Films Illustrating Psychopathology Danny Wedding Mary Ann Boyd ...

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248 Movies and Mental Illness Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1990) Crime/Horror ΨΨΨΨ A violent, controversial film about mass murderer and sociopath Henry Lee Lucas. A scene in which Lucas and his roommate videotape one of their murders is especially unnerving. “She’d make me watch it... She’d beat me when I wouldn’t watch her... She’d make me wear a dress and they would laugh.” Henry Lee Lucas describing abuse by his prostitute mother in Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer Honeymoon Killers, The (1970) Crime Ψ A very realistic black-and-white film based on the true story of a couple who lured, exploited, and then killed lonely women. Both the man and the woman were executed at Sing-Sing Prison. I Spit on Your Grave (1980) Horror Ψ A terrible film in which a woman systematically gets revenge on the four men who raped her. “They all felt physically inferior or sexually inadequate. Their childhood was violent... They couldn’t distinguish between fantasy and reality. They didn’t hate their victims, they didn’t even know them.” A doctor describes serial killers in In Cold Blood In Cold Blood (1967) Biography/Crime ΨΨΨ This film is based on a Truman Capote biographical novel about two sociopaths who kill a Kansas family. The film explores the family dynamics that in part lead to the senseless murders. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) Action/Suspense ΨΨΨΨΨ Dynamic Tarantino story of a samurai bride (Uma Thurmond) betrayed by her ex-lover and boss. This first film sets up the mythology and the world of the characters. It has more extensive graphic violence than Vol. 2 and an “eastern” martial arts emphasis. “I’ve kept you alive for two reasons. First reason is information… But I am gonna ask you questions and every time you don’t give me answers, I’m gonna cut something off. And I promise you they will be things you will miss!” Uma Thurmond as the Bride in Kill Bill: Vol. 1 Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004) Action/Suspense ΨΨΨΨΨ Tarantino’s conclusion to the revenge story of The Bride. This part emphasizes the unfolding of the stories and further deepening of characters amongst a more “western” style. “I’m a killer. I’m a murdering bastard and there are consequences for breaking the heart of a murdering bastard” David Carradine as Bill in Kill Bill: Vol. 2 Killing Fields, The (1984) Drama ΨΨΨΨ Gripping film about the horrors of war and the particularly gruesome and cruel practices of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia following the evacuation of American soldiers from Vietnam in 1975. Lilja 4-Ever (2002) Drama ΨΨΨ A powerful depiction of the cruelty of violence. An adolescent girl experiences neglect, abandonment, rejection, physical and sexual abuse, gang rape, exploitation, and forced prostitution, all by the age of 16. Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977) Drama ΨΨ Diane Keaton plays a special education teacher with a compulsive need to pick up men in bars and engage in sadomasochistic sex. There are numerous examples of family pathology in the film, and it is interesting to remember how casual sexuality was in a time before AIDS. From: Wedding, D., Boyd, M.A., & Niemiec, R.M. Movies and Mental Illness: Using Films to Understand Psychopathology © 2005 Hogrefe & Huber Publishers (www.hogrefe.com)
Appendix G: Films Illustrating Psychopathology 249 M (1931) Crime/Drama/Horror ΨΨΨΨΨ A must-see Fritz Lang film (his first “talkie”) starring Peter Lorre as a sexual psychopath who molests and murders little girls. When tried by a vigilante jury, he pleads irresistible impulse, but the jury is not impressed. Magdalene Sisters, The (2002) Docudrama ΨΨΨ Troubled adolescent girls are sent to a dehumanizing, boarding home where they are treated by nuns who run the home with abuse, neglect, and humiliation. The film follows four girls in particular as they experience and respond differently to the highly abusive situation. Midnight Express (1978) Biography ΨΨΨ True story about an American college student who is busted for trying to smuggle two kilograms of hashish out of Turkey and is treated brutally in Turkish prisons before eventually escaping. Monster (2003) Drama ΨΨΨΨ A powerful film based on the life of Aileen Carol Wuornos, a highway prostitute who was executed for killing seven men in the state of Florida during the 1980s. (See also Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer.) Murder in the First (1995) Drama ΨΨ A man imprisoned in Alcatraz for petty theft in the 1930s is put in solitary confinement for three years, becomes deranged, and then kills a guard. The film suggests the system is to blame for the crime. Based on a true story. “Insane, no. Psychotic, yes. A menace to living creatures, yes. But to suggest that they’re insane gives the impression that they don’t know right from wrong. Mickey and Mallory know the difference between right and wrong. They just don’t give a damn.” A psychiatric opinion in Natural Born Killers Natural Born Killers (1994) Crime/Drama ΨΨΨ A violent Oliver Stone film based on a story written by Quentin Tarantino and starring Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis. The film depicts a couple who celebrate their roles as mass murderers and find their new status as cult figures a welcome reprieve from the dreariness of the life they left behind. Night Porter, The (1974) Drama/War ΨΨ A former Nazi officer who sexually abused a 14year-old girl in a concentration camp has the tables turned on him when she shows up at the hotel in which he works. This is one of several films linking Nazi practices with sadomasochistic sex. No Man’s Land (2001) Drama/Suspense ΨΨΨΨ A Bosnian escapes a firing attack and finds himself in “No Man’s Land” between enemy lines. A Serb goes to ensure there were no survivors and finds himself in a standoff with the Bosnian. Another Bosnian survivor, barely alive, awakes on top of a land mine that will explode if he rises. Heated debates, murder attempts, threats, desperation, and hopelessness characterize each of the three men. “It’s the same old story. I’ve got to learn to keep my mouth shut.” Beth blaming herself for the beating she has received from her husband in Once Were Warriors Once Were Warriors (1994) Drama ΨΨΨΨ Important New Zealand film about substance abuse and domestic violence among urban Maori tribes people. The film will help you understand a different culture, as well as the ways in which alcoholism interacts with spousal and child abuse in almost every society. Passion of the Christ, The (2004) Drama/Biography ΨΨΨΨΨ Mel Gibson film depicting the violent torture and suffering of the final hours of Jesus Christ. This highly controversial film is intensely graphic and visual in its portrayal of violence. It is interesting to note that it is Mel Gibson’s hand that nails Jesus to the cross. Peeping Tom (1960) Thriller ΨΨΨ Controversial film about a psychopathic murderer who photographs his victims as they die. From: Wedding, D., Boyd, M.A., & Niemiec, R.M. Movies and Mental Illness: Using Films to Understand Psychopathology © 2005 Hogrefe & Huber Publishers (www.hogrefe.com)
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