Tonya M. Fleetwood

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Paper:"Application of Id, Ego, & Superego to Dawson's Creek"
Year in School: College Junior
Class:Media Criticism
Date written:December 5, 2002

"Of course I wanna have sex, but the question is, am I ready? 'Cause I don't know how you know you're ready, people always say "you just know" but maybe that's something people just say but they never really know, and maybe I'm just wasting time waiting for some lightening bolt that's never gonna come?" (Williamson)
– Katie Holmes as Joey Potter of Dawson’s Creek

The range of emotions and personalities produced by the popular WB series Dawson’s Creek makes the show a prime target subject to the art of psychoanalysis. Freud’s use of the id, ego, and superego in relation to mental functioning will be thoroughly examined and applied to the characters throughout this paper.

Let me introduce you to the characters of Dawson’s Creek. The four main characters that have been present since the birth of the show six years ago are Dawson, Pacey, Joey, and Jenn.

Dawson Leery is a dreamer, and aspires to one day be the next Steven Spielberg. He and Joey have been best friends since they were little tykes. He and Pacey are also best friends. The constant underlying theme of the series is the unspoken love between Joey and Dawson.

Pacey Witter is the wild card of the bunch. He is always following his hormones and impulses. He worries about being considered a screw-up. All in all, Pacey is a very complex character, and a soul who wants to be taken seriously.

Joey Potter is the girl-next-door type (or across-the-creek, whichever you prefer). Lacking the typical family structure, she has always had high hopes of leaving her hometown for bigger and better things. Joey is an extremely smart girl and often finds herself torn between what her mind says and what her hearts wants to do.

Jenn Lindley came from New York because she was constantly getting into trouble. She is a promiscuous teenager and an Atheist. Jenn is the type of girl who always gets what she wants, and always seems to make her problems more dramatic than they really are in reality.

Now on to categorizing the characters. The easiest people to classify would be Jenn and Pacey. These two are obviously ‘id’ people. Jenn and Pacey are the crazy, constantly-in-chaos characters. They are the two who respond the most to their emotions and are the most sexually active and experienced (Berger 64). Jenn and Pacey are the characters that seem the most exciting. They are the kind of people that always livens a party.

Dawson is considered the superego. His personality and attitude is the opposite to that of Pacey’s. Dawson always tries to listen to what he knows is the right thing to do. He rarely follows an impulse, and always thinks of others’ happiness before satisfying himself. Dawson takes the safe route when faced with the opportunity of a risk (Berger 65).

The character stuck in between these two opposites is Joey. She is the ego. Joey always has a hard time deciding what choices to make. She would love to be wild and free, however, she always thinks of some other reason not to react on her desires. A lot of this is due to the fact that she has a lot to lose if she makes the wrong choice. Her family does not have a lot of money and they depend on her for all the help she can give. She has to constantly battle her choices.



Go to Documents index Paper:"Application of Id, Ego, & Superego to Dawson's Creek" Year in School: College Junior Class:Media Criticism Date written:December 5, 2002 "Of course I wanna have sex, but the question is, am I ready? 'Cause I don't know how you know you're ready, people always say "you just know" but maybe that's something people just say but they never really know, and maybe I'm just wasting time waiting for some lightening bolt that's never gonna come?" (Williamson) – Katie Holmes as Joey Potter of Dawson’s Creek The range of emotions and personalities produced by the popular WB series Dawson’s Creek makes the show a prime target subject to the art of psychoanalysis. Freud’s use of the id, ego, and superego in relation to mental functioning will be thoroughly examined and applied to the characters throughout this paper. Let me introduce you to the characters of Dawson’s Creek. The four main characters that have been present since the birth of the show six years ago are Dawson, Pacey, Joey, and Jenn. Dawson Leery is a dreamer, and aspires to one day be the next Steven Spielberg. He and Joey have been best friends since they were little tykes. He and Pacey are also best friends. The constant underlying theme of the series is the unspoken love between Joey and Dawson. Pacey Witter is the wild card of the bunch. He is always following his hormones and impulses. He worries about being considered a screw-up. All in all, Pacey is a very complex character, and a soul who wants to be taken seriously. Joey Potter is the girl-next-door type (or across-the-creek, whichever you prefer). Lacking the typical family structure, she has always had high hopes of leaving her hometown for bigger and better things. Joey is an extremely smart girl and often finds herself torn between what her mind says and what her hearts wants to do. Jenn Lindley came from New York because she was constantly getting into trouble. She is a promiscuous teenager and an Atheist. Jenn is the type of girl who always gets what she wants, and always seems to make her problems more dramatic than they really are in reality. Now on to categorizing the characters. The easiest people to classify would be Jenn and Pacey. These two are obviously ‘id’ people. Jenn and Pacey are the crazy, constantly-in-chaos characters. They are the two who respond the most to their emotions and are the most sexually active and experienced (Berger 64). Jenn and Pacey are the characters that seem the most exciting. They are the kind of people that always livens a party. Dawson is considered the superego. His personality and attitude is the opposite to that of Pacey’s. Dawson always tries to listen to what he knows is the right thing to do. He rarely follows an impulse, and always thinks of others’ happiness before satisfying himself. Dawson takes the safe route when faced with the opportunity of a risk (Berger 65). The character stuck in between these two opposites is Joey. She is the ego. Joey always has a hard time deciding what choices to make. She would love to be wild and free, however, she always thinks of some other reason not to react on her desires. A lot of this is due to the fact that she has a lot to lose if she makes the wrong choice. Her family does not have a lot of money and they depend on her for all the help she can give. She has to constantly battle her choices.