... Immediately we are alerted that the young girl is called Baby. The audience is also immediately aware of the desire of the character to have a man exactly like her father. The voice-over explains that and I thought I would never find a man as [good] as my father.======
This is clearly descriptive of the Freudian theory of the Electra complex. Freud describes how in order to move onto to another man the subject must first reject the dominant hierarchical father . This is exactly what happens in the film. ....
In a particular scene [Penny teaching guests to dance in the gazebo at the beginning of the movie] there is an instance where when Penny shouts, "On the next turn you will meet the man of your dreams." Baby turns and reaches for her father and is intercepted by another person. ....
Both sisters are paired with slim adolescents [Neil Kellerman and Robbie Gould] of a wealthy background. The bodily shape of the father is very slim also. Both candidates prove in some way to be absolutely wrong matches. In reality Baby chooses a muscled youth called Johnny, rejecting the figure of the father both metaphorically and physically. ...
The rigid dances of the mambo [in the ballroom] are performed with an air of reserve and exhibition contrasting extensively with the virtual copulation of the next set of moves [in the bunkhouse]. Although the viewer is aware of excessively close and erotic moves, it is clear that there is no kissing throughout. The [bunkhouse] scene is flooded with a red light symbolising passion and perhaps a sense that this activity is seedy, criminal and shouldn't happen.
The cousin of Johnny remarks that they would have to close the place down before they allowed dancing like this to occur. Ironically it [dancing like this] is performed at the end when it is clear that Kellerman's may well need to be closed in the future ....
Baby is instructed to feel the music by Johnny during the training for a dance. This seems the first time that she is in touch with herself and not being protected. Baby's transition from being an awkward dancer to being a fluid and confidant dancer show in her movements and represents the transition from childhood to adulthood. Johnny then refers to her as Frances as opposed to Baby.
Right at the end of the film he kisses her. This is totally in contrast with previous scenes where the [kissing] action is only hinted at ....
Baby is shown throughout the film as a virginal young girl dressed in the majority of scenes in white, baby blue or pink. Often covered up by a large pullover. She is also shown in two separate scenes curled up in a foetal position, asleep. ...
Penny is always seen wearing red and her room is covered in red drapes. ...
The following passages and photograph are included in an article written by Julia Ivanyuk and titled The Electra Complex: Symptoms and Treatment.
Today we are going to discuss a very serious disorder which can ruin a woman’s life if it is not discovered in time or is improperly treated. I mean the Electra complex and its symptoms. ...
Probably, most of you have heard about the Oedipus complex (morbid attraction of the son to his mother) ... We can draw an analogy between the Oedipus complex and the Electra complex, which is the name of the morbid attraction of daughters to their fathers. It was introduced to the public at the beginning of the XX century by the famous psychologist Jung. ....
 |
| Girls love their fathers |
You may say that love between a daughter and a father is quite natural. ...======
[However,] extreme attraction of the girls to their dads may cause very serious problems in their personal lives. ... Sometimes even women that have been raised in full normal families also encounter with such disorder. ...
My mother has a colleague who has been suffering from the Electra complex for a very long time. ... Despite the fact that Ludochka is almost 50 years old, she still wants her colleagues to call her with pet names, because her daddy used to do so. Obviously, the woman has never been married, because she hasn’t managed to find a copy of her dear dad. .... Being an adult, she continues living with parents, as she is not able to leave the beloved parent at least for a day. Ludochka has never made a successful career. She refused to work for a company, which offered regular business trips, being unable to go away for a long time.
Ludochka considers her mother to be the most odious enemy. Luda thinks that the mother is not worth living with such a perfect man as the father, because she doesn’t even realize how lucky she is to have him in life. It is another symptom peculiar for the Electra complex. If you notice it, start the treatment as soon as possible.
Luda’s life is free from family, career, favorite hobbies or vivid impressions. She has given it all up for the sake of beloved daddy and morbid love towards him. Won’t you agree with me that all these actions look like symptoms of Electra complex and need treatment? Sometimes Luda’s mom even says: “We are afraid that she can commit a suicide when her dad dies, and he’s not that young anymore”. ...
Electra complex symptoms:
* You don’t have a dad anymore, but you constantly recall him when you’re blue or happy. ...
* You often feel the unexplainable hostility towards your mother, as if she is guilty in all your mistakes and problems.
* Sometimes you wish your mom disappeared and imagine, how great would be living with your dad without her. ...
* When your parents quarrel, you always take your father’s side ...
* While making an important decision, you always think what your father would say about this.
* Despite being not very young, you haven’t regulated your personal life. (Usually this symptom occurs because of the woman’s inability to find a person who resembles her perfect father.) ...
* Usually your partners are much older than you ...
If you suffer from more than three above-mentioned symptoms, you have become the victim of the Electra complex. I’d recommend you to visit a professional psychologist and start the treatment immediately. ...
The following video clip illustrates the Electra Complex. The daughter competes with her mother in kissing her father. At the end, the daughter punishes her mother by yanking her mother's hair painfully.
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