From time to time, human beings tend to be overwhelmed by life's experiences, particularly when they are negative. The experiences determine the choices we make and eventually define personality. The Grinch is a perfect example of how experiences shape character. For instance, The Grinch's loneliness and lack of acceptance make him steal, but afterward, a discovery of self makes him return the presents to the people of Whoville. The Grinch finds subjectivity through a world of changing experiences, which enables him to achieve his full potential by self-actualization.
The Plot
The Grinch is a 2018 comedy animated film that is based on the book How the Grinch Stole Christmas . The story revolves around the Grinch, whose plan is to steal Christmas presents from the residents of a small town called Whoville's Christmas by stealing all gifts and decorations. While every creature in the town is excited about Christmas, the green-furred Grinch could not be less amused. It is in the Grinch's spree to cause evil that he encounters Cindy Lou, a six-year-old on her way to meet Santa. During his spree to actualize his plans for ruining Christmas, he has a flashback that takes him back to his childhood. As seen in the movie, the Grinch's childhood was pretty lonely as he spent it in an orphanage (Meledandri, Healy, & Mosier, 2018). The flashback refuels his urge to steal Christmas gifts, around the same time that he acquired Fred, a fat reindeer. The Grinch uses the reindeer to steal a sleigh, after which he disguises himself as Santa and steals the presents. However, Cindy traps him, and as a result, she blames herself for the disappearance of the presents as she feels that she had played a part. Donna comforts her, saying that Christmas is not centered on gifts. The Whos join in dance and celebration, a move that shocks the Grinch. He had expected that they would be sad about missing the presents. The Grinch later has a change of heart, apologizes to the Whos, and returns all the stolen items. He then returns to his cave, sad and ashamed of his actions. Upon seeing him in this state, Cindy invites the Grinch to celebrate Christmas with her and her family, an invitation he half-heartedly accepts (Meledandri, Healy, & Mosier, 2018). Once they settle for dinner, the Grinch confesses that it is not Christmas he is scared about, but rather, it is the loneliness and neglect. After that, the Whos accept him, and they all enjoy Christmas together.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Karen Horney's Concept
There are several psychological aspects of the movie, and several theories will be used to help capture those aspects. The first one is Karen Horney's neopsychoanalytic concept. Throughout the film, the Grinch desires friendship. From a young age, as seen in the flashback, he led a life of loneliness. The Horneyan concepts include underlying anxiety, self-protective mechanism, aggressive personality, and neurotic needs for power (Mitchell, 2017). Underlying anxiety can be described as the feeling of loneliness and helplessness that is often pervasive. In the movie, the Grinch is always anxious, having lived alone all his life. His only companion was his dog. For this reason, he developed an overprotective mechanism of attaining self- power. The Grinch believes that if he has the power, no one could hurt him. When it comes to aggressive personality, the character portrayed is control. The Grinch shows this by stealing the Whos presents. In doing so, he was attempting to control their emotions by taking away their joy for Christmas presents. This can also be attributed to his obsessive need for power. The only way that one stops feeling inferior is by being in a position of power. By stealing their gifts, the Grinch was trying to suppress his anxiety issues by obtaining power. The Whos provided safety and acceptance for him, a feeling he never experienced before.
Abraham Maslow's Humanistic Approach
The second theory applicable in this movie is Abraham Maslow's humanistic approach to psychology. Maslow's theory categorically states that human beings can achieve full potential by evolving to self-actualization from basic needs (Winston, 2016). The concept's hierarchy of needs includes physiological, safety, love and belonging, esteem, and self-actualization. Physiological needs include necessary items for survival, such as food, water, and shelter. In the movie, the Grinch had all those requirements. However, when it comes to love and belongingness, he was lonely, and this was the root cause of all his troubles. As evident from the movie, the Grinch longed for companionship. He was accustomed to staying all by himself by the mountain where his only friend was his reindeer. For this reason, he built a superficial wall around him, where he buried his insecurities and anxiety. Consequently, when he came to Whoville around Christmas, he is taken by surprise by all the love and affection he got. Arguably, instead of embracing the Whos, he leans towards his insecurities by attempting to find power. The attempt is made by stealing the Whos Christmas presents. However, the journey reminds him of his loneliness. Eventually, he reaches his peak experience when he returns the gifts, apologizes to the Whoville residents, and they accept him back. The peak experience, according to Maslow, comes after a transcension of self, once the individual experiences a moment of ecstasy. In as much as the Whos gave love and affection to the Grinch the first time, he was unable to feel it since his journey in fulfilling Maslow's hierarchy was not complete. Once he fled to the mountain, he built his self-esteem and respect for others, which explains his change of heart. Once that happened, and he returned the gifts, he reached his peak experience of self-realization.
Carl Rodger's Humanistic Approach
The last approach that I used to analyze the Grinch is Carl Rodger's humanistic approach. Carl Rodgers based his theory on the topic of subjectivity, where human existence is based on the world of continually changing experiences (Elkins, 2019). Carl Rodgers further grouped the theory into two major categories, the real self, and the ideal self. The ideal self encompasses the desired characters that a person's personality should have while the real self is the person that one currently is. The psychologist concluded by suggesting that congruency is found once the thoughts of the true self and ideal self become similar (Elkins, 2019). Several things foster a similarity between the true self and the ideal self. One of them is unconditional positive regard. In the film, the Grinch lacked appreciation growing up because he was all alone. Therefore, he did not have someone to motivate him into becoming a better person. Once he got to Whoville, the situation changes as he began experiencing affection and acceptance. Even when he stole their Christmas decorations and presents, they still forgave him and accepted him back to the community. Incongruence is the disparity between an individual's ideal self and authentic self. The Grinch experienced incongruence after he had stolen from the Whos. His desperation and fears that had previously been erased by their acceptance came flooding back. For this reason, he desperately needed to return the stolen goods so that he could reestablish congruency within himself. Once he had been accepted back, he became his ideal self, a fully functioning person. In the end, when he settled to eat with Cindy, all the insecurities and desires of his former self are behind him, and he is now focused on living in his ideal self. It was through Whos reacceptance that he finds his ideal self.
Conclusion
The Grinch goes through several phases of his life. From an early age, he experiences loneliness since he has no family or friends. Loneliness breeds vulnerability in his life, which is why he goes and steals Christmas presents from Whoville. During that expedition, however, he experiences changes as he gets the much-needed love and affection from the Whos. Consequently, he has a change of heart as he returns the gifts and apologizes. It is, therefore, correct to say that through his worldly experiences, The Grinch, discovers subjectivity which helps him realize his full potential through self-actualization.
References
Elkins, D. N. (2019). Common Factors: What are They and What Do They Mean for Humanistic Psychology? Journal of Humanistic Psychology , 0022167819858533.
Meledandri, C (Producer), Healy, J (Producer), & Mosier, S (Director). (2018). The Grinch . United States: Netflix.
Mitchell, J. (2017). Individualism and Moral Character: Karen Horney's Depth Psychology . Routledge.
Winston, C. N. (2016). An Existential-Humanistic-Positive Theory of Human Motivation. The Humanistic Psychologist , 44 (2), 142.
