This blog post examines how Farhan, in the movie ‘Three Idiots’, protected his dreams despite facing social pressure.
Social identity refers to the societal definition of the group one belongs to and the kind of society it forms, indicating how religion, race, class, occupation, etc., are structured. Social identity is a crucial factor determining how an individual perceives themselves within society, significantly influencing personal values and behavior. The social identity portrayed in the film is closely tied to the societal perception that engineers hold high social status and that a man must become an engineer to be successful. Such societal perceptions shape people’s life paths and sometimes suppress individuals’ freedom of choice.
Farhan’s family is acutely conscious of this social identity, which profoundly influences their actions and decisions. Notably, Farhan’s father declares “My son will become an engineer” immediately after his birth, predetermining Farhan’s future. This prediction stems from Farhan’s father’s social background and his specific ‘attitude’ toward his son. Here, ‘attitude’ refers to an evaluative response toward an object, shaped by specific values or beliefs. Farhan’s father held the belief that engineers symbolize success in Indian society, leading him to confine his son’s future to engineering. In this process, the father demonstrates an attempt to control Farhan’s life through his own expectations and societal standards.
Due to his father’s attitude, Farhan’s future was predetermined from birth. Consequently, he lost control over his environment and learned ‘learned helplessness’. ‘Learned helplessness’ refers to a state of helplessness where an organism, through repeated experiences of failure or frustration, loses control over a situation and ultimately abandons effort, anticipating failure in tasks. This manifests as the thought, “I’ll fail anyway. There’s no point in even trying.” Trapped in this learned helplessness, Farhan enrolled at ICE Engineering College, India’s top university, to meet his father’s expectations. In doing so, he abandoned his true dream of becoming a photographer.
Despite wanting to pursue his dream, Farhan didn’t even attempt it due to his father’s intense pressure and societal expectations. This situation can also be described as ‘conformity’. ‘Conformity’ means passively following unwanted actions due to social pressure. Farhan didn’t want to be an engineer, but because of social pressure like “You must become an engineer to succeed” and “A man must become an engineer,” coupled with his father’s strong expectations, he tried to become one despite his reluctance.
However, despite this pressure, Farhan, persuaded by Rancho, rekindles his dream of becoming a photographer and attempts to convince his father. Throughout this process, Farhan’s father stubbornly maintains his stance that Farhan must become an engineer, refusing to change. This can be explained by the tendency to resist abandoning already established beliefs—the ‘belief conservation phenomenon’. The belief conservation phenomenon refers to the psychological tendency to cling to existing beliefs even when presented with evidence suggesting they are incorrect. Farhan’s father links Farhan’s success to the profession of engineering and attempts to maintain his belief even when Farhan resists following this path.
Another reason Farhan’s father maintains this belief is the ‘attribution error,’ where he attributes Farhan’s declining grades to Rancho’s influence. ‘Attribution’ refers to the process of identifying the cause of an action, while ‘attribution error’ means incorrectly inferring the cause of that action. Farhan’s father shifts responsibility for his son’s declining grades onto an external factor—Rancho—rather than objectively analyzing the situation. This stems from the father dismissing the probability of Farhan’s grades naturally declining and instead basing his conclusion on his negative attitude toward Rancho.
Ultimately, Farhan’s persistent persuasion gradually shifts his father’s beliefs, allowing Farhan to finally move toward his own dreams. Farhan’s actions throughout this process were not merely about breaking his father’s stubbornness, but rather the result of actively striving to live the life he desired. Through this, Farhan regained control over his own life and gained important lessons in the process of finding his own happiness.
In this way, ‘Three Idiots’ deeply portrays the characters’ social backgrounds and the resulting psychological transformation process, prompting us to reflect on the balance between societal expectations and individual freedom. Analyzing the characters’ actions through psychological theory allows us to understand, beyond simple physiological reactions, how social context and psychological factors shape and transform people’s behavior. Grasping these complex processes provides valuable insights not only for analyzing film characters but also for our daily lives.
