Hiding in Plain Sight: Calum's Defense Mechanisms in Aftersun through Anna Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory
Abstract
This study analyzes the representation of defense mechanisms in the character Calum in the film Aftersun (2022) through Anna Freud's psychoanalytic theory. This study departs from the limitations of previous research that primarily discussed Calum's psychological distress through depression, identity crisis, masculinity, fatherhood, memory, trauma, and psychoanalytic opacity, but did not specifically explain how ego-defense processes regulate the relationship between private vulnerability and the paternal self. The study used a qualitative descriptive design with theory-driven coding informed by directed qualitative content analysis. The primary data was the film Aftersun, while English subtitles were used as an indexing tool to aid in the identification of dialogue and timestamps. The units of analysis were defensive episodes, verified through verbal, visual, and contextual evidence. The analysis process included first-round coding, second-pass coding, audiovisual verification, alternative-explanation testing, and cross-episode comparison. The results showed that three defensive episodes formed representational patterns most consistent with repression and isolation. Repression is represented through restricted direct representation of certain autobiographical material, while isolation allows painful experiences to remain narratable through affective distancing. These two patterns underlie a higher-order analytical synthesis in the form of Selective Psychological Accessibility. In paternal relationships, this pattern regulates without eliminating vulnerability, allowing genuine paternal care to coexist with limited self-disclosure. The study also used Defensive Leakage as a study-specific interpretive label to explain the instability of affective containment. The findings suggest that Calum's psychological opacity is constructed through selective rather than uniform accessibility, allowing him to remain emotionally visible without becoming fully psychologically legible.
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