Psychoanalytic Criticism Analysis

On A Very Special Love

By:
Abegail P. Bucao
AB ELS 1-B
Tarlac State University

w ho's people did not know the movie A very special Love? A love story that has a
happily ever after just like we see on the fairy tales. Where "Miggy Montenegro” the
youngest member of the Montenegro clan – a well-established family in the business.
Just like the other people miggy’s hasn't have that perfect family, because he tried to
reach the standards of his siblings. The character in that movie reveals how his childhood changed
him to become "evil" to protect himself that will cause him another pain. We all know how he treat
his colleagues, to the point that he doesn't care about a person's feelings. He built a wall that has
no one can break it, but why? Is he scared to give his trust again?

The Psychoanalytic criticism of Miggy Montenegro's in the movie of "A very special Love" will
focus on the character's painful memories/experiences hidden in their unconscious and the
character repress himself by using defence, his childhood role in the family and what are the
character's core issues that affect his behaviour relationship around other characters in the movie

Defense Mechanisms

Miguel's portrayal in the movie "A very Special Love". In First part of the movie, one can see a
confident business bachelor, who's having a heated meeting with his creative team on the issue
of the Bachelor, Flip page’s men's magazine. Miggy’s mean demeanour and undermining of both
his friend and editors cause a walkout of half of the team. In this scene it showed his other side
as a bossy, he is an unapologetic, hothead who always thinks he's in the right and obsesses about
nothing making his magazine number one. You look and observe the way he behave in certain
situation where he used defence mechanisms for him to suppress all the bad experience and
memories. First, we can see that he is using his displacement mechanism on his staffs, it is
obvious that he is not happy on the outcome of their sells. Another instance, when his capacity
and capability question by his editor in chief and confronted him that he was the one who has a
problem and not them, that's why there magazine was not in demand in the market. It is also
show he don’t want to be close to his editors because he is afraid to show that he has vulnerable
side too because he can't accept the fact that his siblings are more superior
Second, one can observe that Miguel uses displacement as one of his main and dominant defense
mechanism. "Taking out" all the fear, anger, hurt and frustration to someone less threatening.
When Laida made a suggestion in regards to an article content that Miggy should put for the
magazine, miggy publicly humiliates her and her knowledge of sex and question

Third, all relationships and families go through difficult times and experiencing occasional
problems and conflict in personal relationships is normal. However, sometimes these problems
can become overwhelming. One can be also see how he yearns for his older siblings favour.
Most of all, he yearns for his father’s attention. He desperately strives to get his clan’s approval.
That he need to gain their respect and love and to be worthy that he own their name.
The Core Issues

According to Freud and Carl Jung, both psychoanalysis. In behaviour of Miggy are caused solely
from his past experiences most notably those from childhood, also his future aspirations have
significant impact on his behaviour as well.

One of Miguel Montenegro’s main core issues is the fear of abandonment- a fear of
abandonment is a complex phenomenon in psychology that is thought to stem from childhood
loss. When his father later adopted him to the main family after his mother's death. Since his
childhood he felt like his father don’t really have care about him that’s why his strong desire to
prove himself, he is also thirsty for his father’s love and attention. He also deals with the
complexities of his relationship with his siblings. Where Miggy sees that he need to prove
something and work for his own name saying that, “stop making me believed that everything’s
gonna be okay, coz it hasn’t been okay for the last 25 years” will because he kept to his mind
that he needed to be number one to reach his siblings and to be fit to his family.
Miguel’s another core issue is Fear of Intimacy a feeling that emotional closeness will seriously
hurt or destroy us that we can remain emotionally safe only by remaining at an emotional
distance from others at all times. This is feeling that emotional closeness or committing into any
relationship will seriously hurt or destroy him and that is the only way to be safe emotionally is
by maintaining impersonality and an emotional distance to people at all times. In the case of
Miguel he is afraid to commit a serious relationship even though he likes Laida he keep to avoid
the growing feeling because he believed that no one will like as what he is, that all people can be
easily be tired of his attitude.

Conclusion
Miguel Montenegro psychological profile reflect him in his past experiences form his own
family. As a child, those experiences will have a big impact that will change to a different person
to obsessive competition that may lead to perfectionism, chronic feelings of inadequacy, or
mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety.

Throughout the movie, we can see how Miguel Montenegro accept that he don’t have to be
compete to his brother to truly give him love by his family. A very special love is not “just” a
romantic movie because in a psychoanalytic lens, it depicts the struggles of someone who is
trapped on his past.

References

 Freud’s Psychoanalytic theory

 Wikipedia.com
 Merriam – Webster Dictionary