Jordan Peele’s 2019 psychological horror film America is a profound exploration of childhood trauma, memory and its lasting psychological impact. Peele uses the metaphor of “bound” through a fascinating narrative of horror, family relationships and social commentary – a shaping version of the main character – to showcase the effects of childhood trauma and illustrate how it shapes identity, determines behavior, determines behavior, determines behavior, determines behavior, determine behavior and resurface in disturbing ways.
The impact of childhood trauma on identity
At the heart of us is Adelaide, a woman deeply affected by childhood trauma. When she was a little girl, she separated from her parents on a family trip and then wandered in the mirror maze. There, she faces her horror version – unsettling and disturbing.
As an adult, she seems to have gone beyond it, built a family and settled in a comfortable life in a nice neighborhood. But under her perfect life, the impact of childhood trauma is still lingering, waiting to resurface.
Due to unresolved fear or protective instincts, trauma can cause a person to inadvertently drive away loved ones, especially their children [1]. These unresolved wounds can affect parents’ ability to form healthy bonds, creating tension and distance in the family.
This is the key to overcoming the impact of childhood trauma on the path to conscious parenting. For more insights on strong, supportive relationships with your children, you can read articles on how to be a good mother and create an environment full of love, learning and resilience.
Unfortunately, Adelaide’s relationship with her family is built on her unaccredible trauma. She was unable to fully reconcile with the past, and was constantly worried about something bad that happened, something she could not fully explain or control.
Adelaide’s “normal” life is based on lies. No matter how hard she tried to keep moving forward, her fear never completely disappeared, casting a shadow in her life. So when the truth surfaces, it destroys everything she thought she knew about herself and her family.
The role of inhibition and memory in trauma
In psychological terms, repression is a defense mechanism in which painful memories or emotions are disengaged from conscious consciousness [2]. But these pent-up memories don’t go away – they often find other ways of appearing.
The film is the central rival of the film, a literal and symbolic representation of Adelaide’s identity being repressed. They are the dark, twisted versions of the characters, living underground and mimicking their behavior.
The childhood experiences filled Adelaide with fear, introspection and confusion, and persisted for her for many years. The first step she should take is a childhood trauma test to find out how it affects her presence. However, she chose to suppress her emotions.
In us, these suppressed memories are reflected in the body. This forces Adelaide to face the past she is trying to forget. The ultimate revelation of Adelaide’s childhood trauma – her red transformation into a brilliant inhibitory effect.
For Adelaide, her bound rival Red represents her unacknowledged fear and the parts she is trying to forget. Red’s rise from deep reflects the inhibitory effect of childhood, no matter how profound the burial is, it can reappear at the intensity of violence.
Through the sharp contrast between Adelaide and Red, the idea that the effects of childhood trauma can break the self into different identities is explored. Adelaide spent years suppressing her childhood memories and living a life of privilege and comfort, but her true self was divided into two parts – one “normal” and the other “bound”. “Binding” is Adelaide’s psychological thinking about the unresolved past, part of her inescapable psychology. The film shows that the effects of childhood trauma can be manifested as a scattered sense of self that some people cannot reconcile with the overall situation.
The impact of childhood trauma on family relationships
Trauma usually makes people feel isolated or push others away, and for Adelaide, it turns her into a protective mother [3]. She is afraid to expose her children to the dangers they face as a child, even if they don’t fully understand the reasons.
The film contrasts the Wilson family with their bondage peers, a typical middle-class family with a hollow, disconnected version of the bondage. The bondage versions of Adelaide and Gabe don’t seem to have the bond that connects real families together.
When the bondage returns, Wilson’s family bonds are shaken, showing the impact of childhood trauma on family connections. Refusing to face her past, Adelaide created a distance between her and her loved ones, slowly pulling her family away.
When Adelaide finally faces her bondage, Red, she begins to understand the effects of childhood trauma. In the final moments of the film, Adelaide not only faces her past, but also controls it, restoring her own life and the future of her family.
The film shows that trauma can lead to growth and solutions when face-to-face, although it remains a difficult and painful process.
Overcoming the effects of childhood trauma
The United States uses its horror narrative reflects a wider social problem surrounding childhood trauma and recovery. It is not only a personal struggle, but also a social struggle. The bondage that lives underground and is seen as superhuman represents marginalized and oppressed people whose voices are silent and overlooked by society. In the final analysis, the United States is a film about recovery, although the road to recovery is full of horror and loss. It requires us to consider what happens when trauma is not handled, how it affects individuals and families, and how recovery requires not only recognition, but confrontation. Peele’s journey through Adelaide shows that while it can be frightening to face the effects of childhood trauma, it is the only way to get rid of suffocating and moving forward.
Source 1. Researchgate. Trauma and Trauma Information Care. April 2019
2. Research Door. Repression, defense and scientific psychology. January 2015.
3. National Library of Medicine. Associations between childhood trauma, loneliness, mental health symptoms, and indicators of social exclusion in adulthood: UK Biobank Research. March 2023.
