56. Postmodern philosophy and criticism are associated with Jacques Derrida, Michael Foucault, Richard Rorty, and many others.
57. Summarized from Casetti's (1999) analysis of Metz's concepts of identification, voyeurism, and fetishism.
58. Silverman (1986).
59. Mulvey (1986).
60. The phallocentric nature of mainstream film parallels Haskell's argument except that Mulvey (1986) is more concerned with the mechanisms of film, not just the content of film.
61. Other authors such as Modleski (1988) argue that Hitchcock films intentionally create discomfort in the audience by self-consciously manipulating the power differentials Mulvey discusses. The significance of Vertigo to Hitchcock himself is discussed in Chapter .
62. The “text only” approach to criticism is associated with the New Criticism. Classic essays have recently been anthologized by Davis (2008).
63. The implied viewer is a spin on the implied reader, a term coined by Iser (1974).
64. The danger of too many possible criticisms has been made within film studies itself. After analyzing the process of film interpretation at its most abstract, Bordwell (1989a) expresses a weariness for the seemingly endless interpretations that litter his field. He demonstrates this point by juxtaposing seven separate critical interpretations of Psycho, arguing that while all are reasonable, the benefit of having this many different readings lying around is unclear.
65. The tension between the desire for absolute interpretations of movies and relativistic “eye of the beholder” approaches are in sharp relief on internet discussion boards like those on IMDB.com. Many criticisms are expressed that take the form “This film sucks and anybody who thinks otherwise is an idiot”; these criticisms are then inevitably followed by pleas for tolerance because “everyone is entitled to his or her opinion.”
66. Bruner was a major figure in the “cognitive revolution” in the 1960s in which strict behaviorism was supplanted by cognitive approaches that allowed for the exploration of mental concepts like memory and imagination. Later in his career, Bruner found that cognitive psychology had become narrower and more constricted than he intended, and he wrote two influential books, Actual Minds, Possible Worlds (1986) and Acts of Meaning (1990), which argue for a merging of methodologies between the humanities and the social sciences.
67. Bruner (1990: p. 2).
68. Bruner (1986: p. 13).
Chapter 3
1. Camp, et al. (2010).
2. Fleming and Manvell (1985), a psychologist and a film historian, offer a thematic analysis of representations of insanity. Zimmerman (2003) takes a literary perspective to demonstrate the relative sensitivity of certain films. Robinson (2003) and Wedding, Boyd, and Niemiec (2010) use formal diagnostic criteria argue that some films are useful in teaching students about mental illness (discussed further in Chapter ). Some authors have focused on mental illness in films for children, especially Disney films (Wahl, et al., 2003; and Lawson and Fouts, 2004). All contain extensive lists of films depicting mental illness.
3. I use “psychological disorder” as an approximate synonym for “psychiatric disorders,” “behavior disorders,” “abnormal psychology,” “mental illness,” and “psychopathology.” Terms like “mad,” “crazy” or “loony” are more informal, dramatic and pejorative. In one way or another, they all suggest problems in behavior and thinking that prevent people from functioning to their fullest capacity.
4. Camp, et al. (2010; p. 148).
5. The image does call to mind serial killer, John Wayne Gacy, but Gacy acted alone and was not the head of a crime syndicate.
6. Fifty years after its release, Psycho holds up moderately well as a thriller, but it was when I realized Hitchcock thought of it as a comedy (Truffaut, 1985: pp. 200--202) that I realized its true genius.
7. DID is an official diagnosis in current psychiatric nomenclature (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). However, it is controversial, and some professionals do not believe it exists in the extreme form of people developing distinct “personalities.”
8. Believing that an inanimate object is possessed with sentience is a delusion while seeing a dead body talk is a hallucination. Both are common symptoms of schizophrenia, not DID. Students often confuse DID (which is very rare) with schizophrenia (which is common). Psycho is at least partially to blame for this confusion.
9. The film is based on the book Psycho, by Robert Bloch (1989). Bloch based his story on the serial killer, Ed Gein, who lived on an isolated farm in Wisconsin in the 1950s where he killed and dismembered at least 10 women. This case is also the inspiration for the horror classics The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Silence of the Lambs.
10. As documented in Rebello's fascinatingly detailed, Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho (1990).
11. Truffaut (1985: p. 269).
12. Hyler, Gabbard, and Schneider (1991). A few recent examples have been added.
13. While still used in everyday language, nymphomania has not been a formal diagnostic category for decades.
14. Some filmmakers have actually hired professional consultants to insure that their depictions are realistic—e.g., the psychological aspects of imprisonment and brutality in Midnight Express (Farber and Green, 1993).
15. Additional examples of accurate portrayals are provided in Robinson (2009).
16. The DSM-IV-TR (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition, Text Revision, American Psychiatric Association, 2000) is the diagnostic reference used by most mental health providers in the US. It contains 16 major diagnostic classes, but a system of subclassification can lead to hundreds of distinct diagnoses. The major classifications that are most common in cinematic depictions include psychotic disorders (schizophrenia), mood disorders (depression and bipolar), anxiety disorders (post-traumatic stress disorder), personality disorders (narcissism and paranoia), dissociative disorders (dissociative identity disorder), and substance-related disorders.
17. The primary criticism is that the film suggests that Nash managed his symptoms without medication which is not consistent with the account in the biography, A Beautiful Mind (Nasar, 2001).
18. Greenberg (2003) notes that visual hallucinations (Nash's imaginary roommate) are relatively rare when compared to auditory hallucinations (hearing voices), but of course, movies always prefer to show things.
19. See also Brandell (2004), Rabkin (1998), and Walker (1993).
20. Rabkin (1998) offers detailed information about thousands of psych related movies.
21. I use psychotherapy and counseling as synonyms, and I use psychologist or mental health professional as shorthand for anybody who works with people to solve interpersonal and emotional problems. There are differences between forms of treatment (psychoanalysis versus psychotherapy) and disciplines (psychology versus psychiatry) although many people are confused by these differences. In part, the inconsistent and inaccurate use of these terms in the movies is responsible for the confusion.
22. There are exceptions. Psycho was released at heart of the Golden Age yet its depiction of Dr Richman is a parody of psychiatric mumbo jumbo.
23. In addition to Drs Dippy, Evil and Wonderful described by Schneider (1987), other categories have been advanced by Orchowski, Spickard, and McNamara (2006) and Winick (1978).
24. Orchowski, Spickard, and McNamara (2006).
25. Pirkis, et al. (2006).
26. Schultz (2005).
27. Martin (2007).
28. Gabbard (2001) and Schultz (2005).
29. Bischoff and Reiter (1999) and Dine Young, et al. (2008).
30. Dr Melfi from the Sopranos was another prominent female therapist that struggled with her attraction to her mobster client although she uncharacteristically resisted temptation.
31. Some passages in the section have been taken verbatim from Dine Young, et al. (2008).
32. Perlin (1996).
33. Pope and Vasquez (1998).
34. Edelson (19
93: p. 311).
35. Lambert and Bergin (1994).
36. Gabbard (2001).
37. McDonald and Walter (2009) document the almost universally negative portrayal of ECT despite the fact that modern techniques have minimal side effects and have been shown to be an effective treatment for some cases of severe depression.
38. Movies and television make it appear that psychological profilers are a substantial professional group when in actuality, there are very few outside of the FBI. I have disillusioned numerous entering college students with this unfortunate fact.
39. The impact of movies on viewers in general is the subject of Chapters and .
40. Jorm (2000).
41. Wahl (1995).
42. Kondo (2008: pp. 250--251).
43. Pirkis, et al. (2006).
44. Granello, et al. (1999).
45. Philo (1996).
46. Domino (1983).
47. Fleming and Manvell (1985: p. 17).
48. Sullivan (1953: p. 32). I always start my class in abnormal psychology with this quote in order to diminish the tendency of students to approach the topic in a “disorder of the week” manner.
49. Gender is a good example of similarity getting lost in diversity. While there are some notable differences between men and women, across many psychological dimensions the genders are very similar (Hyde, 2005). These similarities are often overshadowed in such popular tomes as Gray's mega-selling: Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus.
50. Werner (1980). I use the term here in a broad way that simply suggests that two domains of human action are similar in at least one important dimension (although in other ways they may be substantially different).
51. Sleek (1998).
52. Siegel (1999).
53. Gabbard (2001); Eber and O’Brien (1982); Ringel (2004).
54. Jamieson, Romer, and Jamieson (2006).
55. Schill, Harsch, and Ritter (1990).
56. Dine Young, et al. (2008).
57. Edelson (1993: p. 307).
58. Brandell (2004).
59. Stein (2003).
60. The use of film to teach psychology and pass along life lessons is further explored in Chapter 9.
Chapter 4
1. Corliss (1992).
2. Lax (2000: p. 397).
3. Bjorkman (1994).
4. See Schultz (2005) and Elms (1994) for overviews of psychobiography. Both authors point out that as psychology has established itself as an experimental science, the method has been marginalized. Lives are too big to fit into laboratories (even the ones at large universities). Early psychologists like William James thought that the study of lives could exist side by side with experimental approaches. Gordon Allport (1965) advocated case studies as a way to balance statistical generalization. He observed that it might be useful for a man to have a general understanding of what most women like when shopping for his wife, but that he was better off knowing his wife's personal preferences (p. 159).
5. Erikson (1962).
6. See Schultz (2005) for chapters on these and other artists.
7. Freud (1957).
8. Examples of projective tests include the Thematic Apperception Test (test-takers tell stories in response to a picture) and the Kinetic Family Drawing Test (test-takers draw their families in action).
9. There are a few exceptions such as a biography of Charlie Chaplin written by a psychiatrist (Weissman, 2008).
10. Wollen (1976).
11. While many directors (Scorsese, Tarantino, Polanski, etc.) have adopted the Hitchcockian trick of popping up in their own movies, these appearances don't generate as much excitement.
12. Spoto (1983: p. x).
13. Spoto (1983: p. 9). There is some question whether the event actually happened. Spoto declares that he was unable to find evidence to confirm it or refute it (p. 16).
14. Spoto (1983: p. 36).
15. Spoto (1983: p. 37).
16. Spoto (1983: p. 65).
17. Spoto (1983: p. 343).
18. Spoto (1983: p. 387).
19. LoBrutto (2008: p. 32).
20. Keyser (1992: p. 7).
21. LoBrutto (2008: p. 33).
22. Quoted in Keyser (1992: p. 10).
23. Cohen-Shalev and Raz (2008).
24. Cohen-Shalev and Raz (2008: p. 36).
25. Dyer (1998: p. 43).
26. McGilligan (1994: pp. 42--47).
27. McGilligan (1994: pp. 262--264).
28. McGilligan (1994: p. 263).
29. McGilligan (1994: pp. 51--52).
30. Morton (2010: p. 105).
31. Morton (2010: pp. 108--109) attributes these quotes to Franziska De George and Iris Martin respectively but does not provide a context for how these professional opinions were acquired, opening up the possibility they were interpreted out of context.
32. This saying is associated with Gestalt psychology, a school of psychology that focused on sensation and perception.
33. Bertolucci, Shaw, and Mawson (2003: p. 20).
34. Bertolucci, Shaw, and Mawson (2003: p. 25).
35. Quoted in Bertolucci, Shaw, and Mawson (2003: p. 28).
36. D’Arminio (2011).
37. Recent developments in method acting are summarized in Krasner (2000). Method acting has made the psychobiography of actors easier since such actors self-consciously access aspects of themselves in playing their roles.
38. Indick (2004).
39. Farber and Green (1993: p. 21).
40. Farber and Green (1993: p. 80).
41. Farber and Green (1993: p. 311).
42. For me, Allen's presentation of psychotherapy in his movies seemed at once cautionary and intriguing. Growing up in a rural town, I watched Annie Hall and Manhattan repeatedly on cable. Woody's New York seemed an alternative universe in which people spent their days browsing bookstores, pursuing romance, and going to therapy. As an undergraduate, I went to New York to interview for graduate school with a genuine psychoanalyst. I waited while he argued with his secretary about whether I actually had an appointment. After an awkward interview during which he glared at me, I made my way downstairs to find that my car had been towed. I wasn't accepted by the school, and my Woody wannabe days were over.
43. Lax (2000: p. 79) and Baxter (1999: p. 73).
44. Farber and Green (1993: p. 192).
45. Cohen (2004) and Philaretou (2006).
46. Schultz (2005).
47. Based on these criteria, none of the biographical sketches presented here should be considered definitive. My examples are meant to capture certain tendencies in psychobiography but are not complete and accurate pictures of the complicated lives of the filmmakers. The full biographies I draw upon for my summaries are more detailed, yet it is an open question as to whether they are accurate, coherent and consistent.
48. Spoto (1983: p. 36).
49. Elms (2005).
50. Schultz (2005: p. 10).
51. Seligman and Csikzentmihalyi (2000).
52. Nettle (2001).
53. Rothenberg (1990: p. 6).
54. Nettle (2001: p. 145).
55. Freud (1959) emphasized the unconscious desires of storytellers, but filmmakers often seem aware of the personal significance of their movies. Consciousness and unconsciousness are not discrete states but exist on a continuum and are therefore a matter of degree.
Chapter 5
1. Zillmann and Bryant (1985).
2. Fuller (1996).
3. Austin (1989: pp. 35--36). These attendance figures don't necessarily refer to the number of different individuals who attend a movie since some may have attended more than one movie a week.
4. Television Facts and Statistics (n.d.).
5. Austin (1989: p. 36).
6. Austin (1989: p. 40).
7. Austin (1989: pp. 87--92).
8. Taylor (2002).
9. Krugman and Johnson (1991).
10. Yearly Box Office (2011).
11. On an individual level, psychologists occasi
onally use reading or viewing tastes as a measure of personality. It seems likely that someone who watches only horror movies will be different from someone else who chooses to watch only romantic comedies. This chapter focuses on general trends in movie viewing. A closer look at movie enjoyment is considered in later chapters, particularly Chapter .
12. Lists of box office champs as well as other movies lists are available at www.filmsite.org. The list I am using has been adjusted for inflation and is therefore historically balanced. Movie admissions in 1939 when Gone with the Wind was released were much cheaper than a 3D showing of Avatar in 2009. This explains why Avatar, though the highest grossing movie of all time, is ranked below blockbusters from different economic eras such as Titanic, The Sound of Music, and Gone with the Wind.
13. To the extent that I am a representative movie fan, I have seen 45 of the 50 films and am generally familiar with every movie on the list except The Robe.
14. Dean Simonton (2011) has compiled a large database of box office performance, awards, critics’ ratings and other publicly available information.
15. Simonton (2011: pp. 53--78).
16. Simonton (2011: p. 82).
17. Simonton (2011: p. 102).
18. McIntosh, et al. (2003).
19. Simonton (2011).
20. Roberts and Foehr (2004).
21. Worth et al. (2008).
22. The effects of film are discussed in detail in Chapter .
23. See Pritzker (2009) for example.
24. Marich (2005).
25. Retrieved from the American Film Institute's website at www.afi.com/100years/movies10.aspx. AFI is an association of filmmakers, producers and critics who, according to their website, are dedicated to film preservation and educational activities.
26. Accessed from the Internet Movie Database at www.imdb.com/chart/top on April 1, 2011.
27. Another difference is the handful of foreign films (e.g., Seven Samurai) on the IMDB list; AFI only ranks American movies.
28. Compared to the exclusive selection process for members of the American Film Institute, IMDB allows access to anyone who is online. Still, there is a strong element of self-selection, as individuals must choose not only to use the site but also its rating function.
Psychology at the Movies Page 23