DINAMIKA PENGARUSUTAMAAN GENDER

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Instant Karma The World Anthem Against The Evil By John

Lennon: A Psychoanalytic Approach

Putu Eka Juni Yanti

Putu Lirishati Soethama

Ni Luh Putu Krisnawati

Luh Putu Laksminy

1, 2, 3, 4,

English department, Udayana University Indonesia

*Corresponding author, Email: ekajuniy@gmail.com

ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Received: 23-06-2023

Revised: 05-07-2023

Published: 10-07-2023

Volume: 1

Issue: 2

This research discusses about a concept in

which the consequences of one's actions are

immediate rather than borne out over a lifetime

in Instant Karma! by John Lennon. This

descriptive qualitative research focuses to find

out how does karma associated as the world

anthem against the evil portrayed in John

Lennon’ song lyrics Instant Karma!, from the

Psychoanalytic theory by Sigmund Freud. The

song title Instant Karma! itself is an

implementation on a concept of accountability

for your actions. Therefore, the view of the

psychoanalytic put forward by Sigmund Freud

(1901) is compatible to analyse Instant Karma!

by John Lennon. Data were collected by

studying, interpreting work of literature, and

evaluating. Studying means get better

understanding of the song through close

readings the lyrics, contextual insights, and

listening to it. Interpreting means trying to find

the meaning or theme of the song by related

interviews with John Lennon as the writer,

composer, and singer. Analyzing through song

lyrics was the only way to be done since there’s

no music video. Evaluating means giving critic

about the song lyrics themselves. Criticism is not

all about finding fault or any mistakes, but on

KEYWORDS

Ego, id, psychoanalytic,

song lyrics, superego

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how we interpret the meaning of the song itself.

The data was collected together one by one

through the note-taking approach to discover

the data to associate onto valid information

related. The conclusion shows Instant Karma! by

John Lennon portrays outcome of a person’

actions in past and present states of existence.

Those actions lead us into our fate. What comes

around, goes around, what we sow, so shall we

reap. The karma itself is not only associated with

bad output but also as a good one. Good deeds

will have a positive effect while bad deeds will

bring negative consequences.

Introduction

The outcome of a person’ actions in past and present states of existence is

called Karma. Those actions lead us into our fate. What comes around, goes

around, what we sow, so shall we reap. This belief what goes around, comes

around. The concept of karma itself is a central of worldview depicted by karmic

religious traditions such as Hinduism, Buddhism and their offshoots, such as

Jainism and Sikhism, that together has over 1.5 billion followers worldwide (Pew

Research Center, 2015). Karma acts like our fate maker in the future. Karma is not

only associated with bad output but also as a good one. Good deeds will have a

positive effect while bad deeds will bring negative consequences.

A singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide

fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the

Beatles, John Winston Ono Lennon, has portrayed the concept of Karma on his

masterpiece. According to Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary 8th Edition

(2010: 1419), song is "a short piece of music with words that you sing". Song is

simply a medium for anyone to express their emotions, such as fear, anger,

happiness, sadness, disappointment, etc. Through his song, titled Instant Karma!,

an English rock musician John Lennon shares that karma can instantly happen

into your life. According to John Lennon to Playboy magazine, 1980, “Everybody

was going on about karma. but it occurred to me that karma is instant, as well as it

influences your past life or your future life. There really is a reaction to what you

do now. Also, I'm fascinated by commercials and promotion as an art form. So, the

idea of instant karma was like the idea of instant coffee: presenting something in a

new form.”

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The article Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalytic proposes a definition about a

psychodynamic approach to psychology, which looks at unconscious drives to

explain human behavior. Freud believed that the mind was responsible for the

conscious and unconscious decisions it made based on psychological impulses.

According to Macionis (2006: 66), Freud combines basic drives and the influence

of society into a model of personality with three parts: id, ego, and superego. The

id (Latin for "it") is the human being's basic drives, which are unconscious and

demand immediate satisfaction (2006: 66). The ego (Latin for "I"), which is a

person's conscious efforts to balance innate pleasure-seeking drives with the

demand of society (2006: 66). The superego (Latin for "above or beyond the ego")

is the cultural values and norms internalized by an individual (2006: 66).

The song Instant Karma! (also titled "Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)" is an

English rock song by John Lennon that was released on 1970. Instant Karma! was

released as a single on Apple Records in February, 1970. After a while in 1975, this

song is compiled in an album titled Shaved Fish, a compilation album by English

rock musician John Lennon with the Plastic Ono Band. This song describes about

immediate consequences about one’ actions. The protagonist that if he keeps

acting selfishly and disrespecting love, he’ll face the consequences of his actions

immediately, and potentially resulting in death. The lyrics also urge the

protagonist to recognise and treat everyone he meets as equals, as we are all

human and should live without pain and fear. The chorus repeats that we all shine

on like the celestial bodies in the sky. The song Instant Karma! itself was conceived,

written, recorded, and released within a period of ten days, making it one of the

fastest-released songs in pop rock music industry. The view of how karma

approaches humans is clearly illustrated both by figurative or literal meaning in

the lyrics of this song, on that account, the theory of model of personality with

three parts: id, ego, and superego put forward by Sigmund Freud (1901) can be an

instrument in term of analysing the song Instant Karma! by John Lennon. The pop

rock genre song with a bass touch might trick our hearing from the deep meaning

behind it, but this song is carrying nice messages. This is related to Psychoanalytic,

model of personality with three parts, such as, id, ego, and superego that illustrated

both by figurative or literal meaning in the lyrics of this song. Therefore, the paper

entitled Instant Karma The World Anthem Against The Evil By John Lennon:

Psychoanalytic Approach. This research aimed to be a study of the model of

personality with three parts, such as, id, ego, and superego that illustrated both by

figurative or literal meaning in the lyrics of this song which is discussed to in the

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theory of Psychoanalytic. The research has reviewed 3 studies related to the topic

discussed,

The first research entitled Defense Mechanism of Adele Reflected in Adele’s

21 Album: a Psychoanalytic Approach (Ari Murti, Danti: 2013). This research aims

to find the defense mechanism of Adele based on Adele’s 21 album related to

Sigmun Freud psychoanalytic approach. The type of the research is qualitative

research. There are two types of the data, namely Primary and secondary data.

Primary data source come from Adele’s 21 album and secondary data come from

book, website, or any information related to the study. Then, the data are analyzed

based on structural element and a pshychoanalytic approach. In analyzing the

data, this research applies descriptive analysis. There are three conclusion of this

research. First, based on the structural analysis of each element, it shows that there

are several elements of the song such as, Measure (Bar) is a segment of time

defined as a given number of beats of a given duration, harmony is the notes that

compliment or support the melody line , rhythm is the pattern of beats to which

the words are sung, tempo the speed of the song, intro is the short instrumental

section at the beginning of the song, vers is a section of the song having its own

melody, pre-chorus is a short section that builds beyond the verse and usually

leads the chorus, chorus is a different section in the song with a different melody,

usually following the verses and the bridge. The chorus may be very repetitive,

bridge is a section of the song that is different from the verses and chorus. Second,

based on defense mechanism it focuses on the id, ego and superego by Adele. And

the last, based on psychoanalytic theory it focuses on Adele’s characterization.

The second literary entitled The Psychological Concepts in Taylor Swift’s

“Blank Space” (Putri Anindhita, Novia: 2015). This research analyzes the elements

of the poetry in the lyrics and to show the readers the psychological contents as

portrayed in the music video. The study uses intrinsic and extrinsic theories to

analyze the data and library research to compile the data. Library research is used

to get literary theories and psychological theories of Sigmund Freud.The finding of

this study is the existence of psychoanalysis contents in American pop music

included id, ego, superego, defense mechanism act, and symbolization reflected in

lyrics and scenes in the song and in the music video of “Blank Space”. From the

analysis of both the lyrics and the music video, the writer finds that "Blank Space"

can be concluded as the woman's longing for always having sexual intercourse

with the man. It means "Blank Space" referring to the woman's genital when she

does not do sexual activity. "Blank Space" also has some scenes that express one

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of defense mechanism acts, which is called as displacement, such as: cutting the

tree, hitting the car, scissoring the man's clothes and throwing them, and then

burning the man's suit, squeezing and biting an apple, stabbing a cake, and having

cats as pet. Displacement helps the woman to release her anger and love desire

towards her man by using other objects as the targets. Theory of psychodynamic

dream with the symbolization process is also applied in this music video trough

the symbols of the brush, tree and knife which represent male's genital to disguise

the vulgar messages.

The third literary is Dewey Finn’s Will Power in Teaching: A Psychoanalysis

on School of Rock, a Film (Riandi: 2019). This research aims to examine a film

entitled School of Rock (Linklater, 2003). School of Rock impresses on the

audience as a film on a hard rock musician with poor beginnings who is in a pursuit

of winning the Battle of the Bands. The affection of unconsciousness mind,

feeling(s) of inferiority, id, ego, and superego obviously have seen in the film.

Despite this capacity, however, the work fascinates its audience more by its

characters’ interesting intrigue and student-teacher relationships ended

ultimately by a success. In this light, therefore, the appeal of the story seems to

ensue not from its mere progression but largely from the dramatization of the

psyche of the characters who are engaged in the relationships filled of genuine

emotional supplements and trickery at times. From a psychological perspective,

the main character in this film is Dewey Finn. This research further is intended to

analyze the strength of the will of the main character in reaching dreams by using

a psychoanalytic approach. Data used in research this is in the form of a structural

element in the film in the form of a film transcript. Results of research this shows

that there is a negotiation going on in the psychology of Dewey Finn's inner

character involving id, ego, and superego as well as persona and shadow as a

teacher all of which are elements of willpower in achieving goals.

Psychoanalysis approach was founded by Sigmund Freud. Freud believed

that people could be cured by making their unconscious a conscious thought and

motivations, and by that gaining "insight". The aim of psychoanalysis therapy is to

release repressed emotions and experiences, i.e. make the unconscious conscious.

Psychoanalysis is commonly used to treat depression and anxiety disorders. It is

only by having a cathartic (i.e. healing) experience can a person be helped and

"cured". The id according to Freud is the part of the unconscious that seeks

pleasure. His idea of the id explains why people act out in certain ways when it is

not in line with the ego or superego. The id is the part of the mind, which holds all

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of humankind's most basic and primal instincts. It is the impulsive, unconscious

part in the mind that is based on the desire to seek immediate satisfaction. The id

does not have a grasp on any form of reality or consequence. Freud understood

that some people are controlled by the id because it makes people engage in need-

satisfying behavior without any accordance with what is right or wrong. Freud

compared the id and the ego to a horse and a rider. The id is compared to the horse,

which is directed and controlled, by the ego or the rider. This example goes to

show that although the id is supposed to be controlled by the ego, they often

interact with one another according to the drives of the ego. The Id is made up of

two biological instincts, Eros which is the drive to create and Thanatos which is

the drive to destroy. In order for people to maintain a realistic sense here on earth,

the ego is responsible for creating a balance between pleasure and pain. It is

impossible for all desires of the id to be met and the ego realizes this but continues

to seek pleasure and satisfaction. Although the ego does not know the difference

between right and wrong, it is aware that not all drives can be met at a given time.

The reality principle is what the ego operates in order to help satisfy the id's

demands as well as compromising according to reality. The ego is a person's "self"

composed of unconscious desires. The ego takes into account ethical and cultural

ideals in order to balance out the desires originating in the id. Although both the id

and the ego are unconscious, the ego has close contact with the perceptual system.

The ego has the function of self-preservation, which is why it has the ability to

control the instinctual demands from the id. The superego, which develops around

age four or five, incorporates the morals of society. Freud believed that the

superego is what allows the mind to control its impulses that are looked down

upon morally. The superego can be considered to be the conscience of the mind

because it has the ability to distinguish between reality as well as what is right or

wrong. Without the superego, Freud believed people would act out with

aggression and other immoral behaviors because the mind would have no way of

understanding the difference between right and wrong. The superego is

considered to be the "consciousness" of a person's personality and can override

the drives from the id. Freud separates the superego into two separate categories;

the ideal self and the conscience. The conscience contains ideals and morals that

exist within a society that prevent people from acting out based on their internal

desires. The ideal self contains images of how people ought to behave according to

society's ideals.

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