SURVIVAL ETHICS IN INTERSTELLAR: A PSYCHOANALYTIC COMPARISON OF COOPER AND DR. MANN

Abstract

Interstellar (2014) stages survival ethics through two astronauts: Joseph Cooper, who subordinates private desire to a collective future, and Dr. Mann, who turns moral language into a cover for self-preservation. Using a qualitative descriptive psychoanalytic approach, this study treats the film as a cultural text and analyzes twelve purposively selected scenes. Guided by Freud's structural model (id-ego-superego) and ego defense mechanisms, the analysis shows that Cooper typically maintains an ego-superego alliance by acknowledging fear and loss while regulating them through responsibility and reality testing. Mann, in contrast, exhibits id dominance supported by rationalization, denial, and deception. The comparison differentiates ethical sacrifice from survival that cancels the other.