Midterm Paper - Very Rough Draft

So I have been super busy with schoolwork as well as working every day I'm not at school so this is a very rough draft of my midterm paper. It will be revised and polished, and more importantly finished shortly!

John Cervenka

English 312 Film & Literature

3/7/10

Professor Wexler

The Woody Allen Complex

If one were to watch any of Woody Allen’s mulitple films, they would most likely see a character, usually played by Allen himself, who is apprehensive, skittish and at times even neurotic. It seems that his “signature” main character always posses similar traits and qualities. They seem to be inferior to women, weak, needy and often extremely distraught about life in general. There is also a similar fascination with the past, especially the 1920’s time period. It seems to make its way into most of Allen’s films, it is evident in the choice of music, the cinematography, and the way that the characters interact with each other and speak their lines. All of the characteristics that make a Woody Allen film recognizable to the viewer have some sort of back ground. Surely they must have originated from either an experience or event that occurred within Allen. It could even be connected to the Oedipal Complex. Things that happen to us when we are children greatly influence and mold who we become as adults. We are conditioned to do certain things due to what we are exposed to, what we experience and what we are taught. So perhaps Woody Allen’s shy, timid and inferior male roles are really just a reflection of his childhood.

As children, we are extremely malleable and easily influenced by our surroundings. If a mother is a stressed out micromanager odds are in favor that her child will carry on her legacy and her traits. What we are exposed to as children shapes what we perceive as the world. A child’s world is created by the parents and what they are taught and experience. This shapes their ideas on what is right and wrong, how to interact with each other and their value system. A child’s development depends on a healthy environment, if there are any flaws or is any dysfunction within this environment, it is shown through the child and how they interact with others. It may become extremely apparent if a child has experienced trauma or dysfunction during his/her developmental years. A child may act out or develop habits that can be traced back to their adolescence. To be able to understand an individual to the fullest extent we need to first have an understanding of their background and upbringing.

Woody Allen grew up in the Lower East Side of Manhattan in an unhappy home. His parents fought often and his relationship with his moody and strict mother was extremely tense. He was so unhappy that he no longer referred to himself by his surname Allen Stewart Konigsberg, but rather by the name that we are familiar with him today Woody Allen. One’s name is part of their being, their persona. Some consider a name a reflection of what kind of person you are. When one changes their name it signifies that they are unhappy with the person that they are and are looking to start over and become a new person. A name change is sort of a rebirth of the inner self. It symbolizes the death of who you were, whatever might have happened to you and it allows for you to completely reshape who you are and want to be. With Allen’s past a name change seems almost like an escape from his childhood trouble. This new persona, while still insecure, is funny and outgoing. Allen developed a way to laugh and use the things that really tormented him in his youth. We can see this in his films Annie Hall and Play it Again Sam. His relationship to women is almost always the same no matter what character Allen plays. The use of themes, music and other stylistic elements from the past are also consistantly present within his work. Although Allen himself may not realize it he is exemplifying the very Oedipal Complex that he jokes about in his films.

The Oedipus Complex plays a big role in all of Allen’s work. In almost every film, the main character (usually played by Allen himself) has woman trouble. Whether it be him being shy and intimidated by women or dating much younger more impressionable women to gain control. If we look deeper into Allen’s films however, we can see that he is greatly effected by this.

Work Cited

Flora, Carlin. "Hello, My Name is Unique." Psychology Today. Sussex Publishers, LLC, March 1, 2004. Web. 11 March 2010. .

The Social Psychology of Name Change: Reflections on a Serendipitous Discovery

• Darrel W. Drury and John D. McCarthy

• Social Psychology Quarterly, Vol. 43, No. 3 (Sep., 1980), pp. 310-320
  (article consists of 11 pages)

• Published by: American Sociological Association