How relevant is Freud’s notions of taboo
to the debates over censorship
Censorship is a problematic word of many meanings. In broader sense, this term refers to the suppression of information, expression or ideas by anyone, regardless of social status. History knows numerous examples of state censoring information for so-called national security. And, even nowadays, democratic societies impel the censorial impulse and create the fear of consequences; whether such dread is real or imagined – this question has been opened to further discussion.
Similar to Sigmund Freud’s pioneering theories on human behaviour in relation to society disputed for its exaggeration of man’s animal nature (Petley, 2009: 25). His innovative ideas in a collection of four essays entitled “Totem and taboo: some points of agreement between the mental lives of savages and neurotics” were meant to bridge Freud’s vision to sociology, anthropology, archaeology, philology, religion and folklore (Freud, 1913: x).
And, although, many may argue that his analysis of taboos is somewhat irrelevant to present times , Freud himself was reassured of the ‘holy dreads’ existence – regardless of the evolution in human social and technological history (Freud, 1913: x). This essay aims to examine to what extend Freud’s views on modern institutions – such as family, religion, or law are applicable to the suppression of communication.
Let us begin by explaining the notion of taboo. Common etymology of this word can be traced to Polynesia, the Kingdom of Tonga where ‘tapu’ means “sacred” or “holy” and Fijian concept of ‘tabu’ meaning “forbidden”, “under prohibition”, “not allowed”. In “Totem and taboo”, Freud defines taboo as a prohibition that was enforced once by a generation in form of tradition, law, or ritual. Such restriction is attractive for its mysterious attributes as well as impurity, thus creates the desire. The author associates this unconscious longing as the link between the subject and the object of taboo (Freud, 1950: 21; Weekley, 1967).
However, further into his investigation, Freud emphasises that there is a punishment for those who surrender to the desire and violate a taboo. As the concept of this vengeance developed, the penalty came to be associated either to divine powers or, later, society and the first penal systems (Freud, 1950: 35).Nonetheless, Freud’s thesis was introduced before World War I, in 1913, however his studies are still applicable to present times, as many the societies are still limited by taboos.
The idea of gods punishing for people’s sins is still present in Christianity, especially in Roman-Catholic tradition of Eastern European countries, like Poland where the institution of church created a delusion that eating meat on Christmas Eve is considered sinful. This is not an odd example of censorship indoctrinated by Christianity. Such ‘sin and taboo’ propaganda originated in ancient times of the Old Testament, e.g. Moses.
In Christian doctrine therefore, men were acknowledging in the most distinguished manner the guilty primeval deed, since they found the fullest atonement for it in the sacrifice of this one son. Atonement with the father was all the more complete since the sacrifice was accompanied by total renunciation of the women on whose account the rebellion against the father was started. (Freud, 1950: 179)
First of all, the act of killing another human being, ie. murder, is perceived as illegal, all the more so, against the seventh commandment in Christian religion. Unlawful as it may seem, religious censors are still above or separated from law. Concerning prohibitions and their punishments for wrong-doers, people should verify their beliefs with the current penal system, ie. criminal justice. The criminal code states numerous examples of antisocial behaviours and appropriate to them penalties for high risk offenders. To exemplify, vehicle-related crimes, ie. the ones referring to car drivers under the influence of alcohol or those exceeding speed limits, are still rated high in the statistics,
[t]hus in 2004 in Britain there were 3,508 road fatalities and 853 homicides, and in Ireland over the last 30 years there have been almost six times as many road fatalities as deaths arising from political violence there.(Colbrett, 2007. 13(3): 248)
Further into her investigation, Dr Corbett supports Freudian theory of supplementary excitement as both the origin and the outcome of, for instance, ‘joydriving’ (Colbrett, 2007. 13(3): 253). Driven by Freud’s desire, human beings are more likely to overstep the boundaries set by the penal system. Even police officers, performing as the censors and executing the law, are on many occasions helpless to prevent road accidents. The enjoyment derived from exceeding the limits triumph over the fear of punishment.
Secondly, the definition of taboo also indicates that there is a conflict of feelings in a person exposed to a taboo, as a desire confronts a prohibition. According to Freud, this ‘sacred dread’ evokes in a person as emotional ambivalence:
There is a force in the mind which exercises the functions of a censorship, and which excludes from consciousness and from any influence upon action all tendencies which displease it. Such tendencies are described as "repressed". They remain unconscious; and if one attempts to bring them into the patient's consciousness one provokes a "resistance". (Freud, 1926)
In other words, an individual knows what the restrictions are and that he or she should not cross the boundaries, yet his or her instinct still suggests that they might want to resist. Freud refers to such psychical fixation as a “touching phobia” (Freud, 1950: 35), the phenomenon which can be observed, for example, in children’s behaviour. A child feels the urge to touch things surrounding him or her, even if their parents forbid them to do it. Even if the toddler disobeys, it is neither their mother nor the father they detest. Strangely, the child would most likely direct these hatred feelings towards himself or herself, for breaking the rules and submitting to instincts, rather than the parents. Yet again, the parents impersonate censors and control their child’s freedom.
More examples of parental advisory can be observed in further stages of upbringing, as in so-called years of teenage revolt. Parents are the first censors for their growing-up children. If not for teenagers’ rebellion, parental censorship as to literature, music or film might not be required. The form of protecting adolescents against taboos has become particularly admired in modern democracies.
Therefore, 75% of American parents are familiar and support Parental Advisory sticker on copies of CDs and DVDs they purchase. This black label with white logo informing of ‘explicit content’ was first introduced in 1990 by the Recording Industry Association of America. This organization has been limiting access to the records containing offensive language or sexual references for the minors. However, RIAA states on their website that “The Recording Industry Association of America takes an uncompromising stand against censorship and for the First Amendment rights of all artists to create freely” (RIAA). Allegedly there are no restrictions for artists, yet the limitations are targeted on their enthusiast. The sticker in question appears on the records of popular performers, such as Eminem’s “All Access Europe” DVD, but also Britney Spears’ CD “Blackout” (Wiki, Parental Advisory).
In Freud’s opinion, “[t]hese prohibitions are mainly directed against liberty of enjoyment and against freedom of movement and communication” (Freud, 1950: 25). The author refers here not only to ‘savages’ and neurotic patients, but also to modern societies. He also indicates a social danger that might be a consequence of the violation of a certain taboo (Freud, 1950: 39).
Indeed, the rising of the Third Reich and the Nazis is an appropriate historical example to illustrate this phenomenon. Adolf Hitler provided his political ideology in 1925, years before the Holocaust, in the form of autobiographical book “Mein Kampf”. The future Nazi leader aspired to prove that the Jewish community was the threat to the world (Wiki, Mein Kampf). In consequence, Hitler managed to transfer his subjective opinions and biased feeling onto the German nation and created a new taboo, namely the Jews. This form of radical censorship led to the Jewish extermination, and similarly to Hitler’s vision – the weak and sick were destroyed as it was more humane than their protection (Wiki, Mein Kampf). As to this example, the Jews became Hitler’s obsession and the stronger his desire to exterminate their nation, the weaker his fear of consequences.
Even nowadays, censorship of the Third Reich is considered the most effective, as it
(…) consists in preventing contentious material from ever being produced. This is a particular specialism of authoritarian societies, where the absence of democratic structures makes such a degree of control possible. (Petley, 2009: 3)
The politics of ‘cuts and bans’ began at the infamous Ministry of Propaganda – the institution responsible for excluding the undesirable content from arts, culture and the media. Still, the editing and suppression of the content did not deliver preferred results and were not as efficient as licensing. Introduced by the Third Reich authorization of the contents has become a useful form of censorship in democratic societies. Currently used as a marketing and brand extension tool, trademarks, or copyrights, prove that a given product is legally protected. (Petley, 2009: 3-4)
Finally, the meaning of taboo is also associated to Freud’s analysis of men’s sexuality. He ascribes several examples from the lives of primitive and uncivilized tribes in order to demonstrate their sexual relations as well as the consequences of violating the restrictions concerning their correlations. Freud investigated numerous communities of ‘savages’ who “replaced real blood relationship by totem kinship” (Freud, 1950: 7). He defines this phenomenon as one of the laws of ‘totemism’, ie. the system of primitive groups functioning in a way of modern institutions (Freud, 1950: 2-3). For the leaders of the tribes have the power to create such laws, they impose various taboos in order to produce fear in the subordinates. The members of clan are afraid of punishments assigned to violation of the ban.
An example of Australian clans presents how a symbol of a sacred animal, rarely a plant or a natural phenomenon, influences both religious and social life of this small form of society. For instance, sexual relations with a partner of the same totem are considered incestuous, also followed by severe punishment, e.g. death. The fear of disrespecting this commandment and, mostly, of the consequences this rule entailed, nurtures the horror of incest. If memberships in families of ‘savages’ are determined by social identity rather than blood relations, then sexual intercourse of a man with any women within the clan is an incest (Freud, 1950: 6). Thus, the rulers encourage avoidance of tribe members of the opposite sex (Freud, 1950: 19) and sanction marriages outside the tribe, known as exogamous (Freud, 1950: 5).
Correspondingly, Freud examines this tendency in modern societies while illustrating the pattern of ambivalent relationship between a son-in-law and a mother-in-law. In Freud’s opinion, the son-in-law pictured his mother, or sister, as the model of future partner in his early childhood. As this man has found such perfect lover, namely the wife, this image is revived in his mind. Now, the picture in the unconscious portrays the mother-in-law as an object of affection. As a consequence, the man struggles to fight back his revitalized instincts and suppress the temptation to incest; ergo all the sarcastic anecdotes about mothers of wives. (Freud, 1950: 17-19)
Contemporary sex taboos include not only sexual relations between blood related members of a family considered pathological, for instance a father forcing his daughter to a sexual intercourse, but also masturbation, homosexuality, or prostitution. The penultimate and the ultimate are condemned in western societies. With regards to homosexuality, Christianity is not approving same-sex marriages and refers to this model as unnatural or immoral. Homosexuals are often compared by the priests to murderers or rapists, albeit have anything in common with neither of them. As a consequence of this form of religious censorship, ie. preaching, gays and lesbians have been the objects of harassment and violent attacks. Although prostitutes are labelled similarly and, likewise, experience punishments for tempting into violation of morality, should they be punished for persuading customers to buy their products, ie. body? Considering prostitution a business and a prostitute as a profession, similar to a sales advisor, should all the retailers and marketers be banned as for advertising and making profit on the sales of their products?
This essay has examined how relevant are Freud’s ideas to the discussions over censorship in western societies. Creating taboos and the fear of punishment is still effective method of the suppression of information. Regardless of the structure of a society – democratic, authoritarian, or primitive – this fear is always directly linked with power. Subordinates are always afraid of the superior and the execution of punishment; a child dreads being discipline by the parents, Christians fear God’s anger for their sins, a law offender is concerned of being penalized by the judge in court. Freud’s visionary input to modern history can be applicable to many debates over the restriction of human nature, the brand licensing, or the limitation and controlling of the state. Alternatively, more research into Freud’s notions of taboo may also be possible, including the critique at “Totem and taboo” of Karl Marx, Jacques Lacan or Clause Levi-Strauss. The judgement of fellow experts in the field is likely to modify the presented point of view.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Corbett, C. (2007) “Vehicle-related crime and the gender gap”. Psychology, Crime and Law. 13(3), 245-263. Routledge: London.
<http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10683160600822022>
Freud, Sigmund (1926) “Psychoanalysis”, AROPA, Copyrights 2002-2011,
<http://www.freudfile.org/psychoanalysis/censorship.html>
Freud, Sigmund (1950) “Totem and Taboo, Some Points of Agreement between the Mental Lives of Savages and Neurotics”, Routledge, London and New York
Freud, Sigmund (1913) Preface to “Totem and Taboo”, Hugo Heller; reprint 1999: Routledge
Recording Industry Association America, 2011, RIAA
<http://riaa.com/aboutus.php?content_selector=Freedom-Of-Speech>
Petley, Julian (2009) “Censorship: A Beginners’ Guide”, One World, Oxford
Wikipedia “Mein Kampf”, 26.10.2011 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mein_Kampf>
Wikipedia ‘Parental Advisory’, 2008-2009 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parental_Advisory>
Weekley, Ernest (1967) “An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English”, Dover Publications
<http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=taboo>