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A Dangerous Method
Jan. 5th, 2013 12:41 amA Dangerous Method is about Freud and Jung and the beginnings of psychoanalysis, and as such I thought it would be fun, or at least have a lot of exciting turn of the century sets and costumes and so forth.And it does, let me say up front, have some very nice costumes. It’s impressive how many different kinds of white dresses the women wear.
Otherwise? If this movie is accurate, Jung was a total and utter jerk, and not in a way that’s fun to watch. No, he was a self-righteous, self-justifying, double-crossing cad.
Okay, so Jung sleeps with his patient Sabina. He feels super guilty about a) how he ought to feel guilty about this but doesn’t, and b) how feeling guilty about giving into sexual urges is just a social construct so really he shouldn’t feel any guilt about anything at all. He does not, let us note, feel particularly guilty about betraying his wife (he sleeps with Sabina on the sailboat his wife gave him), or about seducing Sabina, even though sleeping with a patient is ALL THE ETHICAL VIOLATIONS EVER, God.
But finally all the guilt, never mind the source, gets to Jung, and he insists that they stop sleeping together. As you might expect, poor Sabina t is rather distraught about the shabby way he treated her, and sends a letter to Freud asking for intervention. Freud asks Jung about it...
And Jung is all “Transference! Transference all the way! Never slept with that saucy Sabina in my life!”
DIE IN A FIRE, JUNG. YOU FAIL AT EVERYTHING.
Sabina confronts Jung, insisting that he tells Freud the truth. Jung is all “Are you blackmailing me?” She slashes his cheek with a penknife.
Jung tells Freud. Freud drops Jung as his heir apparent, not just because he is a lying cad, but that’s a large part of it. Then Freud tells Sabina her psychoanalytical ideas are awesome, which in Freud sounds like “I’ve been thinking something similar,” because he is a little full of himself. I think we were supposed to find Freud’s ego off-putting and thus cheer for Jung’s upstart ways? Except at least Freud’s ego is not so all-consuming as to lead him to sleep with his patients.
Otherwise? If this movie is accurate, Jung was a total and utter jerk, and not in a way that’s fun to watch. No, he was a self-righteous, self-justifying, double-crossing cad.
Okay, so Jung sleeps with his patient Sabina. He feels super guilty about a) how he ought to feel guilty about this but doesn’t, and b) how feeling guilty about giving into sexual urges is just a social construct so really he shouldn’t feel any guilt about anything at all. He does not, let us note, feel particularly guilty about betraying his wife (he sleeps with Sabina on the sailboat his wife gave him), or about seducing Sabina, even though sleeping with a patient is ALL THE ETHICAL VIOLATIONS EVER, God.
But finally all the guilt, never mind the source, gets to Jung, and he insists that they stop sleeping together. As you might expect, poor Sabina t is rather distraught about the shabby way he treated her, and sends a letter to Freud asking for intervention. Freud asks Jung about it...
And Jung is all “Transference! Transference all the way! Never slept with that saucy Sabina in my life!”
DIE IN A FIRE, JUNG. YOU FAIL AT EVERYTHING.
Sabina confronts Jung, insisting that he tells Freud the truth. Jung is all “Are you blackmailing me?” She slashes his cheek with a penknife.
Jung tells Freud. Freud drops Jung as his heir apparent, not just because he is a lying cad, but that’s a large part of it. Then Freud tells Sabina her psychoanalytical ideas are awesome, which in Freud sounds like “I’ve been thinking something similar,” because he is a little full of himself. I think we were supposed to find Freud’s ego off-putting and thus cheer for Jung’s upstart ways? Except at least Freud’s ego is not so all-consuming as to lead him to sleep with his patients.
