Hughart 1

Tristan Hughart

Professor Granillo

English 103

10 April 2019

Psychoanalytical Soldier

In 1923, Sigmund Freud developed a theory that a person’s personality, or psyche, is

divided into three parts: id, ego, and superego. The id is responsible for making impulsive,

pleasurable actions. The ego’s role is to deal with anxiety and reality, and uses defense

mechanisms to protect itself. The superego is the part of the unconsciousness that controls

impulses and makes decisions that are socially acceptable. These aspects have become prevalent

in everyday culture, especially music. Psychoanalytically, both a song’s lyrics and adjoining

music video show how these three features dictates a person’s actions. One of which is

Eminem’s song “Like Toy Soldiers”, which calls out the rap wars that plagued the industry and

calls for peace and an end to the needless violence. Looking at this song from a psychoanalytical

perspective reveals how the superego can only withstand so much before the id and ego take

over; thus resulting in dangerous environments and people using defense mechanisms such as

displacement and rationalization; therefore Eminem gives personal examples as to why a person

needs to think with their superego in order to live and maintain a safe lifestyle.

In the song, Eminem calls attention to the rap wars that plagued the industry at the time.

He addresses the friends he’s lost, the feuds he’s been apart of, and how he’s tried to stop them

from getting out of hand. Primarily, the song’s target audience is other rappers who were

involved in the disputes at the time of its release. Eminem is asking for the violence and pointless
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confrontations to stop, because he doesn’t want to watch anymore people he cares about die. He

delivers this message through his lyrics and music video primarily through the use of the

rhetorical appeal pathos. This is when the author or creator attempts to address the emotions of

the audience in order to change their judgement on a given topic. The music video specifically

uses this in the opening scene where Eminem is covered in blood and doctors are trying

frantically to save the life of D12 member Bugz. Eminem throws a table, and falls into a chair

(“Eminem- Like Toy” 00:00:24). He’s watching his friend die due to a feud he feels responsible

for, and he feels mentally and physically drained from the stress and hardships he’s been put

through. This is elaborated on in the final scene, when he turns his back and pictures of Biggie E,

Tupac, Big L, and Bugz appear (“Eminem- Like Toy” 00:05:12). All four of these rappers were

murdered due to rap related violence, and it was all for nothing. These feuds shouldn’t get this

violent, and they shouldn’t have to end with a person lying dead in the streets. Instead of

thinking with the superego, the part of the unconsciousness that creates socially acceptable

solutions, and coming to a resolution peacefully, four men were killed in cold blood. Without the

superego, the rap wars got even more violent, and more people suffered because of it.

Although “Like Toy Soldiers” shows Eminem being more superego driven, throughout

the song his id mindset takes over and leads to more damage being done. This shows that a

person’s superego, although provides actions and thoughts that are socially acceptable, can only

suppress the pleasure seeking id for so long. Eminem calls for peace, but he eventually loses

control of himself and can’t follow his own advice. This is evident when he raps “ [Me and Dr.

Dre] actually tried to stop the 50 and Ja beef from happenin'... / Until Ja started yappin' in

magazines how he stabbed him / Fuck it, 50, smash him! Mash on him, let him have it.
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(Eminem 00:02:42). Eminem’s superego was trying to keep 50 Cent out of the dispute and asked

him not to get involved. However, once Ja Rule started telling people he stabbed him, Eminem’s

id takes control and tells 50 to attack Ja Rule back. He forgets about the consequences, and wants

to feel as if he has the upperhand and last say. Had Eminem stuck to his superego, there may

have been no real altercation between 50 Cent and Ja Rule. Unfortunately, since he thought with

his id instead, it opened the doors for more disputes down the road. Although the superego

protects the person and sustains a safe lifestyle, the id will eventually break free and take control

of an individual.

Eminem struggles throughout the song to keep his superego in control over his decision

making. An example of this conflict is when he raps how “[He’s] supposed to be the soldier who

never blows his composure / Even though [he holds] the weight of the whole world on [his]

shoulders / [He] ain't never supposed to show it, [his] crew ain't supposed to know it”

(Eminem 00:00:38). He needs to be the example for other rappers to follow. As a designated

leader of his own rap group, Eminem understands that his actions dictate what his friends and

followers do as well. If he allows his emotions to get in the way and influence bad decisions,

then others will follow suit. What example will he be setting if he allows his superego to be

pushed aside due to hurt pride? Eminem’s superego is also evident when he raps “I'll walk away

from it all 'fore I let it go any further / But don't get it twisted, it's not a plea that I'm coppin' / I'm

just willin' to be the bigger man if y'all can quit poppin'... / ​I'm not gonna let someone else's

coffin rest on my conscience​. (Eminem 00:03:48)​. ​He doesn’t care about being the tough guy, or

having the media declare him the winner of the rap war. He knows it’s pointless and

unnecessary, and being deemed the winner of a foolish gambit isn’t worth the potential lives at
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stake. His superego was put to the test despite what the media and other rappers said. He’s trying

to be the change he wants to see in the industry; however, in the song he mentions how he

snapped and allowed his id to take over.

Throughout the song, Eminem acknowledges moments where his id took control of his

decision making. Lois Tyson, author of ​Critical Thinking Theory​, defines the id as being

“Devoted solely to the gratification of prohibited desires of all kinds… without an eye to

consequences” (Tyson 25). Eminem displays this behavior through his lyrics and music video

when he raps “There's a certain line you just don't cross and he crossed it / I heard [Ja Rule] say

[my daughter’s] name on a song and I just lost it” (Eminem 00:00:59). In the music video, once

he raps this lyric his surroundings immediately change into a studio where he’s seen recording

“Doe Rae Me”, a Ja Rule diss track (Eminem - Like Toy 00:01:17). The surroundings change so

fast because it shows how his id took over and made him act on impulse. Even though Eminem

was asking for peace in the industry, his id took control and made him go against his own advice.

It blinded him, especially when he raps “But I'm so busy bein' pissed off, I don't stop to think /

That we just inherited 50's beef with Murder Inc​.​”​ ​(Eminem 00:03:11). Eminem’s id clouded his

judgement, which led to him getting involved in another altercation while damage was still being

done from his previous one. This shows how without the superego being involved, more harm

will come to those who primarily think with their id. He didn’t think about the outcome, all he

thought of was protecting his ego.

Eminem’s ego is constantly trying to maintain balance during these rap wars. According

to Sigmund Freud in his book ​The Id and the Ego​, “ Tyson defines the ego as the part of the

unconsciousness that “tries to play referee between the id and the superego” (Tyson 25). He
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wants to attack the rival rappers and protect his groups pride due to his ego, but he knows he has

to control his anger through the decisions of the his superego. Eminem demonstrates this when

he raps “​Plus Dre told me stay out, this just wasn't my beef / ​So I did, I just fell back, watched

and gritted my teeth / While [Ja Rule’s] all over TV, down-talkin' the man / Who literally saved

my life,​ like fuck it, I understand” (Eminem). Even though the feuds were getting personal,

Eminem still sat out and did his best to not get involved. His ego is trying to balance between

satisfying his id and making decisions with his superego. Although his id and superego are the

more prominent features in the song, his ego still plays a role in maintaining order. However,

once Eminem snapped he displayed certain defense mechanisms in order to protect his ego.

Defense mechanisms are barriers that protect the psyche and prevent anxiety and

unhappiness. As defined by Sigmund Freud in his book ​The Ego and the Id,​ the ego uses these to

“exclude certain trends in the mind not merely from consciousness but also from other forms of

effectiveness and activity” (5). These defense mechanisms attempt to eliminate or disguise

elements that can cause psychological harm to a person. An example of such is the displacement

mechanism. Michael William MacGregor, Associate Professor of Psychology at the University

of Saskatchewan and author of “Ego Mechanisms of Defense Revisited: The Relation of Defense

Profiles to Personality and Health,” writes “Displacement is​ ​the unconscious redirection of

feelings and responses associated with a threatening conflict to an object that is a less threatening

substitute object” (MacGregor 6). After Eminem hears Ja Rule mention his daughter in a song,

he then makes an attack song towards Ja Rule. Eminem displaces his anger towards him in the

song. Instead of confronting Ja Rule and have things possibly end violently, Eminem turned to

music and, although still unconstructive, avoided dealing with Ja Rule upfront. The displacement
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method is also evident in the music video when it shows clips of rappers doing interviews

(Eminem- Like Toy 00:01:38). The rappers are putting on an illusion of being tough while on

camera to seem more threatening than they really are. Instead of talking face to face, the rappers

are hiding behind cameras. Not only does the song and music video express the displacement

defense mechanism, it also gives examples of the rationalization mechanism.

Eminem displays the rationalization defense mechanism specifically in his lyrics.

Rationalization is where someone tries to offer excuses instead of a solution. Eminem

exemplifies this when he raps “Fuck it 50 smash 'em, mash 'em and let him have it… Now the

owner of [​The Source​] has got a grudge against me for nothin' / Well fuck it, that motherfucker

can get it too, fuck him then” (Eminem 00:02:45). Eminem is trying to justify the involvement in

the rap wars by saying that people swung at him and his crew first, so they had no choice but to

respond. He displays this defense mechanism again when he raps “But now it's elevated,​ ‘cause

once you put someone's kids in it / The shit gets escalated — it ain't just words no more, is it?”

(Eminem 00:02:23). In the song, Eminem mentions how Ja Rule brought up his daughter Hailie

in a song, which, as previously mentioned, lead to Eminem recording “Do Re Mi”. In this song,

Eminem bring ups Ja Rule’s kids and disrespects his whole family. Eminem tries to defend his

actions by saying that since Ja Rule did it first, it’s okay that he does it in response. ​Eminem tries

to be the bigger man and set an example for his people, but there’s only so much a person can

take before his or her ego takes over.

Eminem watched as friends died over disputes getting personal when they didn’t have to

be. He doesn’t want this violence to continue, and he doesn’t want a death of a loved one on his

shoulders. Eminem came up and got noticed through rap battles and is still among the top rap
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battle artists today, so for him to take a stand against it and call for a truce shows how scary and

harmful this really was. He’s not only looked up to by his peers, but by thousands of listeners

world wide. If he loses control of himself and gets involved, then what message does he send to

his followers? He needed to be the example for how people should handle disputes, without

violence and death. He abandoned his darker, more psychotic id driven persona of Slim Shady

and embraced the superego mindset of Eminem because he realized how impactful his songs are.

They can make a kid hate his mom, make a kid think violence is cool, but they can also

apologize to those he’s hurt and ask for forgiveness and peace. Music artists aren’t just there to

provide entertainment, they influence everyone around them. Their actions and mindsets, both in

and out of the recording studio, affect the people who look up to them. They can’t let their

impulses and id define who they are, they must lead by example with their superego instead.
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Works Cited

Dir. EminemMusic. YouTube. 25 Dec. 2009. 06 Apr. 2019

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lexLAjh8fPA>.

“The Ego and the ID (1923) by Freud - Free PDF EBook.” ​The Ego and the ID (1923) by

Sigmund Freud - Free PDF EBook​,

www.sigmundfreud.net/the-ego-and-the-id-pdf-ebook.jsp.

Macgregor, Michael William. “Ego Mechanisms of Defense Revisited: The Relation of Defense

Profiles to Personality and Health.” ​Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The

Sciences and Engineering,​ vol. 62, no. 2–B, ProQuest Information & Learning, Aug.

2001, p. 1131. ​EBSCOhost​,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=psyh&AN=2001-95016-089&site=eho

st-live.

Tyson, Lois. Critical theory today: A user-friendly guide. Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon:

Routledge, 2015.