Last week's essay pertaining to sadistic violence was one of the themes found in the movie Deliverance. This movie had four city folks Lewis, Ed, Bobby and Drew going on a canoe trip in an untamed Cahulawassee River, in Georgia, that was about to be damned.The 4 men encountered 2 mountain men with rifles. One mountain men sadistically raped Bobby and the other was about to sexually rape Ed . However, Lewis killed the man while the other fled. A moral crisis occurred . Should the incident be reported to the police or should the body be buried ? Later, Drew was shot and Lewis broke his leg traversing through the rough rapids. Ed ,Lewis and Bobby become trapped knowing that the escaped mountain man was motivated to kill all three, Ed made a difficult rock climb and killed that mountain man . They sank the body of Drew and the body of the mountain man and proceeded on their journey. Ed, Lewis and Bobby covered up their crime . This essay Illustrates principles of group identification under conditions of external danger .
Situations of external danger demonstrate increased group solidarity. Individuals become willing( transference) to engage in hazardous situations that depend largely on group identification especially in dangerous circumstances. For example, group solidarity comes from strong emotional bonds established( a transference,) between members and the leader. Lewis ,based on his characteristics of physique, knowledge and macho behavior , became the leader. The other three are non-muscular, not knowledgeable about canoeing and have limited survival skills at the onset. When Lewis killed the mountain man after the rape of Bobby, the group had to decide what to do . Drew knew right from wrong and morally wanted to obey the law by going to the police to report what happened. However, his sense of morality was put in abeyance . Lewis , exhibited no moral quandary, no remorse and told them that they would not get a fair jury trial because of the inbreeding in Appalachia. Bobby shamed and humiliated ( narcissistic injury) does not want his personal traumatic incident revealed . His feelings of hate trumped morality and he wanted revenge. Ed’s sense of morality was held in abeyance . He wanted Lewis’ approval and went along with the plan. However, his feelings of shame and guilt remained with him. With group cohesiveness, the entire group buried the body per Lewis’ idea .
The reality of white water rapids and the sexual abuse by the mountain man, resulted in a transference reaction to the leader .They become dependent on Lewis for what to do during each of the dangerous situations that confronted them. One example was observing how Lewis navigated the white water rapids. When Lewis broke his leg, Bobby’s transference goes to Ed to climb and kill the threat. At that point, Ed became leader as Lewis was immobilized. Ed takes over the leadership role , was anxious, somewhat fearless, and put aside moral principles in killing that mountain man. He also lied to the sheriff at the end of their trip.
Lewis was the most delinquent among the four. He didn't fear anyone. He negotiated with the people from Appalachia; cut them off while driving to the river to be first and killed. His actions had contagious effects. He had no trouble killing, he was fearless and guiltless in covering up the murder. He was business like- matter of fact. Actually, the other three also went along with Lewis and also engaged in delinquent behavior. Ed and Drew ' moral code became non-existent. Bobby was more overt .He had his revenge working for him. He wanted to commit sadistic brutality to that dead man for what he had done to him.
Furthermore, group identification results in mutual support for a behavior that’s not likely to be committed when alone. It's the obedience to the leader that results in their conscience surrendering and being put out of action . It's almost like the creation of a different conscience or superego. Drew is firmly against the cover-up. However, he goes along with the other three comrades. During the digging of the grave, his guilt was expressed by aggressively digging the grave in order for it to be over , accomplished quickly and out of sight. Drew was the gentle musician that engaged in Duelling Banjos with the young mountain boy and was the most gentile man in the group. However, he went along with the cover up. Bobby was sadistically raped ,made to squeal like a pig, and was mounted by the mountain man. Bobby was totally subservient ,helpless and at the whim of the other. He wanted revenge and had no trouble going after that dead mountain man's body.
Within a psychodynamic framework, transference results from strong emotional dependency needs. In one scene, Ed with his bow and arrow went into the forest. He was excellent with the bow and arrow when practicing at a shooting range. However, in the forest, he encountered a deer. He took aim and had difficulty letting go as his arm shaked from fear and anxiety. He was not able to slay that deer. His arrow clearly missed the mark and the deer got away. Previously, Lewis, excellent with the bow and arrow, killed fish for their dinner and talked about the difference between practice and actually killing. After the missed shot, Ed returned to camp. He doesn't dare tell Lewis that he choked and couldn't kill the deer. He lied and said he didn't come across any game. Clearly Ed was fearful that Lewis would withdraw and change his attitude from liking and respecting to putting him down as a loser , incompetent , a failure and worthless . He didn't dare admit his inadequacies to the macho leader Lewis. He feared disapproval and rejection. Unconsciously, separation anxiety from the past becomes significant. Early in life, children fear of being abandoned by their parents .This common unconscious dynamic becomes exacerbated specially with the unexpected, not being in control and with obstacles of nature as well as man. Separation anxiety surfaced for Ed . He was anxious and fearful of losing Lewis.
Reassurance is another dependency that surfaces with danger. At the end of the film, Ed ,the new leader, created a different story than Lewis’ to tell to the authorities. Ed didn't want them to look upstream because of the 2 drowned bodies. The new story was that Drew drowned in the rapids and Lewis got injured in the rapids with no mention of the mountain man. Yes, they had 4 life vests but Drew didn't wear his. When asked why, Ed said he didn't know. He was fearful that the rock tied bodies would be found . Ed demanded that Bobby stick to the story and Bobby did as agreed. Bobby was fearful but was strongly dependent on Ed. He therefore suppressed any idea that went against Ed. Even Lewis, when told that story was changed by Ed, agreed and told the sheriff he didn't remember anything.
At the end of the film, Ed visits Drew's family. He was remorseful and experienced guilt when he lied about Drew’s death. He was the only one that demonstrated overt guilt. He sobbed, placed his head against his wife;s breast, rationalized his actions, but was unable to tell his wife the truth This trip ,by the four ,was not a deliverance from evil but conflictual . Bobby was sadistically raped, Drew was murdered , Lewis seriously injured and Ed murdered , experienced guilt and could not admit the cover up. Bobby was ashamed , humiliated and could not admit his experience to anyone . There was no deliverance from evil . On the positive, there was group cohesiveness, bonding, teamwork, physical prowess and survival. On the negative,there was sadism ,rape, amorality , guilt and murder .
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