish for the first time at the age of 12 and was stunned by its beauty, he was surrounded by only his father and younger brother; his wife was killed in a car accident; he gave his younger brother a lung; he finally committed suicide through the jellyfish as Emily Give your heart...
Through these movie plots and the clues behind them, we might as well make a bold guess. Maybe Tim’s mother was unable to tune with him and respond with appropriate psychic resonance; perhaps Tim had a very fascinating mother. It can mirror his exaggerated self, but he left prematurely due to illness or some accident in his childhood. In either case, Tim’s exaggerated expressionism self cannot be fully integrated into the personality through transformational internalization, and some remain in the ancient form, showing certain morbid characteristics: including superiority and uniqueness to oneself. , Sturdiness, and infinity, with unrealistic thoughts of exaggerating self-respect; looking forward to showing and expressing oneself; unable to bear the imperfect feeling of one's own name, looking forward to special favors;......
It should be added here that it is not an exaggeration that children who have not developed well will not have a bright future. If they can be successfully transferred to their fathers or other people with important influence, the image of the imagined parents or the twins will develop well ( The compensation structure mentioned by Cohut), the healthy development of the self is still worth looking forward to. Maybe Tim is in this situation, so he can have an integrated self and a satisfactory life before the car accident.
4. Narcissistic rage and redemption:
The ancient needs of exaggerating the self are undoubtedly hard to be satisfied forever, and will inevitably suffer from the trauma of narcissism. A broken arm can be tolerated, but a major car accident due to ignorance of the danger is unbearable. Not only did Tim lose his self-object, but the seven lives weighed heavily on Tim's heart, making him unable to breathe. This was also a serious injury and humiliation to his infantile and exaggerated self-perfect fantasy, which incited a devastating narcissistic rage. This narcissistic rage turned back to oneself, leading to self-hatred and despair, and also to forced masochism. We can see this in his self-sealing, sleepless nights, nightmares, continuous flashbacks of traumatic situations, and falling into a state of major depression. It can also be felt in the suicidal salvation actions he took later.
One year later, his brother Ben became ill and needed a lung transplant. When Tim donated a lung to his younger brother, he also gained a sense of self and value, and reactivated the ancient exaggerated self, giving the broken self a chance to repair. From the people Tim selected to be helped, we can see the fragments of his self-disintegration, and at the same time we can vaguely see the extreme development of his idealized parental image.
Tim regards his donated organs and real estate as precious gifts that can change the fate of others, and not everyone can get it. As he said to an old man when investigating the character of a recipient: "I have the ability. Change his situation completely, but I don’t want to give this gift to someone who is not worthy." He first asked his friends to help him find someone in need, then screened according to his own values, and borrowed his brother’s ISR tax investigator’s Identity to contact those lucky ones, observe them, test them, and finally help them. All he has done satisfies his exaggerated self-control desire. For those in need, it is like encountering a God who has unlimited powers such as creation, salvation, and judgment.
He donated half of his liver to Holly, a black woman who works at the Family Service and Child Welfare Center, a warm helper;
he donated one of his kidneys to ice hockey coach George: "I heard You sponsored several children to go to college." "That's nothing." "You know, I keep asking you, why did you choose me?" "Because you are a good person, you didn't even notice that others were paying attention to you. "
He donated bone marrow to Nicholas, a child with leukemia;
he gave his seaside house to Connie, who was abused by his boyfriend, had two ribs broken, and had two children. Connie gave them a paradise where they could soothe their souls. After
Tim committed suicide. , His cornea brought light to the blind pianist Ezra Turner, his heart beating on the chest of his lover Emily Posa...
Among these rescued people, some are very difficult, especially in need of help, but because of their lack of self-esteem. Originally asking for help; some people think they are ordinary, insignificant, and not worthy of help. These humble, helpless, fearful parts can be seen as fragments of Tim's self-disintegration. By helping them, Tim also repaired his broken and damaged self. The printing machine repaired by Tim is a very good symbol.
Tim's self-salvation method can be said to be extremely creative. By implanting his own organs into others, he relieved his guilt and repaired his previously broken and damaged self. At the same time, he also fulfilled the strong need for the ancient exaggerated self to be remembered, noticed, and appreciated. Kohut (1971) believes that this positive recognition—that is, the need to be mirrored—is indispensable in the development of healthy self-esteem, not only for the effective operation of functions, but also for obtaining humanity. The higher form of narcissism that is fundamentally necessary for the contribution to civilization.
Looking back at the last episode of the film: Ezra and Emily met, and two people who were reborn because of him hugged each other. "He saw his heart beating in her body through his eyes." It was a pair of attention, mirrors. Reflecting, tender eyes, that is a pure, sincere, and beating heart, what could be more touching than this?
5. Title, jellyfish, and others:
(1) The
film is called "Seven Pounds", and there are many explanations for this online:
1. "The Merchant of Venice" from Shakespeare: When the bet has been placed or the debt is borrowed, it must be repaid Yes, otherwise it must be repaid by cutting a pound of meat. One of the stories is that a merchant creditor must cut a pound of meat. The meaning of this film is that Will Smith owed 7 lives before, so he had to pay 7 pounds of flesh. This is also the main line of the movie. Will has been seeking help for seven people to redeem himself.
2,1 lbs = 454 grams = 0.454 kg
adult heart weight of 0.5% of body weight, reckoned "183Club" Will Smith's body weight 90kg, 90kg * 0.5% = 0.45 kg, just pound. Seven pounds refers to seven hearts, seven people (the Taiwanese translation "Qisheng Fortunately" has this meaning)
3. The eyes, lungs, kidneys, heart, liver, and bone marrow donated by the protagonist add up to a total of 7 pounds. Hence the name Seven Pounds.
No matter which statement is correct, Tim donated 7 gifts from himself in the film and helped 7 people to save 7 innocent souls who were killed in the car accident.
The ancients in the East and the West believed that "7" is a mysterious number, a lucky number, and it is everywhere in our lives. It is particularly worth mentioning that Christianity believes that "7" represents perfection, which coincides with the ancient desire for narcissism.
(2)
Jellyfish (Jellyfish) is a low-grade coelenterate, and it is also a carnivorous animal. Jellyfish appeared earlier than dinosaurs, dating back 650 million years ago, which is truly ancient. More than 95% of the body of a jellyfish is water. It looks like a transparent umbrella with long tentacles extending around. In the blue ocean, these swimming jellyfish of different colors are very beautiful.
Jellyfish are beautiful but fierce. Under the umbrella body, those slender tentacles are its digestive organs and its weapons. The tentacles are covered with stinging cells, like poisonous threads, capable of ejecting venom. After the prey is stung by the sting, it will quickly become paralyzed and die.
Although the jellyfish is a low-grade coelenterate, three generations live together, which is enviable. Jellyfish give birth to small jellyfish. Although small jellyfish can live on their own, they seem to have deep feelings between their parents and children and cannot bear to be separated. Therefore, the small jellyfish are attached to the body of the jellyfish. Soon after, the little jellyfish gave birth to grandchildren of jellyfish, which are still closely linked.
Exaggerating the self needs to be considered beautiful, amazing, want to be remembered and noticed, has a strong desire for control and integration, and is therefore toxic, dangerous, and fatal. Jellyfish is the best image endorsement of the ancient exaggerated self.
(3)
The storyline in the movie is basically based on Tim's exaggeration of the development, degradation, and redevelopment of the self. Does this also imply an important human theme:
blindly seeking to exaggerate the satisfaction of the self, blindly pursuing technological progress, blindly pursuing The exploration of the universe contains huge risks, which may lead to narcissistic rage and the destruction of mankind.
The way of salvation in the future is to care about everyone's life with a fascinating attitude, so that the whole mankind can develop harmoniously. This is what Kohut is concerned about, and it is also the concern of every psychotherapist who is committed to the well-being of the human soul.
Bibliography:
[1] "Analysis of the Self" Kohut, 1971
[2] "Reconstruction of the Self" Kohut, 1977
[3] "Psychoanalysis of Healing" Kohut, 1984
[4] "The Theory and Practice of Self Psychology" Marjorie Taggart White and Marcella Bakur Weiner, 1986
[5] "Hans Koch and Self Psychology" Allen M. Siegel, 1996
[6] "The History of Suicide" (French) by George Nova, Li Jie, Lin Quanxi Translation, 2003
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