Analysis of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Drug Consumption scenes in the Tamil Film 'Vikram' by Psychoanalytic film theory

 

K. Abish Vignesh ¹, Dr. V. Sundararaman ²

 

¹ Ph.D. Scholar, Department of Communication, Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Tirunelveli – 627012, Tamil Nadu, India

² Assistant Professor, Department of Communication, Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Tirunelveli – 627012, Tamil Nadu, India

 

1. INTRODUCTION

Every day, the number of teetotalers decreases while the number of people who drink, smoke, or use drugs increases. People mortified the person who had bad habits, but now the majority of people mortify the teetotalers. Many people signify that the number of teetotalers declines daily as the number of people who drink, smoke, or use drugs climbs. People used to despise people with filthy habits, but now most people despise teetotalers. Many people regard habitual alcohol, smoking, and drug use as a source of pride and a heroic act. This arose as a result of the glorification of certain behaviors in movies. South Indian moviegoers were very susceptible to film content because they considered movies a festival and actors to be gods. According to Christian Metz, the audience identifies with the film characters and adopts their emotions and behaviors. Rajini's stylized presentation of that content on screen influences many people to start smoking. Even in 2012, he advised people to stop smoking and drinking alcohol. Nobody believes it. The misery persists. As a result, there was a disparity between audience perceptions of actors in films and real life. Cinema has a greater influence on inducing behavior than actual inductors. There was a connection between the screens and the spectators' minds. They identify as a mirror on the screen rather than as real-life individuals Tsialides (2021). Film psychology study is incredibly important.

 

1.1.    Psychoanalysis and Cinema

Psychoanalysis and cinema share a common origin and emergence. Many theories in film analysis stem from literary studies and political movements. Among these, psychoanalysis film theory has distinguished film interpretation, film creators, and the spectator's unconscious mind. Sigmund Freud was the first psychologist and theorist to propose psychoanalytic theory and its application to cinematic analysis Carley (2015). The film has had a significant impact on people all around the world, particularly in South India. It shapes the receiver's viewpoint and influences South Indian politics Balabantaray (2020). Identification in the imaginative order of the spectator's mind is required by film Lacan (1991). Lacan asserts this through his influential "Mirror Stage" in film theories. The film was a popular medium due to its capacity to inadequately mirror reality and as a technique for gaining control of the unconscious mind Metz (1986). According to Christian Metz, the audience identifies with the film characters, and there is a strong bond between the audience and the cinema equipment (actor, camera, screen, music, costume, etc.) Colón (2007). The film screen no longer serves as a mirror for the spectator's hidden unconscious feelings. Thus, the film's objects can induce or stimulate any behavioral content over Id consciousness (unconscious), which is processed as action over Ego consciousness (conscious) in an appropriate setting McGowan (2015). As a result, academics should focus on influential films from South India.

 

1.2. Need for Study

Film analysis is required for viewers such as South Indians, who see actors as gods. The performer can do whatever he wants, whereas the audience cannot Panbu Selvan & Brindha (2020) because of Jacques Lacan's symbolic order (society, culture, family, law). As a result of the action of screen characters and situations, the catharsis effect occurs over spectators, resulting from pleasure, satisfaction, or other senses. In ancient Greek theaters, philosopher Aristotle developed the catharsis effect. Catharsis, according to Aristotle, is the purification of the spectator's mind and brings comfort from the frustration of violent instinct, sexual desire, and emotional release over varied experiences Scheff (2007). This was true in certain cases, although Freud was hostile to the hypothesis. The catharsis effect was partially dismissed by the majority of film psychoanalysts, including Carl Jung, Jacques Lacan, Christian Metz, and others. They accepted that the audience experiences sensations as a result of the actor's actions. However, it not only purifies the spectator's psyche but also suppresses much insanity Allen (2007). Today, we can observe that many audiences embraced the film's negative notions rather than the positive ones. The researcher's need to examine a popular film to experiment with the psychoanalysis film theory leads him to use purposive selection to select the "Vikram" film as a sample.

 

1.3. The Vikram Film

The worldwide gross collection of the film Vikram was 430 crores. Multiple popular stars in the film make it more popular among Tamil audiences. The film's idea is anti-drugs; however, the drug sequences are celebrated. The protagonist, "Vikram," played by Kamal Hassan, is not a drinker. He is nevertheless portrayed as a druggist. And the antagonists, Santhanam (Vijay Sethupathi) and Rolex (Surya), were depicted acting out drug use. Santhanam uses a variety of medications to obtain the strength he requires to fight. All of these appeal to many people's IDs, especially youngsters. Because children imitate cartoon characters such as "Chotta Bheem," who eats "laddu" for strength, and "Popeye," who eats "spinach" for power, the "Santhanam" character in drug consumption followed this pattern, which inadvertently grants a substantial effect over children and other adults. The Rolex figure draws enormous crowds by introducing voyeurism as well as narcotics. Many scenes contain enticing images of booze bottles. As a result, contrary to its premise, Vikram's picture infused several drug thoughts into the audience's consciousness. Addicting alcohol, smoking, and drug consumption habits as a source of pride and a heroic act. This occurred due to the glorification of these habits in cinemas.

 

1.4. Tamil Film and the Audience Psyche

South Indian film spectators were highly susceptible to the cinema's content. Because they celebrate cinema as a festival and actors as gods. Many people start smoking because of Rajini's styled presentation of that content on screen. Even in 2012, he asked people to quit smoking and alcohol-consuming habits. No one accepts that—still, the woe increases. So there was a difference in the audience's perception of an actor in the films and real life. Cinema has more effect on inducing behavior than real-life inductors. There was a relationship between the screens and the psyche of the spectators. They identify themselves on screen as a mirror rather than a real-life personality Tsialides (2021). Because psychological research on films is so important.

 

2. Review of Literature

India, a historically and culturally rich nation, grapples with significant issues of alcohol abuse, with even casual drinkers at risk of becoming hazardous consumers Prasad (2009). This study aims to explore the influence of Tamil cinema on alcohol consumption and analyze its impact on the audience's psyche. While Prasad's research provides valuable qualitative data on the effects of alcoholism in India, but it lacks an examination of how the alcohol culture permeated the country or the factors that reinforced it. In contrast the, Surendran (2017) study delves into the role of Tamil cinema and songs in promoting alcohol consumption for various life situations, shedding light on its societal repercussions. Surendran's research highlights the pervasive influence of Tamil cinema, which often portrays alcohol consumption as a means of celebration, coping with depression, and navigating life's challenges. The glorification of alcoholic scenes in cinema has contributed to severe societal issues, particularly in Tamil Nadu. Surendran argues that the portrayal of alcohol consumption in songs and scenes compels viewers to mimic these behaviors, demonstrating a direct link between on-screen depictions and real-life actions. However, the study falls short in providing a comprehensive understanding of the audience's psyche, omitting an in-depth analysis of the underlying motivations and influences. He also not analyze the influence of tobacco and drug consuming scenes of Tamil cinema.

The Role of Psychoanalytic Film Theory-Kaplan (1990) recommends employing Psychoanalytic film theory to dissect cinema's impact on the audience's unconscious. This clinical method, originally designed for dream interpretation, has been adopted by film theorists to analyze cinematic content. It posits that cinema possesses a potent ability to engage the viewer's unconscious, effectively shaping their beliefs and values. By applying psychoanalysis, researchers gain insight into how film elements resonate with the audience's psyche. Further Gambarato (2006) exploration of Lacan's Psychoanalytic film theory extends the understanding of film's influence on desire. According to this theory, film elements serve as objects cause of desire, engendering a craving for the objects depicted on-screen. While Gambarato provides a valuable framework, the study does not specifically address how addictive substances like alcohol, tobacco, and drugs function as objects of desire in film, a vital aspect this review endeavors to elucidate. Fetishization and Objectification in Film Mulvey (2013), draws attention to how various film elements, including camera framing, movement, and lighting, contribute to fetishizing any objects on-screen. This fixation triggers a strong desire within the audience's psyche. She also underscores the objectification of female characters in cinema, who are often portrayed as commodities for sexual gratification. This aspect of Mulvey's research is pertinent to understanding the influence of film on the audience's unconscious. Her study was applicable to analyze addictive substance portrayal in films. But the film also enforces character identification and adoption of Film Attributes. Metz film studies, Igartua (2010) emphasizes the significance of audience identification with film characters and apparatus. Through identification, viewers unconsciously adopt the attributes and behaviors of these characters, including violence, lifestyle choices, and, potentially, substance consumption. While Igartua's work provides valuable insights into audience engagement with film, it does not specifically address the adoption of addictive substances by viewers, a critical aspect explored in this review.

The Psyche - Freud (2022) divides the psyche into three components: the Id, representing primal instincts; the superego, encompassing moral instincts; and the ego, which serves as the balance between the Id and superego. While Freud's theories acknowledge the existence of dark instincts within the Id, they do not explicitly state that scenes depicting alcohol, tobacco, or drug consumption are stored in the unconscious. This review argues that such portrayals constitute a form of dark instinct and, therefore, should be considered as part of the content stored in the audience's psyche. While psychoanalytic film theory has extensively examined the impact of violence, lust, and desire in film on the audience's psyche Lapsley (2006), there remains a research gap regarding the influence of alcohol, tobacco, and drug consumption in cinema. This review addresses this gap by focusing on the portrayal of addictive substances in Vikram film scenes and its impact on the audience's unconscious.

 

3. Objective of the study

·        To analyze whether the Vikram film represses Alcohol, Tobacco, and Drug-consuming behavior over the audience's unconscious psyche.

·        To analyze the portrayal of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Drug Consumption by the film causes temptations.

·        To analyze the emotions in which the addictive substances consuming memory traces repress in the psyche.

 

4. Research Questions

1)     How Identification of film characters contribute to the repression of alcohol, tobacco, and drug-consuming behavior over the audience's unconscious?

2)     Do the film elements cause extreme temptations over alcohol, tobacco, and drugs?

3)     In which emotions of the unconscious psyche does the film repress alcohol, tobacco, and drug-consuming behavior?

 

5. Method

The research methodology includes qualitative and quantitative content analysis and focus group discussions. Content analysis is used to examine alcohol, smoke, and drug content scene by Scene using psychoanalytic film theory of Identification, fetishism, and Object cause of desire. It is also utilized to collect data on the duration of triggering scenes, character consumption, and the sense that repressed the behavior over Id consciousness. Focus group discussions were used to interpret scenes based on Id consciousness variables (fear, anger, lust, and so on) and to assess the strength of restraining the consuming activity. Augustine, Prabhakaran, Deepak Venkatesh, Veera Manikandan, and Keerthi Vasan are the members of the Focus group discussion. The Scene's Impact is determined by comparing data from content analysis and focus group discussions.

The Impact was the Scene's ability to suppress smoking, drinking, and drug use over Id consciousness. There were four levels of Impact. Negative influence - These scenes inadvertently instill anger, disgust, or the desire never to consume it. Low Impact - There is no inhibition of Id consciousness in these scenes. Medium Impact - Although these moments never provide robust repression, they do bring the consuming character closer to the already consuming spectators through a similar habit. Extreme effect - These scenarios have a high power to restrain Id behavior, and that triggers over Ego in the appropriate situation.

In data analysis, some letters are employed as symbols. They are as follows: (M) - Main character, (S) - Supportive character, (B) - Background character, and (I) - Indirect consumption of alcohol, drugs, or smoking, such as holding it in hand or near the character but not consuming. Some moments conjure up images of the character devouring. This type of Scene also contained (D) - Direct intake of alcohol, drugs, or smoking.

The researcher compares the data obtained to determine which character suppresses the most addictive behavior. Because the audience identifies with the main characters more than the other characters, he also discovers which emotions or sensations (anger, desire, aggression, etc.) were usually suppressed. Because when the Ego experiences any feelings or emotions, it mirrors the hidden behavior of the id. Then he assesses the impact, which means addictive substances fetishism degree of the scenes to determine whether the film has a high potential to suppress addicted behavior over Id or not. Fetishism was caused by camera angle, movement, shot, and other film elements that to contribute undeniable desire for alcohol, tobacco, and drugs.

 

Data Collection and Interpretation:

Analysis of Vikram's Scenes That Trigger Smoking Behaviour

Table 1

Table 1
Scene no	Smoking Scenes Time code and duration	Scene Description	Scene Interpretation through FCD	Character that Smokes	The sense that represses the smoking behavior at ID-consciousness	Impact of repressing smoking behavior
1	(3:39 to 3:40) = 2 sec	A background character (B) smoking at 'Pathala' song	A small shot of a guy smoking did not have a strong impact on inflicting the behavior. The camera frame and angle do not have much fetishism.	Background character (D)	Joy	Low
2	(7:1 to 7:3) = 3 sec	A Police (B) is smoking during the duty of following Karnan (Vikram)	A policeman smokes to get relief from stress and to be alert and has a very low level of Impact. The film elements do not contribute to the fetishism of smoke.	Police (D)	Concentration and Tension	Low
3	(21:20 to 21:41) = 21 sec No screen presence	Lawrence said that Karnan (Vikram)(M) was a chain smoker to Amar.	When Lawrence tells about Karnan's smoking habit. The audience unconsciously imagines the hero smoking. So this Scene has a decent impact to inflict the habit. All film elements cause medium fetishism.	Vikram (D)	Relax and Thought process	Medium
4	(22:14 to 22:45) = 32 sec	Amar imagines how Karnan (Vikram)(M) is smoking at the baseball ground by working on a laptop.	Kamal's facial expression plays a great role in this Scene. His expression shows, how the character enjoys smoking along with cannabis. It inflicts an extreme level of Impact. The actor’s acting, and camera frame cause severe fetishism.	Vikram (D)	The thought process, Heroism, and Joy.	Extreme
5	(46:33 to 46:38) = 6 sec	Amar (M) investigates a prostitute and jumps over the window to check, what Karnan (Vikram) does in this area.	Amar is afraid of heights in this Scene and is confused over Karnan's (Vikram's) activities. So, he smokes to get relief has an extreme Impact of habit triggering. The camera elements contribute to fetishism.	Amar (D)	Fear, Confusion	Extreme
6	(52:34 to 53:38) = 1min 5sec	After sex with Gayathiri, Amar(M) smokes and talks about Karnan (Vikram). And amazed over him.	Amar needs relaxation after sex, at the same time he thinks about Vikram. So he smokes and has an Extreme Impact. Because the camera frame and the actor cause strong fetishism.	Amar (D)	Relax and Thought process	Extreme
7	(1:1:55 to 1:5:49) = 3min 54sec	Amar (M) and Bejoy (S) smokes in the interrogation room during the investigation, after Amar arrest Bejoy.	In this scene, both characters speak about their side of justice and reason with Heroism. Bejoy tells his sad story of his dignity by smoking. The camera frame, angle, and actors cause extreme fetishism.	Amar (D),	Heroism and Sad	Extreme
8	(1:28:57 to 1:29:19)	Flashback Scene of Bejoy(S) traveling in a lorry with Dhilli.	Bejoy has high tension over the problem he faced during Kaithi movie scenes. So smoking has a medium impact. The camera elements do not have much fetishism.	Bejoy (I)	Tension	Medium
9	(1:32:02 to 1:32:05) = 4 sec	When Amar explains his investigation about Vikram. A visual of Lawrence(S)smoking, while Vikram worked on the Laptop was shown.	Lawrence got bored while Vikram was working. So he smokes and has a medium Impact. The film elements not much contributed to fetishism.	Lawrence (D)	Bore	Medium
10	(1:39:20 to 1:39:27) = 8 sec	Jose(S) warns Sandhanam of a Bomb in his Drug factory.	Jose was tensed to warn Sandhanam about the bomb. So he smokes. It has a medium Impact. The film elements decently contributed to fetishism over tobacco.	Jose (D)	Tension	Medium
11	(1:51:43 to 1:52:56) = 1min 14sec	Sandhanam was angry about his home and factory being destroyed by a bomb blast. Jose(S) tells all about Vikram, his grandson, Amar, and his wife to kill.	Jose has vengeance over Vikram and Amar, he also induces more vengeance and anger in Sandhanam and smokes. It has a medium Impact. The film elements decently cause fetishism.	Jose (D)	Vengeance	Medium
12	(2:12:58 to 2:13:25) = 28 sec	Jose(S) smokes and pours alcohol, at that time Amar enters to kill him and the fight begins.	Jose smokes for relaxation over all the tensions. It has a medium Impact. The camera frame and angle have medium fetishism.	Jose (D)	Relax	Medium
13	(2:19:14 to 2:19:24) = 11 sec	Lawrence (S) explains about war machine to Vikram by smoking.	Lawrence becomes a chain smoker, so he needs it for the thought process in this Scene. The Long mid shot does not much fetishize smoking.	Lawrence (D)	Thought process	Medium
14	(2:41:54 to 2:42:09) = 16 sec	Anbu (S) Smokes on the ship and smokes while waiting for Rolex.	Anbu gets bored of waiting, so he smokes. It has a medium Impact. The importance of his character only normally fetishize smoking.	Anbu (D)	Bore	Medium
15	(2:46:39 to 2:48:24) = 1min 45sec	Rolex (M) smokes and dominates the rowdy gang in anger to start the drug market.	After the death of Sandhanam and the destruction of his drug factory, Drug markets fell. So, Rolex angrily orders the rowdies to again work hard and kill Vikram and other supporters of him. The popularity of the actor and camera presentation causes strong fetishism.	Rolex (D)	Anger and Control	Extreme

 

Findings of Vikram's Scenes That Trigger Smoking Behaviour

Table 2

Table 2
The number of scenes trigger smoking behavior	15
The total duration of scenes triggers smoking behavior	10:32

 

Table 2 shows the number and the duration of scenes that trigger smoking behaviour.

Table 3

Table 3
Id senses that triggered (T = 13)	No of the scenes trigger the smoking behavior over ID senses	Duration of scenes that trigger smoking behavior over ID senses
Anger	1	1:45
Control	1	1:45
Bore	2	0:20
Thought process	4	2:09
Relax	3	1:54
Vengeance	1	1:14
Tension	3	0:34
Heroism	2	4:26
Sad	1	3:54
Fear	1	0:06
Confusion	1	0:06
Joy	2	0:34
Concentration	1	0:03

 

Table 3 shows which emotions the film characters smoke. This was analyzed because the smoking behavioral temptations also repressed the same emotions of the audience unconscious of the ID as memory traces. When the spectators feel the same emotions in real life, then the repressed smoking behavioral memory traces rise to Consciousness and cause temptations.

Table 4

Table 4
Character that smokes (T = 9)	No of the scenes that character smokes	Duration of the scenes the character smokes
A background Character	1	0:02
A police	1	0:03
Vikram	2	0:53
Amar	3	5:05
Bejoy	2	4:19
Lawrence	2	0:14
Jose	3	1:50
Anbu	1	0:16
Rolex	1	1:45
Total Background characters	2	0:05
Total Supportive characters	4	6:39
Total Main Characters	3	7:43

 

Table 4 shows which characters smoke in this film. According to Christian Metz, audiences identify with the film characters. Thus, they adopted the emotions and other aspects of the character to understand the film. So, the audience is unconsciously receptive to the characters smoking behavioral memory traces, in their ID. The audience closely identifies with the film's Main Lead characters. So, the number of scenes and duration of the main lead character smoking in the film cause severe effects on the audience's psyche. Thus, it was proved that the film's smoking content strongly represses smoking behavior in the audience's unconscious psyche.

Table 5

Table 5
	Numbers	Duration
Indirect Smoking	1	0:23
Direct Smoking	14	10:09

 

Table 5 shows the direct and indirect signification of smoking in the film. Direct smoking signification causes strong temptations to the spectators. This was because of Lacan’s Object cause of desire. The film serves as an object cause of desire, which causes the desire over smoking behaviour to the audiences.

Table 6

Table 6
Impact of scenes triggers smoking behaviour	No of the scenes have Impact	The duration of scenes has an Impact
Negative	0	0
Low	2	0:05
Medium	8	3:05
Extreme	5	7:22

 

Table 6 shows the extreme impact scene number and duration was more than the negative impact scene number and duration. Low-impact scenes have no impact on the audience, Medium impact scene only reminds the smoking behavior of the already smoking person. But Negative impact scenes suggest that the smoking habit is harmful and Extreme impact scenes cause strong temptations and fetishism over the smoking habit. Here we can see the extreme impact scenes were more than negative impact scenes. So, it was proved that the film caused severe temptations over smoking.

Figure 1

Figure 1

 

The extreme impact scenes are more in numbers than the negative impact scenes. This causes severe smoking behavior repression.

Figure 2

Figure 2

 

The extreme impact scenes are more in duration than the negative impact scenes. This causes severe smoking behaviour repression.

Important notes: Scenes with a medium impact are more common than high ones. However, extreme impact situations are longer than lower or moderate intensity. Thus, these smoking scenes have a powerful effect on the Id consciousness, which triumphs over Ego awareness in certain circumstances. Super Ego is crucial when it comes to stopping the Smoking Id's habit. Super Ego's Impact, however, depends on the unique circumstances of each viewer, which the author of this thesis cannot account for.

 

Analysis of Vikram Scenes That Trigger Alcohol-Consuming Behavior

Table 7

Table 7
Scene no	Alcoholic Scenes Time code and duration	Scene Description	Scene Interpretation through FCD	The character that intakes alcohol	The sense that represses the alcoholic behavior at ID consciousness	Impact of repressing alcoholic behavior
1	(3:44 to 5.00) = 1min 16sec	‘PathalaPathala’ song scene. In this Scene, Vikram sings about alcohol and some Background dancers (B) consume it and dance.	Vikram sings that alcohol is not enough for him and he is told to take pickles as a side dish for alcohol and eat well after consumption. Vikram did not consume it, but the side dancers consumed that. This song was an encouragement to the drinkers. So it has an extreme Impact. The camera presentation and the song highly fetishize alcoholism.	Background dancers (D)	Joy and Desire	Extreme
2	(5:35 to 6:13) = 38 sec	Vikram (M) character was drunk drove the car and crashed it.	Vikram was sad due to his son's death. So he is drunk. It gives an impact of alcohol consumption during sad over spectators. The acting of the actor and his popularity cause strong fetishism over alcohol.	Vikram (I)	Sad and stress	Extreme
3	(7:20 to 10:06) = 2min 46sec	Some masked gang kidnaps Vikram (M) and kills him with a grenade.	Here Vikram dies because of no strength to escape from the grenade because he is drunk. So he becomes weak from alcohol, thus hurting spectators. The weakness of the Main Lead character negatively fetishizes alcoholism.	Vikram(I)	fear	Negative
4	(18:57 to 20:00) = 1min 3sec	Prabanjan's wife tells about her father-in-law Karnan (Vikram)(M) Amar. She said he was a drunkard. He crashed his car over the front of the house. He also got in her room at night after drunken.	In this Scene Vikram was portrayed as a drunkard for Enjoyment. But he is too trouble for his widowed daughter-in-law. So it has a Negative Impact. The film elements contribute to negative fetishism.	Vikram(I)	Joy and Desire	Negative
5	(26:50 to 28:52) = 2min 2sec	Uppili said the atrocities of Karnan (Vikram)(M) in his Gym to Amar. He said he was always drunk in his gym and once he fought with the young bodybuilders by drunken.	The Scene funnily shows Vikram's drinking habit and shows his power to fight after drunken. It glorifies the power of Vikram over young gym boys. So, it has an Extreme Impact. The strength of the Vikram and the effective presentation of alcohol on screen cause extreme fetishism.	Vikram (D)	Desire and Violence	Extreme
6	(30:34 to 30:44) = 10 sec	House worker Valliyamal(Tina) speaks about the good qualities of Karnan(Vikram)(M) to Amar.	Valliyammal justifies the alcohol addiction of Vikram and he is a very good person. It has an extreme Impact. Because her justification causes effective fetishism over alcohol.	Vikram (I)	Sad	Extreme
7	(40:44 to 40:56) = 12 sec	Santhanam asks his patient(B) to not drink. But he asks excuse for one day. So Santhanam asked him to drink more today. It is a satire that his patient died today after drinking with jaundice.	This Scene gives a fear of alcohol over spectators. So it has a Negative Impact. The spectator imagines the patient drinking. Film elements contribute to negative fetishism.	A Patient (I)	Desire	Negative
8	(51:48 to 52:25) = 37 sec	At Amar and Gayathiri's marriage, all the Amar friends (B) and Amar (M) drink alcohol.	alcohol	Amar (D) Amar friends (D)	Joy	Extreme
9	(1:07:07 to 1:07:08) = 2 sec	At the group discussion of police and rowdies to safeguard Ruthraprathap. Santhanam told the police to say that Jose, should take a rest by drinking and he safeguards RuthraPrathap.	This Scene shows Jose has a habit of relaxing by drinking has a Low impact. The spectator imagines Jose drinking. But no film elements cause alcohol fetishism.	Jose (I)	Relax	Low
10	(1:09:37 to 1:09:55) = 19 sec	This Scene has a visual of Jose (Shavingve alcohol in his home and Ruthra Prathap drinking at his daughter's marriage function.	Jose drinks for tension and Ruthraprathap for fear. This Scene has a medium Impact. The lighting and camera frame contribute to medium alcohol fetishism.	Jose (I) RuthraPrathap (D)	Tension and Fear	Medium
11	(1:10:12 to 1:14:22) = 4 min 10 sec	Ruthraprathap's daughter marriage scene has Sandhanam's activities to save Ruthra and Amar's activities to find the killer, including many alcoholic visuals of Amar(M) and Background characters (B)	At the marriage function, Club Boy and the alcohol bottle near him were tempting. Most of the side characters in the wedding were drinking. Amar also drinks and the Vettivagaiyara gang also drinks with them. This Scene justifies the thought that drinking was a normal habit in celebrations. It has an extreme Impact. The film elements contribute to high alcohol fetishism.	Amar(I) Background characters(I) and (D)	Joy	Extreme
12	(2:12:58 to 2:13:25) = 27 sec	Jose(S) poured the alcohol into the glass and smoked. Then Amar comes to kill him.	Jose intakes it for relaxation. But it reduces his strength to defend himself and has a Low impact. Film elements do not fetishize alcohol.	Jose(I)	Relax	Low
13	(2:18:06 to 2:19:49) = 1min 43sec	Uppili (S) shoots the Vettivagaiyara gang drunken to bring time for Vikram. But he dies.	The Scene shows that alcohol makes Uppili weak, So he dies by mistake. He becomes weak by the habit has a Negative Impact. The film elements negatively fetishize alcoholism.	Uppili (D)	Desire	Negative

 

Findings of Vikram Scenes That Trigger Alcohol-Consuming Behavior

Table 8

Table 8
The number of scenes trigger alcoholic behavior	13
The total duration of scenes triggers alcoholic behavior	15:25

 

Table 8 shows the number and duration of scenes that trigger alcoholic behavior in audience ID conscious.

Table 9

Table 9
Id senses that triggered (T = 8)	No of the scenes trigger the alcoholic behavior over the id's senses	Duration of scenes that trigger alcoholic behavior over ID senses
Joy	4	7:06
Desire	5	5:16
Sad	2	0:48
Stress	1	0:38
Fear	2	3:05
Violence	1	2:02
Relax	2	0:29
Tension	1	0:19

 

Table 9 shows the moods in which the film characters consume alcohol. This was analyzed because the audience's Id consciousness receives alcoholic behavior memory traces in specific emotions of the psyche from the film. So, when the audiences feel the same mood in real life, the Id triggers the alcoholic temptations over the ego from the repressed memory traces. The number and duration of the specific emotions, in which the film character consumes alcohol inflict strong repression of alcoholic behavior over the audience's unconscious.

Table 10

Table 10
The character that consumes alcohol (T = 9)	No of the scenes does that character consume alcohol	Duration of the scenes the character consumes alcohol
Background dancers	1	1:16
Vikram	5	6:39
A Patient	1	0:12
Amar	2	4:47
Amar friends	1	0:37
Jose	3	0:48
Ruthraprathap	1	0:19
Background characters	1	4:10
Uppili	1	1:43
Total Background character	4	6:15
Total Supportive character	3	2:50
Total Main Character	7	11:26

 

Table 10 shows the characters consuming alcohol in the film. The audience identifies with the film characters. They closely identify the Main Lead characters and adopt their emotions, characteristics, and other attributes. So consuming alcohol in the films causes severe repression of behavior in the audience Id consciousness. The more in number and duration of main lead characters consuming alcohol in the film causes more repression. Here the main lead characters have more numbers and durations of scenes of alcohol consumption, causing severe repression of alcoholic behavior over the audience's psyche.

Table 11

Table 11
	Numbers	Duration
Indirect alcohol consuming	9	9:47
Direct alcohol consuming	6	10:07

 

Table 11 shows the direct and indirect signification of alcohol consumption in the film. The direct alcohol-consuming scenes have the presence of alcohol in the frame. Thus, the film elements serve as the object cause of the desire to inflict temptations over alcohol.

Table 12

Table 12
The impact of scenes triggers alcoholic behavior	No of the scenes have Impact	The duration of scenes has an Impact
Negative	4	5:44
Low	2	0:29
Medium	1	0:19
Extreme	6	8:53

 

Table 12 shows the impacts of the scenes triggering alcohol behavior over the audience's unconscious. There was betting between Negative and Extreme impact scenes. Because negative impact scenes degrade alcohol consumption in the audience's unconscious. Extreme-impact scenes encourage alcohol consumption in the audience unconscious. Here extreme impact scenes are more in numbers and durations than negative impact scenes. So, it was proved that the film's alcoholic scenes cause severe alcohol temptations.

Figure 3

Figure 3

 

The extreme impact scenes are more in numbers than the negative impact scenes. This causes severe alcoholic behavior repression.

Figure 4

Figure 4

 

The extreme impact scenes are more in duration than the negative impact scenes. This causes severe alcoholic behavior repression.

Important notes: The negative effect sequences are long and numerous enough to rival the extreme impact scenes. Still, intense impact sequences feature more occurrences than other types of impacts and last longer on average. So, the Id consciousness profoundly affects ego awareness while viewing these alcoholic scenarios. There is no way for researchers to understand the spectators' Super Egos, which have the power to control the dormant Id's alcoholism.

Analysis of Vikram Scenes That Trigger Drug-Consuming Behavior

Table 13

Table 13
Scene no	Drug Scenes Time code and duration	Scene Description	Scene Interpretation through FCD	The character that intakes Drug	The sense that represses the Drug behavior at ID-consciousness	Impact of repressing Drug behavior
1	(2:21 to 3:15) = 54 sec	Prabhanjan investigating the drug container scene.	This Scene does not have any glorification of drugs. Only it introduces the mafia and drug markets. So, it has low Impact and fetishism.	No	No	Low
2	(3:39 to 4:44) = 1min 5sec	Pathala Pathala song has Background dancers (B), who are taking drugs like Tobacco powder and a type of white powder.	The Scene has a small level of Impact and fetishism.	Background Dancers (D)	Joy	Low
3	(21:12 to 21:41) = 29 sec	Lawrence told Amar that Karnan (Vikram)(M) has the habit of smoking cannabis.	Spectator Imaginarily thinks the lead character was smoking cannabis during this Scene. So it has a medium Impact. The film elements contribute to normal fetishism.	Vikram (I)	Desire	Medium
4	(22:14 to 22:45) = 31 sec	Amar imagines how Vikram(M) smokes cannabis on the baseball ground.	The way Kamal Hassan acts by smoking cannabis tempts many spectators. It has an extreme Impact. The actor's acting skill contributes to extreme fetishism.	Vikram (D)	Joy and Desire	Extreme
5	(23:17 to 23:46) = 29 sec	Amar found drug pockets in Vikram's (M) house.	Some audience imagines drug consuming of Vikram. It has a low Impact. No film elements cause fetishism.	Vikram (I)	Desire	Low
6	(23:47 to 23:57) = 10 sec	A drug inspector explains about cocaine raw material to Amar.	No one consumes, has low Impact and camera elements can’t contribute to fetishism.	No	No	Low
7	(23:58 to 24:29) = 31 sec	Amar explains to him about cocaine raw materials and Drug dealers.	No one consumes and has low Impact. No camera presentation of the drug.	No	No	Low
8	(25:30 to 25:34) = 5 sec	VettiVagaiyara gang contains drugs in the lorry.	No one consumes and has low Impact. No camera presentation of the drug.	No	No	Low
9	(33:59 to 35:13) = 1 min 14 sec	Amar uses a drug to force a prisoner under investigation (B) to speak the truth.	The prisoner did not voluntarily take the drugs. Amar injected it forcibly. It also unaware him to tell the truth. So it has a Negative Impact. The film elements negatively fetishize drugs.	Prisoner under investigation(D)	Truth	Negative
10	(35:46 to 37:44) = 1min 58sec	Santhanam(M) intro scene. He uses a drug to get strength and kills a P.C. to escape.	It is a glorification scene, which extremely impacts the audience by the performance of Vijay Sethupathi. The actor acting and camera frame contribute strong fetishism.	Santhanam (D)	Heroism, Strength, and Violence	Extreme
11	(39:01 to 39:19) = 18 sec	Santhanam(M) takes drugs based on his mood like violence, lust, tension, etc...	It has an extreme impact on spectators. Because the camera angle, movement, and frame all cause severe fetishism.	Santhanam (D)	Anger, Violence, Lust, and Relax	Extreme
12	(40:10 to 40:26) = 16 sec	Santhanam explains the fatality of overdosage drugs to his assistants.	No one consumes but has a fear of drugs. So it has a Negative Impact. The film elements negatively fetishize drugs.	no	no	Negative
13	(41:8 to 41:56) = 48 sec	Santhanam(M) kills many persons for drug containers and finally tries to kill police by consuming a drug. But his assists stop him.	Santhanam try to use of drugs for violence in this Scene, has an extreme impact. The film components induce strong drug fetishism.	Santhanam (I)	Violence and Anger	Extreme
14	(42:21 to 42:59) = 38 sec	Drug factory and drug production was shown in this Scene.	No one consumes and has low Impact. The camera presentation is also not worth it for drug fetishism.	no	no	Low
15	(47:15 to 48:35) = 1min 20 sec	Santhanam(M) intakes a drug to burn alive the prisoner under investigation before.	He uses the drug to suppress the humanity in him and get cruelty. So spectator gets a fear of drugs. It has a Negative Impact. The film elements contribute to negative drug fetishism.	Santhanam (D)	Violence	Negative
16	(1:23:50 to 1:25:52) = 2min 2sec	At Ruthraprathap's daughter's marriage function fight scene, Santhanam(M) takes a drug to fight with Vikram's assistance.	Santhanam does have not enough strength to fight Vikram's assists. But after the intake of drugs, he defeats single-handedly all of them. So, the film elements contribute to strong alcohol fetishism. It has an extreme Impact.	Santhanam (D)	Strength and Violence	Extreme
17	(1:28:45 to 1:28:57) = 12 sec	Naren thinks about Prabanjan's last speech to him on the phone. It is a flashback, Scene.	No one consumes and has low Impact. No film elements induce drug fetishism.	no	no	Low
18	(1:29:35 to 1:30:05) = 30 sec	Sandhanam speaks to Kee Rolex, on the phone in the drug factory about drug delivery.	No one consumes and has low Impact. No film elements induce drug fetishism.	no	no	Low
19	(1:32:37 to 1:32:45) = 8 sec	Vikram tests the Cocaine raw material. It is a flashback scene.	No one consumes and has low Impact. No film elements induce drug fetishism.	no	no	Low
20	(1:39:20 to 1:43:31) = 4min 11sec	Jose warns Sandhanam that there is a bomb in his Drug factory. So Sandhanam (M) uses a drug to get concentration and escape along with his workers and family.	Sandhanam becomes tense after hearing there was a bomb in his factory. So he consumes a drug for concentration. It has an extreme Impact. The camera presentation contributes to high drug fetishism.	Sandhanam(D)	Concentration	Extreme
21	(1:54:51 to 1:56:56) = 2min 5sec	Vikram speaks about the bad effects of drugs in our society and encourages his assistance to create a drug-free society.	No one consumes drugs and the Lead character opposes the drug by raising awareness of the danger of it. So it has a Negative Impact. The film elements negatively fetishize drugs.	no	no	Negative
22	(2:34:22 to 2:35:53) = 1min 31sec	A fight between Vikram and Santhanam happens. Vikram was too strong. So Santhanam(M) uses a drug to get strength and fight.	A normal rowdy like Santhanam gets the strength to defeat a trained Agent Vikram by drug has a very extreme Impact. The camera movement, frame, and angle cause strong drug fetishism.	Santhanam (D)	Strength and Violence	Extreme
23	(2:36:47 to 2:37:35) = 48 sec	Even though Sandhanam (M) has been drugged, Vikram defeats him after seeing his grandson.	This Scene shows real strength is more powerful than drugged strength. So it has a negative Impact. The film elements contribute to negative drug fetishism.	Santhanam (D)	Strength and Violence	Negative
24	(2:43:19 to 2:46:39) = 3min 20 sec	Rolex (M) entry scene. He slowly breaks the drug tablet and dissolves it. Then he drinks it when other rowdies speak about Vikram, Dhilli, and Amar. Finally, he killed a person to get a mass intro and deliver mass dialogues.	This Scene has an extreme impact on drug consumption. Because of the Star value and Attractive presentation of Scene. It causes strong fetishism.	Rolex (D)	Heroism, Joy, Anger, Violence and Control	Extreme

 

Findings of Vikram Scenes That Trigger Drug-Consuming Behavior

Table 14

Table 14
The number of scenes trigger drug behavior	24
The total duration of scenes triggers drug behavior	25:33

 

Table 14 shows the number and duration of scenes that trigger drug-consuming behavior.

 

Table 15

Table 15
Id senses that triggered (T = 8)	No of the scenes trigger the drug behavior over the Id senses	Duration of scenes that trigger drug behavior over ID senses
Joy	3	4:56
Desire	3	1:29
Truth	1	1:14
Strength	4	6:19
Violence	8	12:05
Anger	3	4:26
Lust	1	0:18
Relax	1	0:18
Concentration	1	4:11
Control	1	3:20
Heroism	2	5:18
Null	10	5:29

 

Table 15 shows the emotions in which the film characters ingest drugs. The audience watching the film is repressed by the drug-consuming behavior in a specific emotion, which was relevant to the characters' emotions, who consume drugs. These all emotion given in the table was triggered by severe drug consumption in the film. So, the audience Id conscious that receiving these memory traces causes temptations when they feel the same emotions given in the table.

Table 16

Table 16
Character that consumes drug (T = 5)	No of the scenes does that character consume the drug	Duration of the scenes the character consumes the drug
Background dancers	1	1:05
Vikram	3	1:29
Prisoner under investigation	1	1:14
Santhanam	8	12:56
Rolex	1	3:20
No consumption scenes	10	5:29
Total Background character	2	2:19
Total Supportive character	0	0
Total Main Character	3	17:45

 

Table 16 shows the characters consuming drugs in the film. Audiences closely identify themselves to the film characters, according to their importance. The important main character Santhanam has the most number and duration of drug-consuming scenes. Thus, he strongly inflicts drug-consuming memory traces over the audience's psyche, because they adopt the attributes of the characters they identify. Hence, the film caused strong repression of drug-consuming behavior over the audience's unconscious psyche.

Table 17

Table 17
	Numbers	Duration
Indirect drug consuming	3	1:46
Direct drug consuming	11	18:18
Not drug consuming	10	5:29

 

Table 17 shows the direct and indirect signification of drug consumption. The direct consumption scene was more in number and duration. Thus, the film serves as Lacan’s object cause of desire, which causes a strong desire for drug consumption in the spectators’ unconscious.

Table 18

Table 18
The impact of scenes triggers drug behavior	No of the scenes have Impact	The duration of scenes has an Impact
Negative	5	5:43
Low	10	4:42
Medium	1	0:29
Extreme	8	14:39

 

Table 18 shows the impact of the scenes triggering drug-consuming behavior. In the race between negative and extreme impact scenes. The extreme impact scenes have more numbers and durations. So, the film's portrayal of drug consumption causes strong temptations in the audience's unconscious psyche was proved.

Figure 5

Figure 5

 

The extreme impact scenes are more in numbers than the negative impact scenes. This causes severe drug-consuming behavior repression.

Figure 6

Figure 6

 

The extreme impact scenes are more in duration than the negative impact scenes. This causes severe drug-consuming behavior repression.

Important notes: The majority of film characters are in low-impact scenarios. However, it has no effect. Extreme-impact scenes last the longest and profoundly impact the spectator's mind. Repressed Extreme impact drug scenes over Id awareness, waiting for an appropriate situation to reveal over Ego consciousness. The researcher cannot evaluate the spectators' Super Ego, which deactivates the repressed behavior of the Id.

 

6. Highlighted Findings

The viewer's ID is profoundly affected by all the smoking, drinking, and drug use. Each person's superego was shaped differently by their upbringing, personal history, social milieu, and other factors. Yet it would be impossible for researchers to assess the spectators' superegos. For this reason, it would be premature to conclude that the audience members imitate these unsafe practices. The research, however, shows that these scenes have a devastating effect on the id consciousness of the audience. It's designed to trigger in just the right circumstances. Routines easily deceive spectators who lack a substantial superego.

 

6.1. Highlighted Findings of Smoking Scenes

In the vast majority of instances, smoking is used by the characters to aid in the Thought process (4 scenes, 2:09 duration) and alleviate their Heroism (2 scenes, 4:26 duration) shown in Table 3. The audience also feels the temptations in the same emotions of thought process and heroism. The most frequent smokers are Amar, Bejoy, and Jose as shown in Table 4. The main protagonists smoke in 14 scenes totalling 10 minutes and 9 seconds as shown in Table 4. The audience identifies the main lead character closely. So, these scenes strongly repress smoking behavior in the audience's psyche. Table 5 shows the direct smoking scenes are 14 with 10 minutes and 9 seconds of duration. According to Lacan's Object cause of desire, these direct smoking scenes strongly tempt the audiences. The total runtime of smoking depictions in Extreme Impact is 7 minutes and 22 seconds shown in Table 6, which strongly tempts the audience to smoke by the fetishism of Christian Metz.

 

 

 

6.2. Highlighted Findings of Alcoholic Scenes

The majority of the situation alcohol was consumed by Vikram and Amar as shown in Table 9. They are the main lead characters, which the audience closely identifies to understand the film. Thus, their alcohol behavior inflicts strong memory traces over the audience's unconscious. The characters drink alcohol in their joy (4 scenes, 7:06 duration) and desire (5 scenes, 5:16 duration) sensations maximumly in the film as shown in Table 2.2. So, spectators also feel the temptations while the same emotions are triggered in real life. Table 10 shows the main characters spend 11 minutes and 26 seconds drinking, which drastically represses the alcohol temptations in the unconscious through Identification of Metz. Table 11 shows that direct consumption scene number 6 with a duration of 10:07 causes a severe desire for alcohol in the audience, according to Lacan’s Object cause of desire. Negative impact scenes have a duration of 5:44 and 4 scenes. But there are six Extreme Impact moments, they last for eight minutes and fifty-three seconds shown in Table 12. It has a strong effect on the unconscious mind, which causes severe temptations over alcohol.

 

6.3. Highlighted Findings of Drug-consuming Scenes

Drugs fueled most of the strength (4 scenes, 6:19 duration) and violence (8 scenes, 12:05 duration) seen in different scenes shown in Table 15. Spectators also feel the drug-consuming temptations in the same sensation in real life. Table 16 shows a total of eight scenes of Santhanam using drugs that take up to 12 minutes and 56 seconds. According to Identification of Film Characters in Psychoanalysis, Santhanam inflicts devastating drug-consuming temptations in the spectators' psyche. There is a significant effect on the picture as a whole from the 17 minutes and 45 seconds spent on the film's main character consuming drugs shown in Table 16 and the 18 minutes and 18 seconds spent on scenes depicting the direct consumption of drugs shown in Table 17. By Identification and Object cause of Desire in psychoanalysis, these cause drastic drug-consuming temptations over the audience's psyche unconsciously. The primary theme of Vikram's film is opposition to drugs, although the movie's drug scenes barely last 14 minutes and 39 seconds as shown in Table 15, while the drug scenes in Extreme Impact last 14 minutes and 39 seconds of 8 scenes shown in Table 18. These all-cause strong temptations over drug consumption to the audiences.

 

7. Limitations

The study solely looked at the smoking, drinking, and drug use depicted in the movie "Vikram," a symbol of the repressed ego waiting for the right moment to act. But the spectators' superego, which shields them from their own destructive, id-driven impulses, is beyond his ability to understand. The author can’t prove that the spectators will imitate the behaviour of smokers, drinkers, and drug users in the film. However, the research shows that these scenes significantly induce addictive substance-consuming temptations in the audience's unconscious, which needs the right circumstances to satisfy, when analyzed psychoanalytically.

 

8. Conclusion

The study attempted to comprehend the significance of the smoke, alcohol, and drug scenes in Vikram's film. The researcher aims to alert filmmakers and film spectators to this type of content, not to discourage or discredit the essence or other objects of cinema. Even though a good movie has some devastating range, the spectator's unconscious absorbs it and takes action. As a result, the study intends to become aware of this content through psychoanalytic film theory. Extreme impact scenes are necessary for a film to portray the characteristics of a character. But, including more negative impact scenes, you can balance the intense impact scenes. As a result, the spectator's Id consciousness was not significantly suppressed by smoke, alcohol, and drugs. Filmmakers should use a limited amount of smoke, alcohol, and drug scenes to benefit the spectators and society. When repressed unconscious harmful behaviour from the Id rises to the Ego, observers are also responsible for responding to the Super Ego.   

 

CONFLICT OF INTERESTS

None. 

 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

None.

 

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