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"Freud's marginality as a Jew played a role
in his developing ideas," Eagle says, "because
he's standing back and, rather than being
absorbed and taking for granted cultural
norms and cultural assumptions and beliefs,
he's critiquing them, he's questioning them,
he's challenging them."
Freud's granddaughter Sophie Freud says:
"He (Freud) knew he was very bright and was
going to prove to the world that he, a Jew,
could become a great man."
Grubin states that, although Freud consid-
ered God as a kind of father figure and reli-
gion a kind of illusion, he never abandoned
the idea that he was a Jew.
"Freud grew up at a time when a lot of Jews
had an opportunity to assimilate, and he does
to the extent that he has Christmas trees,"
adds Grubin. "But he also grew up in this ter-
rible anti-Semitic climate. Just as Freud was
growing into manhood, so was Hitler."
In the film, the young Freud recalls his father
telling him a true story about an encounter
with anti-Semitic violence. One day Jacob
Freud was going for a walk and a Christian
man came over and knocked the elder Freud's
new fur hat in the mud, shouting, "Jew."
Rather than responding, he merely picked up
his hat from the ground and walked away.
Hearing about the incident deeply dis-
turbed Sigmund Freud. "I think he was mor-
tified for his father," says Grubin, "but he
wished his father had been more defiant and a
stronger human being."
credited theories are finding support from
neurologists using modern brain imaging.
According to the article, researchers have
found evidence that the unconscious "drives"
— aggression and libido among them —
described by Freud do exist in the limbic sys-
tem, a primitive part of the brain "that operates
mostly below the horizon of consciousness" and
controls how we respond to our environment.
"Freud should be placed in the same category
as Darwin, who lived before the discovery of
genes," said one scientist in the Newsweek arti-
cle. "Freud gave us a vision of a mental appara-
tus. We need to talk about it, develop it, test it."
The Biological Influence
Telling A Story
In exploring the psychoanalyst's life, Grubin
was struck by Freud's genius, calling him
probably the only person we can think of
who developed an entire field.
Although the emphasis in psychiatry today
is biological, with documentation provided by
brain imaging devices such as CAT and PET
scans, this does not invalidate Freud's ideas,
the filmmaker says. "Remember, Freud began
as a neuroscientist and never gave up trying
to root his ideas on the biology of the brain."
In fact, Freud's theory was always biologically
based, notes Bloomfield Hills psychoanalyst Dr.
Deanna Holtzman, former chairman and presi-
dent of the Michigan Psychoanalytic Institute.
"Although he did psychoanalysis, biology
was important to him," she says. "And the
biological emphasis, which has led to sophisti-
cated medications, is an excellent adjunct to
his talking theory. Medication alone cannot
solve people's problems."
Dr. Holtzman points out that "as clinical and
empirical evidence emerged, Freud's theory was
always evolving and changing, and at no time
did he ever feel the theories were complete."
As far as his basic principles, she says, "there
is an unconscious in all of us, and it motivates
our behavior, and that hasn't changed."
Indeed, a recent article in Newsweek maga-
zine noted that many of Freud's long-dis-
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Grubin hopes his documentary will show
viewers how extensively Freud changed the
way we think about ourselves. "We can't
escape Freud's influence," he says.
A native of New Jersey who was raised as a
secular Jew, the filmmaker is working on a
project for the National Museum of American
Jewish History in Philadelphia. "They have
asked me to tell the story of American Jews,
how they came here in 1654 and what hap-
pened to them," says Grubin, who has won
eight Emmy Awards.
So far, he's produced more than 100 films
on subjects ranging from history to art to sci-
ence, including many of the presidential biog-
raphies on PBS. His next film will profile
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Anan.
Grubin, who has been married for 25 years
and has three children, says that, without a
doubt, his Judaism impacts on all of his work.
"I love to tell stories, and that's what Jews do
every Saturday," he says. "Those tales may come
from the [Bible], but they are great stories. And
that's what I am interested in — great stories." ❑
Left to right:
Sigmund Freud, right,
age 8, and father
Jacob, 1864.
Sigmund and Martha
Freud wedding
portrait, 1886
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Young Dr. Freud airs 9-11 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 27, on PBS stations,
including WTVS-Channel 56. Check
your local listings.
Expires 12/31/02
www.detroitjewishnews.com
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2002
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