KOENIGSBERG ON INTERNALIZED OBJECTS, PORNOGRAPHY, AND THE MASS-MEDIA
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Internalized objects feed off the self, just as the self feeds off internalized objects. If there is an opportunity for a relationship, temptation to embrace reality, the internalized objects do not relinquish their hold easily. Reality is experienced as betrayal. The internalized object becomes enraged.

It's as if the object says, "I have been with you so long, comforting you." How dare you consider abandoning me for an object you barely know?" The potential for an object relationship is experienced as a threat to the symbiotic tie to the internal object.

This is a fundamental dynamic of the developmental process, conflict between the memory traces of old forms of gratification and the possibility of new forms of gratification. Shall one risk the external world or remain faithful to the comforting objects within?

The hysterical response to separation has a great deal to do with masturbation fantasy. Will the object in the external world provide the reliable gratification of the fantasy held closely within one's mind? To connect with an object in the world is a risk. The masturbation fantasy is old-reliable.

Pornography is betwixt and between: a masturbation fantasy externalized into a visual representation in the "outer world." The masturbation fantasy embodied. Escape from the internal object. Release into the "external world."

The mass-media is sublimated pornography: one step above. Fantasy connection with objects that seem "oh so real." Profound connection to people one has never met. An image on the screen. Fantasy transformed into a certain kind of "reality." Extreme passion (love or hate) towards people one will never meet and never touch. 

This form of reality or fantasy becomes more gripping than the internalized object. The Internet provides unlimited objects. Take your pick. Become a "fan." Connect with images of people "so high above."

But the lure of pornography is always present. Return to the source.