The movie Shine presented an interesting connection between the abnormal heretical ideas of Sigmund Freud and the characteristics of the Helfgott family. Freud's ideas can be tied into the film in the animal primal instinct of Peter Helfgott and his domination of his family. Like Freud, the Helfgott family was Jewish. However, Freud has rejected the idea of God. "Freud taught that God is nothing but a product of man's imagination. God did not create man. Instead, man created God. Man personalized nature due to his fear of natture. The guilt he felt for murdering his father also caused him to project the father image onto this personalized nature. In this way, reasoned Freud, the belief in the Father-God was originated by man's wishful thinking." (Fernandes, 2).
So all of Freud's beliefs and theories are based on the idea that there is no God. Since 76.5% of Americans identify themselves with the Christian faith, this proves hard to associate anyone to the dis-illusioned Freud (Robinson 8). "Freud understood the mind as constantly in conflict with itself, and understood this conflict as the primary casue of human anxiety and unhappiness" (Stevenson 1). However, Freud made these conclusions as an Athiest. "Freud was convinced that God did not exist. But if atheism is true, then why do so many people believe in God? Freud tried to answer this question. Freud suggested that primitive man felt extremely threatened by nature. Man had no control over nature" (Fernandes, 2).
Any person could fit the characters of "Shine" and analyze them according to Freud's theory of the conscious. Freud's thought process would set David Helfgott's super-ego in his attempt to obtain perfect perfection at "Rach 3." The super-ego expressed pride in the fact that he did accomplish it. His accomplishment satisfied his "id" and but in reality worked him so much that he had a mental breakdown (Stevenson 2).