Denial as a self-defense mechanism is the process by which an individual refuses
to acknowledge or confront painful, threatening, or uncomfortable realities or
facts. This defense mechanism is reflected in a movie A Man Called Otto. The
aims of this research are (1) to explore the psychological motives underlying the
emergence of denial, (2) to explore how denial is manifested in the behavior of
the main character and his interactions with other characters.
This research uses descriptive analytical method of Elizabeth Kubler Ross's Five
Stages of Grief theory and Sigmund Freud's Defense Mechanism theory to
analyze the behavior of the main character.
The results of this research indicate that Otto, the main character, experiences
grief due to the loss of his wife, loss of job, and loss of support from his
environment as the psychological motive underlying the emergence of denial as a
defense mechanism. This denial is reflected in Otto's behaviors, such as
emotional denial, denial of help from others, denial of failure, and denial of
change.