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Empathy And Identification In Von Donnersmarck's The Lives Of Others

859 Words4 Pages

Justin Nguyen
Dr. Good
Colloquium
12 Feb. 2016
Précis of “Empathy and Identification in Von Donnersmarck’s The Lives of Others”
In “Empathy and Identification in Von Donnersmarck’s The Lives of Others,” Diana Diamond psychoanalytically explores the process through which Stasi Captain Wiesler comes to understand and identify with the people he is monitoring. She describes four mechanisms that facilitate his mental shift from a stoic Stasi member to a sensitive, sympathetic man. Diamond examines these mechanisms to elaborate on Donnersmarck’s idea that humans can do the right thing even in environments that seem to stifle all goodness.
Diamond introduces the mirror neuron system as the biological mechanism that promotes empathy and identification …show more content…

Diamond states that Wiesler initially sees the intimacy of Dreyman and Sieland as a disaster that will corrupt his world. In opposition to life in the GDR, the experience is felt to be a threat, and it evokes envy in Wiesler. Diamond asserts that Wiesler assumes the mantle of the avenger, which leads him to try to sabotage the relationship by facilitating Dreyman’s discovery of Christa’s unfaithfulness. After coming to identify with the couple, Wiesler regrets his actions and desires to make reparations. Diamond says that this arouses curiosity in him. Dissatisfied with his life, he searches for the locus of the couple’s emotion. As Wiesler takes the Brecht book from Dreyman’s apartment, he begins his change from a passive observer and joins the primal scene. Diamond asserts that the symbolism of the primal scene motivates Wiesler to identify with his subjects and change into the feeling man who can understand primal …show more content…

As the lives of Wiesler and the couple collide, Wiesler tries to make reparations for his meddling in their relationship, and he revises his internal mindset. Diamond says that as he realizes the harm he has done to the couple, he also sees the corruption of the GDR and how it has also harmed them. She states that when Wiesler stops being an observer and participates, he starts a dialogue with the couple and begins to understand and internalize their thoughts. Diamond asserts that as Wiesler assimilates the couple’s ideas, he lessens his identification with the ideals of the GDR. The amalgamation of these ideas confuse him and cause him to eventually choose between the couple and the GDR. Diamond shows that as the new Wiesler cannot bear to condemn Dreyman to artistic death, he decides to take his side. Diamond asserts that the move “from imitation to empathy to identification to identity consolidation to mentalization” is catalyzed by the introduction of a new identity derived from that of the couple (Diamond 824). This identity clashes with his old GDR one, and it emerges victorious. Wiesler becomes a feeling man with

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