Psychoanalysis Paper on the movie “The Waterboy”
The Waterboy movie stars Adam Sandler who plays the character of a team water boy known in the film as Bobby Boucher. The film was released in 1998 and it stars Bobby who his anger unleashed accidentally gets turning him into maniac defensive linebacker who is feared by players from opposing teams. Interestingly, for Bobby to play football, his mother must not know since she believes that he is too delicate and at the same time he is striving to improve his appalling grades. There are several psychological concepts which the movie displays. These include aggression, violence, and confidence.
First, there is a great deal of violence in The Waterboy movie. Aggression is a major part of the film from the start to the end. Interestingly, in the beginning of the film, as Bobby takes his first class in college the professor asks him if he knows what makes alligators so angry all the time. In a humorous turn of events, Bobby answers that the reason for their aggression is that got all those teeth and no toothbrush as told through old wives tales which he was told by his mother.
In psychological terms, aggression stems from the medulla oblongata which is part of the brain stem. This is the first part of the brain to develop during gestation and it leads to the development of survival tactics. The correct answer to the professor’s question is that alligators learn to be aggressive in order to eat so as to survive being in the wild (Kerr and Grange, 179). In essence, aggression is linked to survival and for Bobby and his team to survive the college league they have to be aggressive. Bobby’s aggression is unleashed by team members of opposing teams and even his team coach and his aggression makes him a great player.
According to the Maslow’s Hierarchy Theory, human beings have needs which can be arranged in order of their importance (Kaur, 1061). In The Waterboy movie, Bobby is able to achieve all the levels of needs as described by Maslow which leads him to achieve self-actualization when he and his team rise to the challenge of winning final game against their biggest rivals in the league. There are several attributes of Bobby as an individual which enable him to steer his team to victory. These include being able to perceive reality and tolerate uncertainty, spontaneous, problem-centered, odd sense of humor, high levels of creativity and having an objective view of life.
An important psychological element that exhibited in the movie is confidence. Bobby was constantly taunted and picked on by players from different teams that he worked for but due to his lack of confidence, he failed to redeem himself. As a result of his aggression which stems from years of unexpressed anger and resentment towards players who picked on him, Bobby becomes more confident due to his aggression. Being confident makes Bobby a great player who contributes greatly to the team and as a result, he motivates his team members to play better and ultimately they are able to achieve victory in the finals. Psychologically, Bobby is able to conquer the world around him by first conquering his lack of confidence as a result of searing aggression that he harbors within him. In essence, the movie drives the point that one can achieve great things by overcoming the psychological inhibitions that are entrenched in within every individual.
Works Cited
Kaur, Avneet. “Maslow’s need hierarchy theory: Applications and criticisms.” Global Journal of Management and Business Studies 3.10 (2013): 1061-1064.
Kerr, John H., and Pippa Grange. “Proposed intervention strategies for unsanctioned aggression management: Anger, power and thrill aggression.” The Sport Psychologist 30.2 (2016): 179-188.