Ending Lives in the Name of Parental Love: a Psychoanalytic Reading of Netflix's The Haunting of Hill House

Tan, Hwee Ann (2023) Ending Lives in the Name of Parental Love: a Psychoanalytic Reading of Netflix's The Haunting of Hill House. Final Year Project (Bachelor), Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology.

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Abstract

The prevalence of the horror genre is apparent in popular media in diverse forms such as films and TV shows especially. Its portrayal has progressively been positive over the years with the awards proving the recognition, despite its limited appeal to specific ages of target audiences. Family is a key element that is often associated with the horror genre to enhance monstrosity which can be reflected through characterisation and language. This research suggests that monstrosity highlights the capability of portraying the mystery of the human mind unconventionally to underscore family love through psychoanalytic concepts and functions of language. This research aims to analyse and reveal how language is employed in the manipulation in the Netflix TV Show, The Haunting of Hill House, how studying the human mind creates language awareness, and how studying language can enhance the understanding of human behaviour. Using Roman Jakobson’s functions of language and Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalysis, a close investigation of the TV show will be implemented to explore the manipulative language targeted on Olivia based on four evident instances showing manipulative sense, and the transition of her thoughts and behaviour based on her superego, id, and ego, to examine the effectiveness of the manipulation. Findings illuminate that the functions of language employed in the manipulation are poetic, referential, conative, and emotive, revealing the reliance of the functions from each manipulator. Furthermore, the psychoanalytic concept shows Olivia’s conflict in her unconscious mind followed by the transition of her personality. Moreover, this study of language in popular media found that focusing on the language from TV shows can obtain audiences’ acknowledgement of the human mind. All in all, this research strives to bridge the gap between the study of language and human behaviour through the horror genre, providing fresh insights to psychology and linguistic fields.