Psychoanalytic Film Theory

The study of the mind

When was Freud born?

1856 in Moravia.

What part of the mind did Freud say affects us without us knowing?
The Unconscious Mind.

What are the three subdivisions of the mind?

ID

Ego

Super Ego

How can we apply this to Alien?

The alien itself acts as an ID; kills for pleasure. Ash acts as an ego, he follows
his orders but hasnt got a moral compass. The woman character acts as a
Super ego since at the end she went back for the cat and she allowed the
man that was contaminated into the space ship even though orders specified
not to.

What is the metaphorical meaning of castration anxiety?

This is the fear of emasculation in both the literal and metaphorical sense. In
the metaphorical sense, castration anxiety refers to the to the idea of feeling
or being insignificant; there is a need to keep ones self from being
dominated.