PTSD in Marrowbone Movie Directed by Sergio G. Sanchez Through Psychoanalysis Perspective

Abstract

The film Marrowbone (2017), directed by Sergio G. Sánchez, presents a profound psychological narrative centered on trauma and its aftermath. This study aims to analyze the symptoms and causes of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) exhibited by the main character, Jack Marrowbone, through a psychoanalytic lens. Employing a qualitative descriptive method, the research examines key scenes and dialogues from the film. The analysis is guided by the diagnostic criteria of the DSM-5 American Psychiatric Association (2013) to identify PTSD symptoms and Rosenberg &Kosslyn (2010) theory to explore the causative psychological and social factors. Furthermore, Freud (1989) structural model of the psyche (id, ego, superego) is applied to interpret Jack's internal conflicts and defense mechanisms. The findings reveal that Jack exhibits the four core symptom clusters of PTSD: intrusion, avoidance, negative alterations in mood and cognition, and hyperarousal. These symptoms are determined to be a direct result of both pre-existing psychological vulnerabilities stemming from childhood abuse and severe social factors, including poverty, isolation, and overwhelming responsibility. The psychoanalytic perspective reveals how Jack's psyche fractures under the pressure of his superego's moral imperative, leading his ego to construct survivalist fictions and his id to seek immediate escape from pain, culminating in a dissociative response to unbearable trauma.