Freud, the series: what is true and what is not in the new Netflix fiction

Sigmund Freud continues to lift spirits since he left. He’s in an argument at the bar, at college, and now as a fictional figure. And the new Netflix series does not clarify much about the life and work of this Austrian neurologist. Or rather, it contributes to greater confusion.

There is very little historical, biographical and academic data that is accurately reflected in the series, since it is a historical fiction. In fact, the series imagines how Freud might have used his budding psychoanalytic skills to solve crimes.

Marvin Kren, director of the series, has stated that he did not want it to seem too historical, but rather that young, modern audiences would be attracted to it. No sooner said than done.

The series is a mix of modern, provocative and historical elements. However Why mix the father of psychoanalysis with crimes and seances? Wasn’t there already enough controversy and confusion about his figure?

Apparently not, since this interest in making him a character mixed with fiction is not recent. In this article, we tell you about Freud’s previous “cinematic and artistic forays” and We clarify what is true in the recent Netflix fiction.

The great cinematographic interest behind Freud

Currently, Freud’s work is studied more in humanities departments than in sciences. His popularity is not precisely thanks to his scientific rigor. However, Freud had the advantage of being an extremely good writer. which illustrated psychoanalysis with reference to the work of great artists, such as Shakespeare, Dostoyevsky and Leonardo da Vinci.

His work and theoretical assumptions reach the general public with interest, largely thanks to art and cinema. “You don’t have to read Freud to live in a world in which Freud is important or to think in a Freudian way.”says Stefan Marianski of the Freud House Museum in London.

On the other hand, Nicholas Ray, a professor at the University of Leeds, says that in the field of popular culture his work has been processed to soften it and turn it into a welcoming and reassuring fantasy.

It is notable in the case of practically the entire work of Woody Allen or in the dynamic of father and son in The Empire Strikes Back either Back to the Future. There are also the novels of Virginia Woolf and James Joyce. Salvador Dalí and the surrealists. The Sopranos and Frasier and more specifically the 2011 film A dangerous method with Viggo Mortensen.

Previous attempts to make a detective series with Freud

A 2006 novel, The interpretation of the murder (Jed Rubenfeld), explored Freud solving a murder case. It was based on the first and last visit of the father of psychoanalysis to New York in 1909.

Then, in 2014, Frank Spotnitz, director of X-FilesI was ready to write Freud: The Secret Casebook in which he intended to use his theories to solve unsolved cases. However, the series never materialized.

Freud, the series: what is true and what is not

Freud was born in Freiberg (a city now called Pribor in the Czech Republic). His family moved to Leipzig and then settled permanently in Vienna.

There is very little data that can be clearly extracted from this series. Below, we have rescued some of them.

Dates of your medical studies

He studied medicine at the University of Vienna and worked in the city hospital. It was in 1881 when he graduated from this university as a doctor. Later, in 1885, he completed his habilitation and began his career in neuropathology as a university professor.

cocaine addiction

Freud began trying cocaine in his youth, believing it to be a miracle drug. In 1884, wrote an article titled Über cocaa kind of praise to this substance, since I was surprised by its physical and psychological effects. He only later discovered the addiction caused by this drug.

The eight-episode Netflix series explores this cocaine addiction in an accurate way.

Early psychoanalytic practice with Breuer

In 1886, he entered private practice in Vienna and began using hypnosis in his work.which at the time was an unpopular approach.

Interestingly, the series explores this part of his life. Actually, He adopted the approach of his friend, Josef Breuer, with whom did he collaborate to write Studies on hysteria.

His works highlight Breuer’s experiences in the treatment of his patient Anna O, who was diagnosed with hysteria. Due to inconsistencies in the results, Freud eventually abandoned the hypnosis technique and later developed what he called “free association.” This whole relationship with his mentor is not completely clarified in the series.

Romance with Fleur Salomé

Another aspect of the show that seems based on real life is the character of Fleur Salomé, a medium who joins the plot to help solve the cases. The character appears to be based on Lou Andreas-Salomé.

There have always been rumors that the real Freud and Lou Andreas-Salomé experienced feelings for each other, but this has not been proven. The series takes place in the 1880s and it is believed that they did not meet until 1911.

murder detective

Sigmund Freud He was never in charge of any criminal investigation or helped solve crimes of any kind. In fiction we also see how he enters dark spiritualism sessions. There is no record of it either.

Yes, he was a great reader of detective novels., including those about Sherlock Holmes. This leads us to think that perhaps, although he did not solve crimes in his real life, he may have been flattered by this job.

As we see, there is very little to rescue from Freudian theories throughout the eight chapters, but perhaps some of their concepts gave rise to the imagination and the construction of such fiction.

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