Why We’re Obsessed with Pokemon – A Hypno Therapy Session
Scott Charboneau December 11, 2012Why We're Obsessed with Pokemon - A Hypno Therapy Session,
Today, we are taking a trip into the subconscious. Lie back, relax, and keep your gaze on Hypno’s slowly-swinging pendant. Breathe deeply, and calm your mind, as we attempt to prod the deepest depths of your being. Today, my friend, we are on a mission to find the root of your obsession…
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Collecting and gathering is inherent in most animals. Birds gather seeds and twigs, and squirrels gather nuts. Even ants gather plant material for their colonies. It’s a basic survival instinct that also holds true for humans.
Before the industrial revolution, it was a daily necessity for people to gather supplies – just to survive. Not enough food? Dead. Not enough fire wood? See ya! Ran out of wagon axles? Dysentery. If you weren’t out collecting things, you were as good as dead.
Things are different now. We live in a world full of computerwhatsits, auto-mobeels, and gawdang internets, so collecting the things we need to survive is much easier. Instead of spending your entire week searching for some meat, you can just run down to the Super Wal-Mart, grab the meat, the toilet paper, and the newest Pokémon game. Not all necessary for survival, but you get the point.
And even though we have these modern conveniences, we still have that instinct; that basic, primal drive. There’s something deep in our brains that tell us to collect things, and the people over at GameFreak have tapped into that.
Kim A. Herzinger, an award-winning author and English professor, describes collecting as “…a means by which one relieves a basic sense of incompletion brought on by unfulfilled childhood needs. It functions as a form of wish fulfillment, which eases deep-rooted uncertainties and existential dread.”
She also adds, “Collecting, like most passions, has the capacity to let (the collector) live in another world for a while.”
Now, we may or may not feel incomplete and worthless, but playing Pokémon definitely transports us into another world. We become the protagonist and work our way through a vast adventure. Whether it’s Kanto, Sinnoh, or Unova; we’re all there, battling our hearts out.
There are other theories, as well.
Mark B. McKinly, Ed. D, describes Freud’s theory in his 2007 publication, “The Psychology of Collecting”.
Sigmund Freud… postulated that collecting ties back to the time of toilet training, of course. Freud suggested that the loss of control and what went down the toilet was a traumatic occurrence and that, therefore, the collector is trying to gain back not only control but “possessions” that were lost so many years ago.
Ahem…
McKinley, quite to the contrary, then emphasize that, “some [people] collect for pure enjoyment – it’s fun. Some collect to expand their social lives, attending swap meets and exchanging information with like-minded souls.”
Bingo!
Trading and battling with your friends is one of the highlights of the Pokémon franchise. We love to show off our newest team! We love bragging about our super rare legendaries, and our shiny Ponytas! It’s what makes the game so wonderful!
I’m no psychology major, but am I really going to tell people I play Pokémon because I had dirty diaper issues when I was 3? Heck no! I’m going to tell them I love the battle system, I love collecting them, and I love playing with my friends! The satisfaction we get from playing the game, in my professional opinion, is why we play. It’s the satisfaction, folks.
And the satisfaction of needs and wants is an entirely different issue we can delve into in our next session, for, as you can see, we’re nearly out of time.
Take a deep breath and slowly exhale. Concentrate on all that you have learned, for when I count backwards from three and snap my fingers, you will return from your hypnotic state, feeling compelled to share your own thoughts and feelings.
Why are you obsessed with Pokémon? What is your earliest memory? And describe the relationship you have with your mother? (Okay, scratch that last part)
Three… two… one… *SNAP*
Written by Scott
@scottcharboneau
Proofed by Victoria
@biggestb2kfan
Comments (3)
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It was 1998, I was 14, when two of my younger cousins moved back from Australia. They brought with them a Gameboy Pocket and “this game we don’t get, but it’s pretty cool”. It wasn’t out in New Zealand yet.
I already liked the Gameboy, though I didn’t own one at the time. I asked to borrow it and play the game through, thinking I could clock it in an afternoon like my friend’s Kirby game.
From the minute I watched that opening scene of Nidorino tackling Gengar – I was hooked. I put 92 hours into it just getting to the Elite Four (which I let my cousins fight), and with no walkthrough.
14 years later…
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Great article! I love how you always ask the listeners for something.
My earliest memory was flipping through the TV to watch something. I had heard of Pokemon before, but I don’t remember anything specific. But I’m 6 years old, flipping channels, and the TV show I’d unknowingly been looking for suddenly comes on: Pokemon. It’s the second episode, and Ash is in the Pokemon Center healing Pikachu. I’m so amazed at this point: FINALLY! POKEMON!!
I remember flipping my chair over in excitement, actually.
After that, I got Pokemon Silver that Christmas and never stopped playing.
Why am I addicted? I’m really into that concept of like, Role Playing. Not really to an extreme or anything, but I love playing games where I control what I do with my character. Next to complete customization. And everything about Pokemon, on those terms, is perfect. I can pick whichever and whatever Pokemon I want. I can build my team however I want, do whatever I want, etc.
Now, with that in mind, I have the imagination to just go onward. I can write short stories, or fics about my character, change things up however I want. I can draw myself with whatever team or Pokemon I want. I can do a mini-RPG type deal in my head. Sky’s the limit.
Then there’s the social aspect; trading, battling, and generally just talking about Pokemon. I LOVE that. It’s so fun talking to people, many of whom are hopefully your friends, and talk Pokemon with them. The games and story, teams, what we like, etc. I love that interactiveness. And now that Join Avenue’s a thing, it’s even MORE exciting!
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The year is 1993, I had just turned five six days before, so My parents take me to a movie to see something I am crazy about, see the Christmas before my parents had bought me a bunch of rubber dinosaurs, and I was amazed to find out such creatures had actually existed, then on the big screen I see it… The Tyrannosaurus Rex a monster so ferocious the common man knows it by its scientific Latin name, and I saw it trying to devour two children in a can, it also devoured a man on the crapper, the movie was of course; Jurassic Park. Ever since I was hooked on giant monsters, because my next big obsession after dinosaurs, was GOJIRA, or Godzilla in america, and my love of monsters was born. fast forward 5 years and a couple of months later, and I”m flipping through the channels after I get off school, and I turn it on some channel and I hear a kids voice say The Ghost of Maiden’s peak, I was like ohhh boy, ghost, (because of my love of monsters) come to find out, its this thing called pokemon I’d been hearing about, AND THERE ARE GHOST POKEMON, NO WAY, later I learn, THERE ARE DRAGONS TOO @O@ , and so an obsession was born, I had a buddy that played the TCG give me my first card (A Meowth that I still have) and the rest is as they say, history