Amazon Prime Video’s The Family Man is a show about a middle-class family man, Srikant, who is also a secret agent of the T.A.S.C (Threat Analysis and Surveillance Cell) of NIA (National Investigation Agency). He leads a task force which aims at preventing ISIS-led terror attacks. These attacks are devastating on a national level and therefore, insulating a country against them is pivotal. The show discusses a few of the many consequences that may come from trying to foil such acts.
The two major groups in the show (NIA and ISIS) can be conceptualized as protectors and aggressors, on the basis of their motivations. While it is easy to label aggressors as criminals, the protectors’ behavior is also, at times, similar to that of the former. For this reason, each group’s behavior needs to be dissected for a greater understanding of how similar-seeming behavior stems from completely different motivations.
Research has often linked antisociality and criminality. According to The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fifth Edition), successful diagnosis of Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD; characterized by violation of the rights of others) requires one to show, among other categories, at least three of the following –
Failure to conform to social norms,
Deceitfulness,
Impulsivity,
Irritability and aggressiveness,
Reckless disregard for the safety of self or others,
Consistent irresponsibility, or
Lack of remorse.
This series portrays all major stakeholders as being involved in acts symptomatic of ASPD. As viewers, we are not furnished with enough knowledge for a conclusive diagnosis. Thus, discussions can only revolve around symptomatic behavior.
One point of difference is the cultural acceptance of behavior. When we look at the characters’ behaviors from their respective in-group perspectives, both parties seem to be conforming to their respective social norms. However, each group’s motivations for performing these actions are different. This difference is also bought out by an impactful dialogue delivered by Kulkarni (Srikant’s boss) who says, “They need to win only once (in performing an attack), and us? in every instance (in preventing the attack from happening).” Later, Srikant reiterates this dialogue when working with Saloni (Commanding Officer) and adds, “...in every instance and that too in the right way.” This simple dialogue succinctly captures the essence of the difference in the collateral damage that comes from the NIA profession, as opposed to the ISIS passion, as shown in the series.
Another difference is the lack/presence of remorse. Srikant and his team are shown to be guilt-ridden when they find that they had mistakenly killed an innocent person (Kareem). To remedy the situation and to deal with the guilt, Srikant informs Kareem’s girlfriend that Kareem was not a terrorist. In contrast to this, the opposing party is not shown to experience any sort of guilt. In fact, they are shown to have backups for their plans. One of their agents (Sajid) not only kills one of his closest allies (Moosa) but also, sacrifices his own self. This indicates the degree to which they would go to perform these acts.
Inspecting one’s context is pivotal when analysing behavior. Jung’s analytic theory, one of the offshoots of psychoanalysis, provides a multi faceted structure to do so. Jung postulates a collective unconscious and a personal unconscious. The collective unconscious refers to an unconscious mind structure that is shared among people with a shared socio-cultural background. As opposed to this, the personal unconscious is the mind structure which is specific to a person. Every person is purported to possess both these structures. For example, fear of snakes stems from the collective unconscious however, snake charmers have developed a personal unconscious which is not fearful of snakes.
NIA’s collective unconscious is that of an agency which aims at eradicating external sources of harm. They are involved in the defense of the nation. In the series, Srikant’s personal unconscious of a middle class family man is explored as well. The show also discusses various issues that stem from this.
As opposed to the NIA, ISIS’s collective unconscious is that of an aggregator. They are motivated by popularizing their beliefs and faith. In the show, Moosa’s personal unconscious is that of a person who lost his family to rioters. These complexes (collection of thoughts, actions, and feelings focusing on a single concept) motivate him to act out of revenge.
When conceptualizing in terms of Freud’s tripartite compartmentalization of the self (i.e., the id, ego, and superego) and taking a macro perspective, each stakeholder’s actions (NIA and ISIS) are seen to be from the superego (the part of self which acts from the morals and values of the society). A key difference is that, of the people who form the NIA, some are acting from the superego and some from the ego (the part of self that tries to integrate the id, the instinctive part of the self, and the superego) as opposed to those in the ISIS, some of whom are acting from the superego and some from the id. This holds true when looking at the show from a bird’s eye perspective.
However, when the show is seen from a worm’s eye perspective, few instances of NIA agents acting from the id come forth (for example, when Srikant doubts his wife and tracks her). Another instance of Srikant’s id taking over is when he enters Baramulla as an attacker, despite being warned that there are no allies there. The consequence of this is the fear of a broken “convenient friendship” between two parties who had mutually agreed to remain passive in the other’s region. This agreement is then mended by a beautiful interaction of two egos (Saloni and Maulvi).
An intriguing instance of personal unconscious driven conflict of the superego and id is seen within Moosa. His personal unconscious leads him to be motivated by revenge, for which he joins the ISIS. Herein, his id becomes empowered and his superego is suppressed. However, when doing the bidding of his id and in extension, of ISIS, he finds out that his mother is in a region of potential harm to be caused by him. In this situation, his superego becomes motivated in trying to protect his mother, which supremely overpowers his id.
The show’s makers must be appreciated for allowing audience witnessed character development of the protagonists as well as the antagonists. The makers of the show have highlighted the humane aspect of antagonists and inhumane aspects of protagonists, while maintaining a specific contrast between the two. This contrast is maintained by keeping the narrative from the in-group perspective of the viewers while also allowing peeks in the out-group. The show beautifully depicts the interaction of various stakeholders in an unbiased manner.
Arunima Ticku
