The Sheep Detectives: Repression and Suppression

[DISCLAIMER]

*The Sheep Detectives (2026) spoilers contained herein.

Photo credit, property of Amazon MGM Studios, Sony Pictures Releasing International, et al., fair use

A Sucker for Anthropomorphism

Admittedly, I’m a sucker (a person irresistibly attracted by something specified) for anthropomorphism (the ascribing of human personality, appearance, conduct, cognition, or other attributes to non-human entities, often including non-human animals). Allow me to explain.

When living in a children’s home during junior high and high school, one of my houseparents who was raised in a rural setting taught residents of an all-boys cottage in which I lived the value of ranching (farming with a focus on livestock). As such, I was taught many memorable lessons.

For instance, boys were discouraged from naming the animals we nurtured. This was because we raised chickens, turkeys, pigs, ostriches, and even a cow for the main purpose of slaughtering the livestock for food. Thus, animals existed as either a source of work, or as food. We had no pets.

At the height of my ranching experience, I personally owned one show pig (a swine specifically bred and raised to compete in agricultural exhibitions) for breeding purposes, a Duroc boar, three or four other pigs, and I co-owned a number of other animals with the exception of the ostriches.

Ever the rule-breaker, I named my boar “Bernard.” Although I was prepared to kill him, as I had when being required to slit the throat of a gilt who’d developed a tumor, I showed favorable care for my preferred animal. Bernard lived well under my care.

Then, following my freshman year of high school, a family with whom I attended church services invited me to live with them. Therefore, I liquidated my assets, because none of my animals were invited to the family’s home. Still, thereafter, I had an affinity for pigs.

During the summer after my senior year, the comedy-drama film Babe (1995) was released. I adored the depiction of talking sheep, pigs, ducks, horses, dogs, and other animals! I even enjoyed the sequel movie Babe: Pig in the City (1998) for similar reasons.

Specifically, I subjectively viewed the films with anthropomorphic characters as wholesome (good for one’s health or well-being, such as promoting mental or moral health). Thus, the films were good for my mental, emotional, and behavioral health (collectively “mental health”).

Specifically, before I ever knew of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), I relied on many sources, such as films, to help me escape from and avoid displeasing memories of trauma which contributed to why I was ever placed in a children’s home to begin with.

Even following my eventual divorce, when I still knew nothing about REBT, I used the film Charlotte’s Web (2006) to help me suppress (to exclude from one’s mind) unwanted and painful memories. Appreciative of your patience, I’ll expand more on suppression in a bit.

The Sheep Detectives: Repression and Suppression

Still a sucker for anthropomorphism, having long since been disassociated with Bernard and no longer relying on wholesome films for my well-being, because I practice REBT daily, I recently enjoyed watching The Sheep Detectives (2026). Summarizing the plot, one source states:

In this witty, new breed of mystery, George (Hugh Jackman) is a shepherd who reads detective novels to his beloved sheep every night, assuming they can’t possibly understand. But when a mysterious incident disrupts life on the farm, the sheep realize they must become the detectives. As they follow the clues and investigate human suspects, they prove that even sheep can be brilliant crime-solvers.

I like Jackman’s acting. Still, I wanted to see Emma Thompson in The Sheep Detectives, because I’ve thoroughly enjoyed her wholesome films, such as Nanny McPhee (2005) and Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang (2010). If you haven’t seen them, you recommendatorily should.

Now, I’ll offer a self-obligatory critique about The Sheep Detectives, as I often do when writing about movies made within the past couple decades. There was a fair amount of needless tropes in The Sheep Detectives, yet I doubt children will be overtly aware of these unnecessary depictions.

For instance, Jackman and Sebastian, the main male ram—both masculine protectors of the flock—die in the film. Male expendability is evident, along with promotion of female characters as being more competent, appealing, intelligent, and… well, alive at the very least.

The white man who serves as a law-enforcer is presented as incompetent. Likewise, the villain of the film is… you guessed it, a white male! Meanwhile, the shrewd white female attorney (Lydia) and a separate white female inheritor of George’s estate (Rebecca) are portrayed favorably.

Alas, I can separate the art from its subversive messaging. Ultimately, I enjoyed the film quite a bit! Regarding the current blogpost, I suspect that a psychoeducational lesson on repression and suppression may now be of some use. (I told you that I’d return to suppression in a bit.)

Specifically, members of George’s flock in The Sheep Detectives demonstrate the ability to intentionally and collectively exclude from their minds unwanted memories. Noteworthy, the American Psychological Association (APA) thusly defines repression:

[I]n classical psychoanalytic theory and other forms of depth psychology, the basic defense mechanism that excludes painful experiences and unacceptable impulses from consciousness.

Repression operates on an unconscious level as a protection against anxiety produced by objectionable sexual wishes, feelings of hostility, and ego-threatening experiences and memories of all kinds.

It also comes into play in many other forms of defense, as in denial, in which individuals avoid unpleasant realities by first trying to repress them and then negating them when repression fails.

For context, conceptually speaking, the conscious mind is one’s active center of mental processing, of which one is immediately aware. Contrastingly, the subconscious mind (i.e., preconscious) functions below one’s awareness, though which can be readily accessed.

Additionally, the unconscious mind is said to operate as a type of autopilot that regulates bodily processes, stores memories, and drives deeply ingrained habits and emotional reactions. With this framing of the psychoanalytic matter, the APA thusly defines suppression:

[A] conscious effort to put disturbing thoughts and experiences out of mind, or to control and inhibit the expression of unacceptable impulses and feelings. It is distinct from the unconscious defense mechanism of repression in psychoanalytic theory.

To simplify this concept, regarding The Sheep Detectives, it may be helpful to think of repression as the mind’s unconscious (i.e., unaware) effort to escape from and avoid displeasing memories, and suppression as the mind’s conscious (i.e., aware) effort to do the same thing.

For example, when watching anthropomorphic characters during my youth, such as the animated character Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends, I consciously suppressed reminders of frequent traumatic stressors. For whatever reason, my mind didn’t unconsciously repress these memories.

In The Sheep Detectives, sheep were able to consciously suppress memories of displeasing events. For instance, a wholesome lesson was presented about the folly of attempting to suppress reminders of George’s death. If one forgets the dead, then the dead are abstractly gone forever!

This loosely relates to the concept of catharsis, which the APA defines as “in psychoanalytic theory, the discharge of previously repressed affects connected to traumatic events that occurs when these events are brought back into consciousness and reexperienced.”

Whereas catharsis is said to occur through use of psychotherapy, while an analyst assists with exploration of the unconscious mind, one can also purge unpleasant emotions on one’s own by consciously suppressing or actively processing issues. This is where REBT comes into play.

REBT

Albert Ellis, the late psychologist who developed REBT, practiced psychoanalysis from 1947 to 1953. That was until he concluded that “many of the Freudian and neo-Freudian assumptions simply do not work” (page 3). Now, I offer you his tools concerning repression and suppression.

REBT uses the ABC model to illustrate that when an undesirable Action occurs and you Believe an unhelpful narrative about the event, it’s your unfavorable assumption, not the occurrence itself, that causes an unpleasant Consequence. This is known as distress or disturbance.

Noteworthy, with virtually any undesirable Action that occurs, it’s your unfavorable Beliefs which cause unpleasant distress or disturbance (Consequence). Given this framing of self-distress and self-disturbance, it’s worth noting that one REBT source states (page 71):

REBT conceptualizes [distress] as healthy even though it is intense. Other approaches to therapy have as their goal the reduction of the intensity of negative emotions. They take this position because they do not keenly differentiate between healthy negative emotions (distress) and unhealthy negative emotions (disturbance).

Now, REBT keenly distinguishes between healthy distress and unhealthy disturbance. Healthy distress stems from your rational beliefs about a negative activating event [Action], whilst disturbance stems from your irrational beliefs about the same event.

Complete elimination of distress is highly unlikely in an impermanent and uncertain world wherein people conceptually suffer, struggle, and battle with, or merely experience hardship. Still, individuals often make matters worse for themselves by disturbing about such instances.

In particular, there are four predominate irrational beliefs which people often use to distress or disturb themselves: global evaluations, low frustration tolerance, awfulizing, and demandingness. When contemplating these unproductive scripts, think of the acronym GLAD.

Additionally, from a psychological standpoint, people distress or disturb themselves using a Belief-Consequence (B-C) connection. Of course, this isn’t to suggest that in the context of the naturalistic or physical world there is no Action-Consequence (A-C) connection.

Regarding The Sheep Detectives, from an A-C view, George was poisoned by his adult-aged son, Peter Van Vuren (Action), and the shepherd thereafter died during a physical struggle with Peter, who was presumed to inherit George’s property (Consequence). It was an unfortunate event.

Still, there was no A-C connection that resulted in George’s flock experiencing negative, though healthy or unhealthy sadness. Grief, bereavement, or mourning (i.e., sadness) associated with the loss of a loved one relates to negative and healthy distress which stems from rational Beliefs.

Yet, symptoms of depression (e.g., frequent or recurrent thoughts of death, hopelessness, etc.) relate to negative and unhealthy disturbance which stems from irrational Beliefs. For the sake of this blogpost, suppose that the protagonist sheep, Lily, used an unhelpful B-C connection.

George is murdered (Action) and Lily hypothetically Believes, “Life is empty without our shepherd [G], and I couldn’t bear to go on living without him [L], because that would be abysmal [A], so I absolutely must suppress George’s memory to avoid such pain [D]!”

When Believing this self-narrative, Lily is faced with either (1) enduring negative and unhealthy disturbance in the form of depression, or (2) actively suppressing the memory of George, rather than merely experiencing negative and healthy distress in the form of grief (Consequence).

I imagine that if Lily were a human, she could opt for a third possibility. She could throw a massive monetized social event, punctuated with pyrotechnics and merchandise for sale, while criticizing those who question her peculiar display of mourning. Yet, Lily is a ewe, not a grifter.

Addressing how people (or ewes) upset themselves with unhelpful attitudes, the ABC model uses Disputation of unproductive philosophies of life in order to explore Effective new beliefs. Whereas rigid beliefs cause self-disturbance, flexible beliefs result in an un-disturbed condition.

Additionally, REBT uses unconditional acceptance (UA) to relieve self-induced suffering. This is accomplished through use of unconditional self-acceptance (USA), unconditional other-acceptance (UOA), and unconditional life-acceptance (ULA).

Whereas the ABC model is a scientific approach to well-being, UA serves as a philosophical method for un-disturbing yourself. I view the former as an abortive approach to disturbance and the latter as a preventative method. Of course, not all REBT practitioners use the same style as I.

With my approach to REBT, I incorporate author Stephen Covey’s concepts regarding the circles of control, influence, and concern, as well as an area of no concern. UA maps onto the circle of control (USA), circle of influence (UOA), and circle of concern and area of no concern (ULA).

The circle of control encompasses only oneself, the circle of influence encapsulates elements which may be subject to one’s sway, the circle of concern engrosses most matters one can imagine, and the area of no concern relates to all content which isn’t yet imagined.

In The Sheep Detectives, Rebecca Hampstead is George’s estranged, long-lost daughter who arrived in town from afar just as her father’s murder mystery unfolds. She ultimately inherits his property. Now, for illustrative purposes, suppose that she thereafter experiences bereavement.

Regarding Rebecca’s circle of control and USA, she could acknowledge that she has control over her reaction to death. For instance, being that her mind hasn’t unconsciously repressed the memory of her dad, she may choose not to consciously suppress her recollection of George.

Concerning her circle of influence and UOA, Rebecca could realize that her brother, Peter, is a merely fallible human being whose maladaptive behavior resulted in the murder of their father. More’s the pity, Peter isn’t his behavior. Thus, she can choose to forgive him.

Relating to Rebecca’s circle of concern and ULA, she could admit that in this impermanent and uncertain life, death is one of the exceedingly limited guarantees any living being has. Therefore, George, Rebecca, Lily, and all other living creatures will inescapably die. (This means you, too!)

As for her area of no concern, an imaginary realm in which anthropomorphism is real and sheep can intelligibly communicate with humans, Rebecca could enjoy films in which such frivolity is possible while also devoting her time to focusing on what she can actually control and influence.

Conclusion

Since my youth, perhaps associated with past experience related to ranching, I’ve enjoyed depictions of anthropomorphism within film and elsewhere. Recently, I watched one such movie, as I enjoyed The Sheep Detectives. (Perhaps you will, as well!)

In the film, non-human animals intentionally and collectively exclude from their minds unwanted memories. Thus, I thought of a psychoeducational lesson on repression and suppression, both psychoanalytic terms, even though I use REBT for mental health care.

Highlighting characters from the film, I’ve demonstrated use of the ABC model regarding Lily, and UA concerning Rebecca. Presuming that you comprehend the lesson in this post, I encourage you to consider opting for negative and healthy, versus negative and unhealthy, outcomes.

If you’re looking for a provider who tries to work to help understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life—helping you to sharpen your critical thinking skills, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.

As a psychotherapist, I’m pleased to try to help people with an assortment of issues ranging from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.

At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply trying to help you to feel better, I want to try to help you get better!

Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW

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Hollings, D. (2024, July 18). REBT flexibility. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/rebt-flexibility

Hollings, D. (2024, July 10). Recommendatory should beliefs. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/recommendatory-should-beliefs

Hollings, D. (2023, February 17). Revisiting the circle of control. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/revisiting-the-circle-of-control

Hollings, D. (2024, January 4). Rigid vs. rigorous. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/rigid-vs-rigorous

Hollings, D. (2026, March 5). Rules-based order: Rules will vary. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/rules-based-order-rules-will-vary

Hollings, D. (2025, October 9). Self-awareness, self-examination, and self-determination. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/self-awareness-self-examination-and-self-determination

Hollings, D. (2022, November 1). Self-disturbance. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/self-disturbance

Hollings, D. (2026, April 21). Self-upset. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/self-upset

Hollings, D. (2026, May 12). Separating the art from the artist: Shamone, hee hee. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/separating-the-art-from-the-artist-shamone-hee-hee

Hollings, D. (2026, June 11). Shaping: Force of habit – No rewarding bad behavior! Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/shaping-force-of-habit-no-rewarding-bad-behavior

Hollings, D. (2026, February 24). Skepticism: I doubt it. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/skepticism-i-doubt-it

Hollings, D. (2024, February 27). Suffering, struggling, and battling vs. experiencing. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/suffering-struggling-and-battling-vs-experiencing

Hollings, D. (2025, August 6). Take an inventory of your obligations. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/take-an-inventory-of-your-obligations

Hollings, D. (2025, September 27). The 5 stages. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/the-5-stages

Hollings, D. (2022, December 23). The A-C connection. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/the-a-c-connection

Hollings, D. (2022, December 25). The B-C connection. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/the-b-c-connection

Hollings, D. (2026, May 8). The Cat in the Hat: Leisure without study is death. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/ the-cat-in-the-hat-leisure-without-study-is-death

Hollings, D. (2022, November 2). The critical A. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/the-critical-a

Hollings, D. (2026, April 23). The effect of affect. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/the-effect-of-affect

Hollings, D. (2026, February 21). The preferences versus expectations paradigm: Love is not enough, though virtue is. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/the-preferences-versus-expectations-paradigm-love-is-not-enough-though-virtue-is

Hollings, D. (2026, May 15). The speed of thoughts and beliefs: Flipping the bird. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/the-speed-of-thoughts-and-beliefs-flipping-the-bird

Hollings, D. (2026, April 23). The three traditionally identified components of the mind: Affect, cognition, and conation. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/the-three-traditionally-identified-components-of-the-mind-affect-cognition-and-conation

Hollings, D. (2025, April 15). This cake smells unpleasant. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/this-cake-smells-unpleasant

Hollings, D. (2025, February 28). To try is my goal. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/to-try-is-my-goal

Hollings, D. (2025, January 9). Traditional ABC model. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/traditional-abc-model

Hollings, D. (2024, October 20). Unconditional acceptance redux. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/unconditional-acceptance-redux

Hollings, D. (2023, March 11). Unconditional life-acceptance. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/unconditional-life-acceptance

Hollings, D. (2023, February 25). Unconditional other-acceptance. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/unconditional-other-acceptance

Hollings, D. (2023, March 1). Unconditional self-acceptance. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/unconditional-self-acceptance

Hollings, D. (2026, February 17). Unexpected strings: Escapism and avoidance. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/unexpected-strings-escapism-and-avoidance

Hollings, D. (2024, March 18). Unhealthy vs. healthy negative emotions. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/unhealthy-vs-healthy-negative-emotions

Hollings, D. (2024, October 26). Unhelpful expectations. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/unhelpful-expectations

Hollings, D. (2025, February 9). Value. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/value

Hollings, D. (2024, September 29). Well, well, well. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/well-well-well

Hollings, D. (2024, April 17). Wishes, dreams, and goals. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/wishes-dreams-and-goals

Hollings, D. (2026, March 8). You are not your beliefs or ideas. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/you-are-not-your-beliefs-or-ideas

Hollings, D. (2026, March 26). You’ll have suffered twice. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/you-ll-have-suffered-twice

Hollings, D. (2025, December 8). You’re a volunteer for that ride, not a victim, sucka. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/you-re-a-volunteer-for-that-ride-not-a-victim-sucka

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