The Mark Steel Lectures - Freud

When you hear about things like interpretations of the classics of world literature according to phallic symbolism, or about penis envy and castration anxiety, the interpretation of dreams according to repressed sexual leitmotifs, etc., part of you can't help but wonder how Sigmund Freud ever managed to gain a reputation for psychological brilliance among serious, educated and intelligent people.

And yet, while a great number of his theories have been abandoned, ridiculed and scorned, it's easy to underestimate the importance and novelty of his incredible insights and breakthroughs, and the incredible progress and paradigm shift that his views represented from those that preceded him. Wrong as he may have been on so many points, the study of human psychology would not be what it is today were it not for Freud.

So, in the spirit of trying to find a happy middle between admiration and ridicule, today we are featuring a biographical documentary about Freud, narrated by British comedian Mark Steel, that will make you think, learn and laugh:

And for a more serious take on the man, check out this documentary.