Johnny+Depp

=Johnny Depp= Martha Paliwoda

Biography John Christopher Depp II was born on June 9, 1963 in Owensboro, Kentucky to John and Betty Sue Depp. Depp was the youngest of four children. His family moved frequently as he was a child, and his parents divorced while he was around the age of seven. This created a difficult early life for him, causing him to engage in dangerous behaviors. He dropped out of school at age 16 as he played the role of a rebel teenager, engaging in vandalism and narcotics (Biography, 2011).

Depp married make-up artist Lori Anne Allison at 20 years old. He was later introduced by his wife to Nicholas Cage in Los Angeles, California, who advised and encouraged Depp to act. He then made his first appearance in film in “A Nightmare on Elm Street” in 1984. His first big role appeared in Tim Burton’s “Edward Scissorhands” in 1990 (Wikipedia, n.d). From then on, he continued his movie star career with appearing in a number of films, including “Donnie Brasco”, “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, “Pirates of the Caribbean”, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and “Blow”.

Depp’s rebellious behavior caught up to him later on in his career as he was allegedly blamed for selling drugs at his own club after River Phoenix, a famous celebrity, died outside of his club, The Viper Room, from a drug overdose in 1993 (NOW!, n.d). Depp was then arrested in 1994 for damaging a New York Suite with his girlfriend, Kate Moss, and later again in 1999 for fighting with paparazzi outside of a local restaurant in London, England (Biography, 2011).

Psychoanalytic Perspective In Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalytic perspective, Johnny Depp’s childhood must be considered. Being the youngest of four children, Depp considered himself withdrawn from the family. "I made odd noises as a child,” "I just did weird things, like turn off light switches twice. I think my parents thought I had Tourette's syndrome". Depp’s father moved his family often because of his profession. When Depp was seven, his family moved to Miramar, Florida where they lived in a motel for one year. He was not fond of his new home, and by the age of twelve he began his rebellious behavior by experimenting with drugs and taking part in self-harm because of his stressful family life. When Depp was fifteen, his parents divorced and the relationship between Depp and his father began to dissipate (Biography, 2011).

The events that took place in Depp’s early life can be seen as a foreshadowing of his insubordinate behavior. These unsettling childhood experiences can serve as an explanation for Depp’s use of drugs as they enabled him to escape his stressful experiences. Drugs served as a defense mechanism for him to distort reality in order to protect himself from what was going on at home (Friedman & Schustack, 2009). He repressed threatening thoughts into his unconscious with drugs so that he wouldn’t have to think about the stress that it caused him. Depp also claimed that “Puberty was very vague, I literally locked myself in a room and played guitar” (Biography, 2011). This suggests that the guitar also served as a defense mechanism for him. The drugs in combination of these experiences created an underdeveloped adult ego (Friedman & Schustack, 2009). This can also serve as an explanation of why he was arrested in New York for trashing a hotel suite. The damage and vandalism that took place in the hotel may have acted as a sign of displacement, where Depp’s unacceptable impulses were so built up that trashing the room served as a release for them. Depp’s fight with paparazzi in London was also a sign of displacement as he freed his negative urges and impulses against them because of their violation of privacy (Friedman & Schustack, 2009). His unsettling experiences as a child may have left behind anger and rage, therefore causing him to snap easily and engage in immoral behavior.

Neo-Analytic Perspective Alfred Adler’s Neo-Analytic perspective focuses on a series of stages in human motivation, beginning with organ inferiority. This states that everyone is born with some type of physical weakness. In Johnny Depp’s case, he has feelings of inferiority. Our behavior is driven by our attempts to reduce, avoid, or reject feelings of inferiority. The source of Depp’s inferior behavior has to do with his early recollections. His stressful childhood needs to be compensated for through Depp’s aggression drive. His lashing out in his early life as well as his later life is because of his inability to achieve satisfaction as a child. Depp’s hostility is expressed consciously and unconsciously through his rebellious behaviors. Through his aggressive behavior, Depp has a chance to reject inferiority. Also in an effort to compensate for his inferiority from his childhood, Depp acts out a number of different characters in the movies he plays in. He is able to change roles and identities in compensation for these (Friedman & Schustack, 2009).

Through his characters, Depp has a chance to be motivated through masculine protest. He has been seen to carry out a number of different qualities, such as stubbornness, courage, confidence and rebelliousness (Friedman & Schustack, 2009). He also has a chance to be motivated through his personal life, with his partner Vanessa Paradis, as well as his two children (Wikipedia, n.d). Depp and Paradis live with their children in Meudon, France, located in the suburbs of Paris. According to Wikipedia, Depp claims he “likes the anonymity of living in France and his simpler life there” (n.d). What Depp has done with his personal life allows him to be competent and independent in raising his family. Depp has had the opportunity to provide meaning in his life by fulfilling his occupational, societal and love tasks (Friedman & Schustack, 2009). He has a rewarding career as a well-known all-star actor that makes him feel worthwhile, while at the same time has allowed him to build a foundation to support his life. He has plenty of friends and has created a strong social network through his career, and he has also found a suitable life partner, Paradis. According to Wikipedia, Depp stated that having children has given him "real foundation, a real strong place to stand in life, in work, in everything" (n.d), making it clear that he has a satisfying existence.

Discussion The famous and versatile actor Johnny Depp has certainly made a name for himself in the entertainment industry. There is no doubt that his difficult childhood has caused him to engage in a number of unmanageable behaviors, creating the person that he is today. His use of drugs and self-hurt has certainly impacted him as not only a child, but as a young adult as well. The Psychoanalytic and Neo-Analytic perspectives have taken and evaluated him for a better understanding of who he has become and what he has done with his life. In agreement with the Freud’s perspective, the events that took place in Depp’s childhood can be seen as a foreshadowing of his insubordinate behavior (Friedman & Schustack, 2009). In addition to that, Adler’s perspective would conquer with the idea that Depp’s behavior is driven by his attempt to reduce, avoid, or reject feelings of inferiority (Friedman & Schustack, 2009). Johnny Depp’s actions have created a path for him that has made a big impact on the entertainment industry as well as fans all around the world. His characters are all unconventional, peculiar and eccentric, allowing his fans to explore the talent that he possesses and uses to express himself.

References

Friedman, H. S., & Schustack, M. W. (2009). //Personality: Classic Theories and Modern Research// (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Higher Education. Johnny Depp. (2011). //Biography.com//. Retrieved Apr 17 2011, from [] Johnny Depp Biography. (n.d.). In //Johnny Depp NOW!//. Retrieved April 10, 2011, from [] Johnny Depp. (n.d.). In //Wikipedia//. Retrieved April 10, 2011, from []