The advert I am going to write about is the 2011 Christmas advert for John Lewis. I am going to write it through the theoretical lens of psychoanalysis and talk about some on the theory’s of philosopher Sigmund Freud.
The advert shows a young boy very low and depressed. He appears to be upset that the countdown to Christmas is taking so long. Throughout the advert you get the impression that the boy just wants Christmas day to come sooner so he can get his gifts. At the end of the advert you see the boy wake up on Christmas morning and walk straight past his presents that are at the end of his bed. The boy goes straight to his wardrobe and takes out a large present and carries it into his parent’s room. At the end of the advert the tagline reads ‘For gifts you just can’t wait to give’. This is the way I interpreted the advert at first. However after reading up on some psychoanalytical theories including the Oedipus complex and wish fulfilment I found that the advert could be interpreted in a different way.
The opening scene of the advert is the outside of the family house with the bedroom light turning on. There is calming piano music playing over the advert. It then goes to the scene where a little boy is opening the first window on his advent calendar the camera then pans down to window twenty-five on his advent calendar and the child looks disheartened. In the next scene the child is sitting alone in the kitchen bouncing a ball against the wall. The child looks sad and the music is depressing.
Freud talked about a part of the personality called the ‘ID’ . According to Freud this part of the mind it completely unconscious and uncontrollable. A.Hjelle (1985, p 33) commented “The word ‘id’ comes from the Latin word ‘it’ and refers exclusively to the biological component of the personality. The id is the mental agency containing everything inherited, present at birth and fixed in the individuals constitution- especially sexual and aggressive instincts. It is raw, animalistic and unorganised, knows no laws, obeys no rules and remains basic to the individual throughout life… The id, as the original or oldest personality system expresses the primary principle of all human life”.
When it’s the 1st of December in the advert and the child is looking at the calendar its obvious the child is unhappy about what date it is even though it’s something that the child cannot control. Using Freud’s theory, you could argue that this is the ID taking control. However the child controls his frustration and just looks down at the floor, which could be what Freud describes as the ‘ego’ taking control of the situation. A.Hjelle (1985, p.35) said “The ego is the portion of the psychic apparatus that seeks to express and gratify the desires of the id… The ego requires its structure and functions from the id”.
In the advert the child continues to look miserable, not participating in any of the activities his younger brother is doing and has a vacant expression on his face.
Forty-one seconds in to the advert the boy is playing outside on his swing. The weather changes and it begins to snow. His mother looks out of the window in a concerned way.
In the next scene the child is sitting on the sofa next to his father. There is a sense of tension between him and his father. At not one point in the advert does there seem to be any sense of bonding between the boy and his father. Freud writes about something called the Oepideous complex.
Donald (1991) desciped the ancient story of Oedipis:
Oedipis, son of Lais, king of thebes and of Jocasta, was exposed as an infant because an oracle had warned Lais that the still unborn infant would be his Fathers murderer. The child was rescued and grew up as a prince in an alien court, until, in doubt as to his origin, he too questioned the oracle and was warned to avoid his home since he was destined to murder his father and take his mother in marriage. On the road leading away from what he believed to be his home, he met King Laius and slew him in a sudden quarrel. He came next to Thebes and solved the riddle set him by sphinx who barred his way. Out of gratitude the Thebans made him their king and gave him Jocastas hand in marriage. He reigned long in peace and honour and she, who unknown to him was his mother and bore him two sons and two daughters. Then, at last the plague broke out and the Thebans made an inquiry once more of the oracle. It is at this point that the sophocles tradegy opens. The messenger brings back the reply that the plague will caease when the murderer of Laius has been driven from land”.
Because of the tension between the child and the father in this particular advert I do see how the Oedipius complex could come in to play. The father doesn’t even bother to turn his head to stop the boy shaking his leg he simply just puts his hand down to stop him.
After that, the family are sitting at the dinner table eating and the boy is frantically eating his vegetables. The father looks at the boy in a disconcerted way and then looks at the mother who just has an apathetic, reserved look on her face. The child devours the food and then rushes upstairs to his bedroom and slams his door behind him. The whole time the family seem very detached from one and other. I was unsure at this point whether the boy was upset because he wanted Christmas to be over with or because he wanted it to come sooner.
In the end scene the boy wakes up on Christmas morning and walks straight past his pile of presents. He walks over to his wardrobe and pulls out a large poorly wrapped present and carries it straight into his parents room. His parents are still both in bed and they look shocked. You could argue that this is the selfless act of giving that the child has been so excited about giving away this present all this time that he just wanted time to go faster. There is nothing that specifically shows that this gift is for both of his parents and there is only one gift. If you were looking at it from a Freudian point of view you could argue that the gift is just for his mother and he is trying to seduce her. The boy could have been so upset and detached all this time because he was impatient and the ID was taking over. He didn’t want his plans to be ruined and his father to get in his way. The end caption is “For gifts you can’t wait to give”.
Donald, J. Mulvey, R. Thresholds (1991) Psychoanalysis and Cultural Theory.P27-50
A. Hjelle, DJ Ziegler, McGraw-Hill international book company (1985) Personality Theories, Basic assumptions, research and applications.
Bibliography
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