{"id":7317,"date":"2012-05-22T15:11:04","date_gmt":"2012-05-22T20:11:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/?p=7317"},"modified":"2012-05-22T15:11:04","modified_gmt":"2012-05-22T20:11:04","slug":"trope-tuesday-freudian-trio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/trope-tuesday-freudian-trio\/","title":{"rendered":"Trope Tuesday: Freudian Trio"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/star-trek-spock_kirk_mccoy.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-7319\" title=\"star-trek-spock_kirk_mccoy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/star-trek-spock_kirk_mccoy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"265\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/star-trek-spock_kirk_mccoy.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/star-trek-spock_kirk_mccoy-105x140.jpg 105w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/?p=7297\" target=\"_blank\">Last week<\/a>, I blogged about the <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/TheThreeFacesOfEve\" target=\"_blank\">Three Faces of Eve<\/a> trope. \u00a0But if we&#8217;re going to discuss <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/PowerTrio\" target=\"_blank\">power trios<\/a> in any depth, we first need to examine the classic\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/FreudianTrio\" target=\"_blank\">Freudian Trio<\/a>, one of the most prevalent combos and, in some ways, a precursor to all others.<\/p>\n<p>As you might expect, the Freudian Trio borrows heavily from\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/SigmundFreud\" target=\"_blank\">Sigmund Freud<\/a>, specifically, his theory of <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/UsefulNotes\/IdSuperegoAndEgo\" target=\"_blank\">the Id, the Ego, and the Superego<\/a>. \u00a0 The main idea is that the human mind is divided into three parts: the Id, which comprises our basest animal instincts; the Superego, which comprises our concepts of morality and social norms; and the Ego, which <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/GoodAngelBadAngel\" target=\"_blank\">struggles to find a balance<\/a> between the two.<\/p>\n<p>In the Freudian Trio, these elements of the psyche are represented by:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/TheMcCoy?from=Main.TheId\" target=\"_blank\">The McCoy<\/a> (Id)<\/strong>: A character who <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/EmotionsVsStoicism\" target=\"_blank\">acts primarily on his feelings and emotions, rather than logic or reason<\/a>.\u00a0 Tends to be <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/HotBlooded\" target=\"_blank\">hot-blooded<\/a> and place\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/HonorBeforeReason\" target=\"_blank\">honor before reason<\/a>,\u00a0though his depth of feeling often serves as an anchor that <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/TheHeart\" target=\"_blank\">holds them all together<\/a>. \u00a0In a five-man band, this is\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/TheLancer\" target=\"_blank\">the Lancer<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/TheSpock?from=Main.TheSuperego\" target=\"_blank\">The Spock<\/a> (Superego)<\/strong>: A character who <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/EmotionsVsStoicism\" target=\"_blank\">acts primarily on logic and social convention, rather than his own feelings<\/a>. \u00a0Tends to be <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/WeHaveReserves\" target=\"_blank\">cold and calculating<\/a>, though the <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/TheNeedsOfTheMany\" target=\"_blank\">needs of the many<\/a> may prompt him to make a <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/HeroicSacrifice\" target=\"_blank\">heroic sacrifice<\/a>. \u00a0In a five-man band, this is <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/TheSmartGuy\" target=\"_blank\">the Smart Guy<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/TheKirk?from=Main.TheEgo\" target=\"_blank\">The Kirk<\/a> (Ego)<\/strong>: A pragmatic, free-wheeling character who <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/TheCaptain\" target=\"_blank\">takes the lead<\/a> and mediates between the other two. \u00a0When the the group is in conflict, often resolves it by <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/TakeAThirdOption\" target=\"_blank\">taking a third option<\/a>, though this often makes him seem <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/MoralDissonance\" target=\"_blank\">morally ambivalent<\/a>. \u00a0In a five-man band, this is the <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/TheHero\" target=\"_blank\">Hero<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Each of these character archetypes are fascinating in their own right, and deserve to be examined in much greater depth. \u00a0However, in the Freudian Trio, it&#8217;s the <em>combination<\/em>\u00a0of the three that proves so fascinating.<\/p>\n<p>When faced with an interesting <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/MoralDilemma\" target=\"_blank\">moral dilemma<\/a>, the McCoy often wants to <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight\" target=\"_blank\">screw the rules<\/a> and run in with <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/GunsAkimbo\" target=\"_blank\">guns blazing<\/a>, while the Spock advocates caution, reminding us of the <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/AlienNon-InterferenceClause\" target=\"_blank\">prime directive<\/a>. \u00a0Or maybe the McCoy is <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/HeroicBSOD\" target=\"_blank\">paralyzed by indecision<\/a>, while the Spock is the only one cold enough to make the <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/SadisticChoice\" target=\"_blank\">sadistic choice<\/a>. \u00a0In either case, the way the Kirk manages to resolve it will almost always reveal something deeper about the world or human nature.<\/p>\n<p>The thing that&#8217;s truly amazing is how prevalent this trope is in fiction. \u00a0To name a few:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/TropeNamers\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Star Trek<\/em>: McCoy (Id), Spock (Superego), and Kirk (Ego)<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><em><em>Star Wars<\/em><\/em>: Han (Id), Leia (Superego), and Luke (Ego)<em>, <\/em>also:<\/li>\n<li><em>Star Wars<\/em>: Emperor Palpatine (Id), Grand Moff Tarkin (Superego), and Darth Vader (Ego).<\/li>\n<li><em>Ender&#8217;s Game<\/em>: Peter (Id), Valentine (Superego), and Ender (Ego).<\/li>\n<li><em>Lord of the Rings<\/em>: Gollum (Id), Sam (Superego), and Frodo (Ego), also:<\/li>\n<li><em>Lord of the Rings<\/em>: Gimli (Id), Legolas (Superego), and Agagorn (Ego), also:<\/li>\n<li><em>Lord of the Rings<\/em>: Dwarves (Id), Elves (Superego), and Humans (Ego).<\/li>\n<li><em>Arthurian Legend<\/em>: Sir Gawain (Id), Sir Lancelot (Superego), and King Arthur (Ego) (I would argue that\u00a0Guinevere\u00a0fits the Id role better, but I&#8217;m not an expert).<\/li>\n<li><em>The Dark Knight<\/em>: The Joker (Id), Harvey Dent (Superego), and Batman (Ego).<\/li>\n<li><em>The Matrix<\/em>: Neo (Id), Trinity (Superego), and Morpheus (Ego).<\/li>\n<li><em>Shaun of the Dead<\/em>: Ed (Id), Liz (Superego), and Shaun (Ego).<\/li>\n<li><em>Fullmetal Alchemist<\/em>: Edward (Id), Alphonse (Superego), and Winry (Ego).<\/li>\n<li><em>The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya<\/em>: Haruhi (Id), Yuki (Superego), and Kyon (Ego).<\/li>\n<li><em>Final Fantasy VI<\/em>: Kefka (Id), Leo (Superego), and Emperor Gestahl (Ego).<\/li>\n<li><em>Final Fantasy VII<\/em>: Barrett (Id), Cloud (Superego), and Tifa (Ego).<\/li>\n<li><em>Myst<\/em>: Achenar (Id), Sirrus (Superego), and Atrus (Ego).<\/li>\n<li><em>Starcraft<\/em>: Zerg (Id), Protoss (Superego), and Humans (Ego).<\/li>\n<li><em>Homestar Runner<\/em>: Strong Mad (Id), Strong Sad (Superego), and Strong Sad (Ego).<\/li>\n<li><em>The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly<\/em>: Tuco (Id), Angel Eyes (Superego), and Blondie (Ego).<\/li>\n<li><em>20,000 Leagues Under the Sea<\/em>: Ned (Id), Conseil (Superego), and Aronnax (Ego).<\/li>\n<li><em>Twilight<\/em>: Jacob (Id), Edward (Superego), and Bella (Ego).<\/li>\n<li><em>Archie Comics<\/em>: Veronica (Id), Betty (Superego), and Archie (Ego).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/BettyAndVeronica\" target=\"_blank\">Betty and Veronica<\/a> one is particularly interesting because it&#8217;s also a <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/LoveTriangle\" target=\"_blank\">love triangle<\/a>. \u00a0In fact, most love triangles feature some kind of play on the Freudian Trio: <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/GoodBadGirl\" target=\"_blank\">the good girl vs. the bad girl<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan\" target=\"_blank\">the nice guy<\/a> vs. <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/AllGirlsWantBadBoys\" target=\"_blank\">the jerk<\/a>, the <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/GirlNextDoor\" target=\"_blank\">girl next door<\/a> vs. <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/ParentalMarriageVeto\" target=\"_blank\">forbidden love<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/PrinceCharming\" target=\"_blank\">prince charming<\/a> vs. <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/LoveableRogue\" target=\"_blank\">the loveable rogue<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes, the villains come from a\u00a0dysfunctional\u00a0or broken Freudian Trio, where one of the three died, was kicked out, or was never part of the combo in the first place. \u00a0When this happens, it&#8217;s called (aptly enough) a <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/EvilDuo\" target=\"_blank\">Evil Duo<\/a>. \u00a0Examples include Pinkie and the Brain, Lex Luthor and the Joker, and Kefka and Gestahl (though that particular duo was very, <em>very,<\/em>\u00a0VERY\u00a0short lived).<\/p>\n<p>Finally, it&#8217;s worth pointing out that the Freudian Trio is so common, it even occurs <em><a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/TruthInTelevision\" target=\"_blank\">in real life<\/a><\/em>. \u00a0Perhaps the best example of this would be World War II, where <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/WinstonChurchill\" target=\"_blank\">Churchill<\/a> was the Id, <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/JosefStalin?from=Main.JosephStalin\" target=\"_blank\">Stalin<\/a> was the Superego, and <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/FranklinDRoosevelt\" target=\"_blank\">Roosevelt<\/a> was the Ego. \u00a0With quotes like &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/Determinator\" target=\"_blank\">never, never, never, never give up<\/a>,&#8221; Churchill practically embodied the McCoy (his drinking penchant also helped), while Stalin, with his fanatic adherence to communism and his &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/AMillionIsAStatistic\" target=\"_blank\">million is a statistic<\/a>&#8221; approach to the revolution, was as cold and calculating as you can get. \u00a0FDR was the one who held the alliance together, and it was only after his death that the Cold War really broke out.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, it&#8217;s possible that we only see this trope everywhere because our brains are programmed to see it. \u00a0But if that&#8217;s true, it makes for an even stronger argument that the Freudian Trio plays on some powerful, universal archetypes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Last week, I blogged about the Three Faces of Eve trope. \u00a0But if we&#8217;re going to discuss power trios in any depth, we first need to examine the classic\u00a0Freudian Trio, one of the most prevalent combos and, in some ways, a precursor to all others. As you might expect, the Freudian Trio borrows heavily from\u00a0Sigmund&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/trope-tuesday-freudian-trio\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Trope Tuesday: Freudian Trio<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[687,112,606,111,343,456,700,636,718,717,694,306,641,565,626,271],"class_list":["post-7317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-batman","tag-character","tag-emotion","tag-ethical-dilemmas","tag-final-fantasy-6","tag-history","tag-lord-of-the-rings","tag-morality","tag-reason-vs-emotion","tag-sigmund-freud","tag-star-trek","tag-star-wars","tag-trope-tuesday","tag-tropes-and-cliches","tag-tvtropes","tag-video-games","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7iXK-1U1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7317","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7317"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7317\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7321,"href":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7317\/revisions\/7321"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7317"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7317"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7317"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}