11 - Getting even: the cultural psychology of revenge and what computers can do about it

Summary

Sweeney Todd is a character who originated in the Victorian era and made his most recent appearance as the hero of a movie directed by Tim Burton in 2007. The hero is a barber and one may wonder how a barber, a profession without any sex appeal, could be turned into the hero of a movie. However, Sweeney Todd, played by Johnny Depp, isn’t a typical barber. He is “the Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” as indicated by the subtitle of the movie. Todd is a man on a mission, and the mission is to get even with Judge Turpin, who destroyed his life. Turpin lusted for Todd’s wife and got rid of Todd with false allegations in order to satisfy his carnal lust.

On his way to achieving his goal to get even with the Judge, the bloody barber slices the throats of his clients, while his lover, played by the wonderful Helena Bonham Carter, disposes of the bodies by turning them into highly attractive meat pies. As we can see, the passion to annihilate others is deeply associated with what we might call “oral aggression.”