Egos in the Movie Rat Race

In Rat Race, there are multiple examples of the id, ego, and superego in regard to achieving a goal. Donald Sinclair is the owner of a casino in Las Vagas, and he put together a game that is so much better than a slot machine. He organized a race for two million dollars with random people in it. Although these people did not know that they would be participating in this race, Donald Sinclair knew that it is human nature to compete and that eventually the guests of the casino would participate.

An opening scene of the movie is when we meet the Cody brothers. These brothers will do anything to get what they want. Even before they are presented with this two million dollar race, they check for extra coins at the slot machines, they plan to hurt others to create diversions so they can steal some items. They are willing to do whatever they want to get their needs met.

This is an example of the human id, the most basic part of the personality, the part that wants instant gratification for wants and needs. If needs and wants are not met rights away, the person can become anxious. People, like the Cody’s, acting on the id, will do anything to get their needs met right away, even if it means hurting others.

The race is presented to the guests and some, like Nick Schaffer, were reluctant to join because he had to catch a plane the next morning.

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Nick was the only character in the movie that did not fight to be the first one out to start the race. This is an example of the ego at play. The ego relates to needs and wants and ways to do that. This also involves scheming in order to get needs met. Nick meets a pilot at the airport and then convinces her to go with him to get the two million dollars, they become more involved and enticed by the two million dollars that they take a helicopter to get to where the money is faster. This is an example of the human ego, the next step up from the id. This is when the needs and wants are identified but th…