Alyssa Pfluger
Film Analysis of Hitch:
Is Frued's “Aim-Inhibited” Love Actually Better?
Alyssa Pfluger
Interpretation: Self, Culture, and Society
Professor Prough
October 24, 2014
Honor Code: I have neither given or received, nor have I tolerated others’ use of unauthorized aid.
Alyssa Pfluger
Sigmund Freud’s arguments of how love plays out in civilization come into sharp focus in the movie Hitch. Hitch is a film that follows Date Doctor Alex Hitchens (Hitch) both as he helps client Albert Brennemen get together with the women of his dreams, Allegra Cole, and as he falls in love himself with gossip columnist Sara Melas. The film discusses Freud’s assertion that “aim-inhibited”, non-sexual, loved is less fulfilling than sexual gratification. The film conversely argues that this so-called “aim-inhibited” love is actually more fulfilling than pure sexual gratification, and juxtaposes two characters who seek these two types of love and their fulfillment of these two desires.
Freud, the founder of psychology, states that “Eros and Ananke [Love and Necessity] have become the parents of human civilization” (Freud 1961, 80). However, he argues that civilization is not the best way to fulfill the desires of the id in our unconscious, which calls for immediate gratification. According to Freud, fulfilling this call is the purpose of our life. In his words, “what decides the purpose of life is simply the programme of the pleasure principle” (Freud 1961, 43). He goes on to states that “The programme of becoming happy, which the pleasure principle imposes on us, cannot be fulfilled, yet we must not – indeed, we cannot – give up our efforts to being it nearer to fulfillment by some means or other” (Freud 1961, 54). Although the presence of civilization means that we can never truly be fulfilled, it is necessary for our security (Freud 1961, 63). Therefore, we must seek other means of making ourselves happy.
The main other means of fulfilling our id is to turn to a different kind of love, which Freud views as inferior. Telling ourselves that we seek more than sexual gratification allows us to “avoid the uncertainties and disappointments of genital love by turning away from its sexual aims,” so instead we focus on “transforming the instinct into an impulse with aim-inhibited love” (Freud 1961, 81). In fact, this supposedly inferior aim-inhibited love is what the movie Hitch is all about. Alex Hitchens helps put couples together when he feels that their “aim-inhibited love” is strong enough. His own romance is focused on this kind of love as well.
Why do we choose to gain happiness from love, though? Freud argues that it’s because we gain the most pleasure from sexual love. He maintains that “One of the forms in which love manifests itself – sexual love – has given us our most intense experience of an overwhelming sensation of pleasure and thus furnished us with a pattern for our search for happiness” (Freud 1961, 52). The underlying desire for sexual love is shown throughout the entire movie. In the very beginning Alex’s love interest and gossip columnist Sara Melas complains to a friend, saying “What is it about guys that makes them want to screw anything that walks even if they’re going out with someone awesome as Allegra Cole?” (Hitch 2005, 7 min.). To her celebrity Allegra Cole is the epitome of what men should desire, an intelligent, sexy woman who is very wealthy.
Later, when Sara and Hitch meet for the first time while in a bar, they have an interchange about the genuine interest a man might feel for a woman without sex in mind. He expresses her doubt by asking “Who'd believe there's a man out there that can sit by a woman he doesn't know and genuinely be interested in who she is, what she does, without his own agenda?” (Hitch 2005, 28 min.). Before he even meets her, Hitch even says to one of his friends, “Please just leave me to my hot, sweaty, totally varied, widely experimental short game” (Hitch 2005, 9 min.). All of these interactions seem to support Freud’s theory that aim-inhibited love is simply a cover-up for the desire for sexual gratification, but throughout the movie Hitch and his clients seem to be happier with a more emotional love.
Examples of when sexual gratification pales in comparison to so-called aim-inhibited love are constantly shown in the film. For example, the same friend Hitch was talking about his short game with responded by saying “Honestly, I just hope one day you are able to experience the love and the trust and openness that I share with Grace every single day… it’s so beyond anything physical that when I think back to when I used to run around with you and chase all these really gorgeous but shallow women… I don’t know, it’s kind of ridiculous and vaguely pathetic.” (Hitch 2005, 10 min.). This clearly comes from a man who used to fulfill his desire for sexual gratification on a regular basis with a number of women, which Freud seems to think would fulfill the desires of his id. Despite this theory, the man seems much more fulfilled with a love that goes beyond the sexual.
Regardless of which kind of love is truly desired, Freud theorizes that when a person does not get enough fulfillment from love they become anxious and/or overly focused on distracting themselves. He claims “A person becomes neurotic because he cannot tolerate the amount of frustration which society imposes on him in the service of its cultural needs… the abolition or reduction of those demands would result in a return to possibilities of happiness” (Freud 1961, 59). For example, in Hitch, Sara is first shown as an individual who cannot relax enough to even enjoy a vacation. Her boss is surprised to see her in the office on a day off and reprimands her, exclaiming “You are becoming a sick workaholic lunatic. This is exactly the kind of nervous, overwrought behavior that leads to –” before he can finish his sentence she interrupts with “pictures of Sebby with a busty brunette,” and he changes his tune to say “A very, very big raise” (Hitch 2005, 8 min.). Basically, Sara was using her work as an escape from her frustration in a socially-acceptable way.
Hitch basically acts as the superego to a number of his clients who might become neurotic without their fulfillment from either type of love. Potential client Albert Brennamen convinces Hitch to take on his case when he says “You know what it's like getting up every morning feeling hopeless? Feeling like the love of your life is waking up with the wrong man? But at the same time, hoping that she still finds happiness... even if it's never gonna be with you?” (Hitch, 19 min.). In order for Albert to achieve his own happiness Hitch coaches him so that he can properly woo Allegra. In the end, Albert ends up Allegra, and the superego is shown as triumphant over the id thanks to the work of the ego. Albert does not seem to think about sexual gratification, and is focused on a deeper emotional connection. In the end, Albert ends up extremely happy with this emotional connection.
When the converse occurs, when the id wins over control of the ego, one goes against society. Freud maintains that “civilization is built up upon a renunciation of instinct” (Freud 1961, 75). Therefore, when one follows the id he or she is frowned upon by society. A side character in the film displays the more carnal desire for Freud’s “genital love” over that of civilization’s aim-inhibited love. This character, Vance Munson seeks out Hitch’s help to solely have sex with a woman, Sara’s friend Casey. He says, “I don’t know what it is about her. I can’t get her out of my mind… I think things aren't gonna snap back unless I... Unless I bang her... Clear my head. Get in, get off, get out” (Hitch, 32 min.). Hitch’s reaction to Vance’s proposal is completely negative. “I think you may have misunderstood what I do exactly… Here's the thing. My clients actually like women. Hit it and quit it is not my thing.” (Hitch, 32 min.).
Moreover, Vance is also probably the most overtly aggressive figure in the film, aside from when the others are threatened. When Hitch starts to turn him down and leave, Vance grabs his arm. “You see what I'm doing?” He tells Hitch. “This is what I'm about. Power suit, power tie, power steering. People can wince, cry, beg, but eventually they do what I want.” Unfortunately for Vance, Hitch is able to turn the aggression back onto him, and threatens Vance. “This is more like me saying that I will literally break your shit off if you ever touch me again. Okay, pumpkin?” Thus ends their encounter, but Vance ends up having sex with Casey and inadvertently gets Hitch in trouble with Sara, almost ending their relationship. Through Vance, Sara discovered, exposed, and misunderstood Hitch’s identity as the date doctor. It was only when he cleared things up that they started to move forward (Hitch, 95 min.).
Hitch is an exceedingly interesting film to consider in relation to Freud’s views of love. While the film appears to alternately confirms and invalidates Freud’s assertion that “aim-inhibited” loved is less fulfilling than sexual gratification, it consistently supports the claim that following the superego is a must for those who want to be happy in civilization. Albert is shown as an archetype of a person who seeks “aim-inhibited love” while Vance is an archetype of one who seeks solely sexual gratification. While Freud would argue that Vance should be happier because solely seeking sexual gratification is less work, Albert appears to be the winner in this film. Not only does the story mostly focus on Albert, but one act of the id by Vance throws the whole story into disharmony.
Bibliography:
Freud, Sigmund. 1961. Civilization and its discontents. New York: W.W. Norton.
Hitch. Directed by Andy Tennant. 2005. Culver City, CA: Sony Pictures, 2005. DVD.