We see this acted out dramatically in several of the musicals created by Andrew Lloyd Webber during the last decades of the 20th Century. Evita is about the wife of an Argentine dictator (Juan Peron). She is idealized by the poor of Argentina, despite her own misuse of public funds. Similarly, we see the idealization of Deuteronomy, the leader of the feline society in Cats, who is so powerful that he can choose the recipient of a reincarnation every year at the end of the Jellico ball. Perhaps the most powerful (and controversial) of the projections being explored by Webber concerns Jesus Christ (in Jesus Christ Superstar). Judas Iscariot serves as the person who sees through and questions the projections placed on Jesus (similar to the role that is play by the Che Guevera character in Webber’s Evita).
As is often the case in real life, the idealized figures in all three Webber musicals can perform wondrous (even miraculous) feats, in part because of the collusion of other members of their group. We don’t actually know if these miraculous feats really occur (in the musical or in real life), in part because of our own strong desire to believe that the projected idealization is real. In a similar manner, we project negative images on other figures—whether this person is Judas or Che—who see through the idealized projection. They are identified by the group as villain or (at the very least) “party-pooper.”
Feedback and Idealization
Specifically, with regard to feedback coming out of Quad Two, the British School suggests that very strong, reinforced barriers are erected by members of a group when one of its members is idealized (either in a positive or negative fashion). There is to be no “bad news” when the idealized person is assumed to be perfect. In Jesus Christ Superstar, Judas tries to engage Jesus in a dialogue regarding how things have “gotten out of hand.” Not only would Jesus have nothing to do with this negative thinking, those around him (especially Mary Magdalene) are quite annoyed with Judas. He shouldn’t even broach a negative subject, given how overwhelmed (and yet always giving) Jesus is with his love and kindness for other people. Similarly, there is not much tolerance in groups under stress, for any good news about the negatively idealized person in the group. We have no interest in hearing anything positive about Saddam Hussain, nor about any of the other arch-enemies of our society (such as Hitler or Stalin).
