Regarding Henry Movie Analysis

Regarding Henry essay
In the movie Regarding Henry the main character is shot in the head and loses his memory. He then needs to relearn how to do all basic activities. He then has to go through using just the id and learning how to use the super ego. Henry acts very childlike and is very impulsive which is like the id, but he also has to learn to use the super ego to be socially acceptable. Henry’s natural state is the id because even before he was shot he didn’t feel bad about getting an innocent man convicted. Henry’s id is shown through how he is impulsive. In one scene he buys a dog just because he sees on in a window. He also gets mad when he is told he has to leave Bradlee which is selfish since his family needs him and he doesn’t
care. He also wanted cigarettes bad enough to go the store in the cold which is what got him shot. He also doesn’t want his daughter to go away to this school which shows how his emotions are affected by his id. In another scene he is flicking paper at his daughter because he can’t read this shows the playful side of his id. Although he shows many signs of the id he also shows many signs of the superego. Henry realizes that he got an innocent man convicted and feels very bad about this so he goes to the family and gives them the note to call the law firm and reopen the case so the family would be better off.
Henry also quits his job so he can be with his wife and family. In another scene he also takes his daughter out of the very good school so they can all be together. Henry found out he had an affair and feels very bad about it and wants to go apologize to his wife. All of these things show the superego in henry; however, He seems to have the id as his natural state. For a majority of the movie Henry is just trying to make himself happy which is the id. It isn’t until the end of the movie that he starts to shift towards the superego. The reason he is a natural state of the id is because when he lost his memory he became like a child and children only have the id. The superego has to develop in children which we saw happen to Henry in the movie. After seeing how impulsive he is it is very clear that he has a natural state of the id. After Henry is shot he has to make the childlike journey from id to superego. This shows how Freud’s theory that a child is very id focused is true. We all had the same focus as kids we were all selfish and didn’t have empathy or a
superego.