Tyler Lotz 
Meghan Lawrence 
Gavin Lane
In this clip from the classic movie, The Emperor’s New Groove, one of the main and lovable characters, Kronk, is faced with a dilemma. The emperor has been turned into a llama and Kronk’s master, Yzma, has told him to dispose of the body of the emperor so she can rule the kingdom herself. Kronk is a faithful follower of Yzma and always does what she says but this time is a little different. Kronk is also a faithful follower of the emperor and does not want to kill him, thus he is faced with a dilemma. After dumping the body in the river he debates internally, “should I save the emperor or should I let him go?” This internal dialogue is captured externally by the representations of an angel and a devil on Kronk’s shoulders.
To me this is just like the id, ego, and super-ego. In this situation the devil plays the role of the id saying things like “look what I can do!” “Just do it!!!” This is Kronk’s impulsive thoughts without a filter or thoughts of consequences for others. Kronk, himself, is acting as the ego. He mediates between the angel and devil, finally deciding to make the decision himself after listening to both sides. Finally, the angel is the super-ego. He promotes morals and the right thing to do which would obviously be to save the emperor, instead of killing him.
I believe this is a great representation of how we make decisions every day. You weigh the options between impulses, morals, and a mediator before deciding on which one to go with.
I don’t mean to ruin the movie but Kronk goes with the super-ego and saves the emperor. Classic.
Stephanie Heron
4:15 pm, 04.02.13
I believe this a good example of the external factors that motivate behavior. Behaviorism argues the actions committed on a daily basis are rooted in conditioning. Yet there is more than that; when emotions get involved the conditioning lines get blurry. Here Kronk is conditioned to Yzma’s beck and call, yet being employed by the emperor has created a relationship between Kuzco (the emperor) and Kronk which causes the debate between the id, ego and super ego. I believe behaviorism has some valid arguments about behavior, however there are simply too many active factors in our lives for there to be so simple and explanation.