Masters of the universe: children's toys as reflections on contemporary psychoanalytic theory

The emergence of contemporary object relations theory and self psychology as potent theoretical forces has led to rich discussion with far-reaching implications for clinical, developmental, and metapsychological theory. This article examines these developments using as a medium the Masters of the Universe figures and stories, which have captured the imaginations of a broad spectrum of phallic-oedipal and oedipal-aged children. A series of interrelated theoretical questions will be discussed: (1) the nature and character of aggressive drives and whether these are innate and instinctual or disintegration products secondary to emphatic failure; (2) the extent of internalization of mental representations at this point in development; and (3) the status of Kohut's "grandiose self" and "idealized object" vis-à-vis traditional perspectives on phallic-oedipal and oedipal development.