Subj: Re: Feature Films
Date: 11/21/98 1:09:26 PM Eastern Standard Time
From: JDHamm96
To: SNRandall
PSYCHOLOGICAL MOVIES
ACCIDENTAL TOURIST
Depression, obsessive-compulsive traits, personality disorder.
Shattered by the violent death of his son a travel writer withdraws from the
world.
ALADDIN
Subliminal perception.
ALTERED STATES
When a scientist explores his primal nature by way of sensory
deprivation, he finds he regresses farther back than planned.
AMERICAN GRAFFITE
Adolescent development.
ANGEL AT MY TABLE
Overcoming personal and family tragedies, misdiagnosed as psychotic
and receiving shock therapy
APOLLO 13
How to combat functional fixedness to solve a problem (running out of
air in space).
AWAKENINGS
The story of a maverick doctor and the patients whose lives he
changes. Dr. Malcolm Sayer, a compassionate, caring, but shy research
physician who uses an experimental drug to "awaken" the catatonic victims of
a rare disease. (Psychobiological issues)
ARSENIC AND OLD LACE
A harried young man discovers that his sweet old aunts are actually
poisoning lonely old men with their homemade elderberry wine.
AS GOOD AS IT GETS
Obsessive-compulsive disorder.
BAMBI
Learning theories, i.e. schemas, assimilation, accomodation,
observational learning, imitation, death (lifespan).
BARFLY
Alcohol dependence. Unsavory, violent, profane, semiautobiographical
(Charles Bukowski) film set in down-at-the-heels L.A., about hard-bitten
boozers.
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (COCTEAU)
Oedipus/Electra Complex
BELL JAR
Depression. When her father dies, a teenager becomes mentally
unhinged.
BENNY AND JOON
Simple greasemonkey is worn out from caring for disturbed sister.
However, he feels new suiter who courts her may be may be too crazy even for
his sister.
BIRDY
Obsessive behavior. After the Vietnam War, an unlikely friendship
between two young, blue collar Philadelphians takes dramatic turns as the
mentally unstable Modine drifts out of reality and Cage seeks to bring him
back.
BOYS NEXT DOOR
Two sociopathic, alienated young men who go on a violent weekend
spree.
BREAKFAST CLUB
Developmental psychology. Disgruntled students from various cliques
who bond together during detention in the school library.
BREAKING AWAY
Adolescent development. An adolescent takes a moratorium after high
school, goofing off with friends in a college town, then gets an "identity"
by over-identifying with the Italian bicycle racing team before "growing up"
CHARLEY
A retarded man is briefly cured (and raised to the level of genius)
by a scientific experiment in this improbable but wonderful fantasy.
CLEAN AND SOBER
Drug addition. Needing a place to lie low, a yuppie cocaine addict
hides out in a rehab clinic where a counselor and fellow patient force him to
confront the truth about his addiction.
CLEAN SHAVEN
"The best movie ever of the lives of schizophrenics."
CLEAN SLATE
A detective with a rare form of amnesia that causes him to forget his
previous life every morning.
CLOCKWORK ORANGE
Radical behaviorism, conditioning (Skinner, Bandura). Sadistic
youths terrorize innocents until one of them is caught and "reformed".
COCOON
Lifespan development, aging.
COMING HOME
Post-traumatic stress disorder. Compelling Vietnam War-era drama
chronicles the awakening of one woman when she falls in love with a
paraplegic veteran and anti-war activist.
CONNECTION
Drug addiction. A documentary filmmaker hangs around a bunch of
junkies waiting for a "fix" from their connection and is tempted to try drugs
himself.
COOL HAND LUKE
Effectiveness of punishment.
COPYCAT
Agoraphobia.
CRACKER FACTORY
Alcohol abuse. A neurotic, alcoholic housewife is unable to handle
daily life, in and out of a psychiatric hospital she calls "The Cracker
Factory."
CRUMB
Diagnosis is not clearly mentioned but Robert Crumb's brother shows
definite pathology and is institutionalized. There is no mention of mental
illness in connection with Robert's other brother, but what is shown of his
lifestyle is diagnosable. Robert experimented heavily with drugs for a while
and many would see his comics as a thin veil over a sexual perversion.
Pathological family dynamics. Warning about possible offensive material.
DANGEROUS MINDS
Educational psychology, gangs, inner city sociology.
DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES
Alcohal abuse. Heartrending drama gives an unflinching look at the
downward spiral of alcoholic husband and the wife he drags along with him.
DEER HUNTER
Post-traumatic stress disorder. Controversial Vietnam War drama
about young steelworkers who go to war and the women they leave behind.
DOLORES CLAIRBORNE
A Maine housewife who may or may not have killed her husband because
he sexually abused their daughter.
DOMINIC AND EUGENE
Brain damage due to trauma. Understanding a developmentally slow
person, child abuse.
DON JUAN DEMARCO
Delusional disorder.
DREAM TEAM
Four lunatics are let loose on the streets of New York City when
their doctor gets mugged during a field trip.
ELEPHANT MAN
Psychological effects of physical deformity.
FALLING DOWN
First 15 minutes show the effects of stress. A tightly wound
engineer goes on a violent spree, walking across Los Angeles with guns drawn.
FATAL ATTRACTION
Borderline personality disorder. Married attorney gets more than he
bargained for after a dalliance with a book editor. High-gloss cautionary
suspenser with good, tense result.
FATHER OF THE BRIDE
Lifespan development - middle and old age.
FEARLESS
Post-traumatic stress after a plane crash.
FISHER KING
Schizophrenia. A former shock-radio host fallen on hard times, takes
up with a street eccentric who has his own sorrowful past.
FOOTLOOSE
Adolescent and cognitive development.
FRANCES
True and tragic story of the early film star Frances Farmer
(1914-1970) and the great harm that unscientific psychiatry can cause.
Realistic lobotomy.
FRATERNITY ROW
Adolescent development.
GOOD WILL HUNTING
Psychiatrist is able to reach a brilliant young man who is wasting
his life. Notice Dr. Bernstein's intro to psych book on Robin William's
coffeetable.
GORILLAS IN THE MIST
Ethology
THE GRADUATE
Intimacy, generativity, fidelity. Aimless young man, just out of
college, is seduced by a middle-aged family friend.
GRUMPY OLD MEN
Stereotypes of the elderly.
HAROLD AND MAUDE
Freud/Oedipus, depression, suicide, obsession. A death-obsessed
20-year-old who falls in love with a flamboyant senior citizen.
I NEVER PROMISED YOU A ROSE GARDEN
Abnormal psychology and psychotherapy. Teenager battles
schizophrenia with the aid of her psychiatrist in this involving true story.
IN COLD BLOOD
Antisocial personality disorder. Chilling story of two drifters who
slaughter a Kansas farming family.
INTRUDER IN THE DUST
Prejudice. Gripping account of a black man wrongly accused of murder
in a small Southern town. White townsfolk want to string him up, but a clear
thinking lawyer and local boy save him. Compelling drama that works as both
mystery and study in race relations.
JACK
Boy's mind inside a man's body. Lifespan development.
JAGGED EDGE
Lawyer defends accused wife killer and falls in love with him.
THE JOY LUCK CLUB
Mother-daughter relationships, cross-cultural assimilation, ethnic
identity
JUST CAUSE
Harvard law professor squares off with a corrupt detective over a
Florid death row inmate.
KISS THE GIRLS
Compassionate, caring forensic psychologist.
LIFEBOAT
Social psychology as in group decision making, stereotyping, nature
of violence. After their oceanliner has been sunk, nine passengers are left
afloat for the entire film.
LION KING
Subliminal message in the clouds.
LITTLE DARLINGS
Adolescent development.
LITTLE MAN TATE
Development, intelligence, assessment, social issues in children. A
child genius whose waitress mom wants him to be a regular kid, while a
teacher of gifted children wants him to develop his gifts.
LITTLE MERMAID
Subliminal messages.
LORD OF THE FLIES
Social psychology, deindividuation.
LORENZO'S OIL
Adrenoleukodystrophy (demyelinating disease). Parents fight a
neurological condition considered hopeless. (Note - further research has not
supported the oil treatment.)
LOST WEEKEND
Alcohol abuse. Brilliant, uncompromising study of alcoholism.
M
Abnormal psychology. The police and the mob try and track down a
psychopathic child killer.
THE MADNESS OF KING GEORGE
After losing the American Colonies in 1776, Britain's monarch begins
to lose his mind, as well.
MALCOLM X
Community and social psychology. Biography of a controversial black
activist who rose from petty criminal to political leader.
MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE
Brainwashing, conditioning principles, stimulus control. Decorated
Korean War hero returns home to monstrous mother who maneuvers him to kill
her demagogue husband's political rival. Great demonstration scene early in
the movie.
MASK
Adolescent deals with physical deformity.
MISERY
Personality disorder. Frustrated romance novelist crashes his car in
snow and is saved, and then held hostage, by his biggest fan, a psychotic
nurse.
MR. JONES
Bipolar disorder.
MURDER IN THE FIRST
After 3 years in Alcatraz solitary confinement convict kills a fellow
prisoner. Was it his fault or not?
MY LEFT FOOT
Irish poet overcomes cerebral palsy to become a noted painter and
writer.
NAKED LUNCH
Drug addiction, schizophrenia.
NELL
An isolated young woman with her own language is discovered by
scientists and brought into the outside world.
NIXON
Adlerian psychology.
NOBODY'S CHILD
True story about a woman who achieves success in life after 20 years
in a mental institution.
NUTS
Courtroom drama about a call girl accused of murder, battling to
convince the court of her sanity.
OF MICE AND MEN
Developmental issues. Itinerant ranch hands George, cynical yet
hopeful, and Lenny, his slow-witted friend.
ON GOLDEN POND
Lifespan development - old age.
ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST
Pathology vs. eccentrencity. A convict thinks he can beat jail by
feigning insanity, but finds the mental institution worse by far.
ORDINARY PEOPLE
Adolescent identity, depression, suicide, therapy, parenting,
transference, catharsis, interpersonal dynamics, development issues.
Reserved WASP family slowly imploding in the wake of a recent tragedy.
THE OUTSIDERS
Adolescent development, child abuse, gang involvement.
PLAY MISTY FOR ME
Borderline personality disorder. The request of an obsessive woman
for a song turns the life of a deejay into a nightmare.
PRETTY IN PINK
Adolescent psychology, self-concept, cliques, etc.
PRIMAL FEAR
Dissociative identity disorder.
PRINCE OF TIDES
Child abuse/neglect, rape, depression, developmental psychopathology.
When his sister attempts suicide, a South Carolina teacher comes to New York
to consult with her psychiatrist and dredges up his own horrific family
memories.
PSYCHO
Dissociative identify disorder. A desparate thief finds refuge in
the quiet Bates Motel, unaware she is now in even greater danger from its
disturbed young owner.
RAINMAN
Autism. Agressive con artist n the skids discovers he has an
autistic brother who inherited the family fortune. Tale of human connection
overcoming cynicism and greed.
RAISING CAIN
Multiple personality disorders. Psychologist, with the aid of his
twin brother, kidnaps children for psychological experiments conducted by
their father.
REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE
Communication problems between parents and children. Adolescent
conflicts.
REGARDING HENRY
Brain injury and a spiritual reawakening.
RESURRECTION
Delusions. Thoughtful, moving tale of woman who emerges from deadly
auto accident with the ability to heal others with her touch.
RETURN OF THE SOLDIER
Amnesia. Shell-shocked WWI soldier has no memory of the years before
the war. He tries to forge a new life on the homefront. Interesting
psychological premise.
ROAD TO GALVESTON
Three stages of Alzheimer's Disease.
ROAD TO WELLVILLE
John Harvey Kellogg's alledged nutritional cures.
SCHOOL DAYS
Developmental psychology.
SECONDS
Disturbing science fiction-like film about a mysterious and sinister
organizatin that provides new lives and identities to those willing to pay
the high price.
A SEPARATE PEACE
Adolescent development.
SEVEN PERCENT SOLUTION
The great Sherlock Holmes consults Sigmund Freud in hopes of being
cured of his cocaine addiction and the two join forces on a case.
SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION
Maine banker, wrongfully convicted for murder, is sent to Shawshank
State Prison, where he encounters fellow inmates. Goes against Maslow's
Hierarchy of Needs stating that needs lower on the hierarchy (safety,
sustenance) must be met before higher needs (self-actualization) can be
fulfilled. "Practically a case study in existential psychology." Deals with
freedom, altruism.
SHINE
Schizophrenia.
THE SHINING
A writer vacationing with his family at an isolated hotel develops a
murderous case of cabin fever. Alcoholism, depression.
SHOPPING
Social psychology.
SILENCE OF THE LAMBS
A rookie FBI agent is assigned to persuade a jailed master criminal
into assisting with the capture of a rampaging seriel killer.
SLING BLADE
Mental retardation.
SMALL SACRIFICES
Antisocial personality disorder. True-crime story of Diane Downs,
modern Medea-killer of three kids, superior drama.
SNAKE PIT
Treatment of the mentally ill. A woman suffers a mental breakown and
is confined to a state asylum. With the help of her loyal husband and a
kindly psychiatrist, she gradually recovers, but undergoes horrifying
experiences in the process.
SOPHIE'S CHOICE
Post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder, oppression, sexual
assault, mental illness. A Polish Catholic woman tries to deal with her
horrific World War II past.
SPELLBOUND
Amnesia. A kindly psychiatrist works to uncover severe childhood
trauma of fellow doctor after he's been framed for murder.
STAR WARS
Jung, archetypes. With help from a wizard-knight, a space pirate,
two robots, and the Force, Luke Skywalker fights to save the universe - and a
princess - from Darth Vader.
STRANGE DAYS
STRANGERS IN GOOD COMPANY
Aging (problem solving, memory, sexuality, etc.) Eighty-year-old
women whose bus breaks down stay in an abandoned building, fending for
themselves for several days.
STRANGERS ON A TRAIN
Social psychology.
STREECAR NAMED DESIRE
Sexual disfunctions/disorders. Ethereal spinster in battle to the
finish with earthbound brother-in-law.
SYBIL
Dissociative identity disorder. Engrossing, true-life psychological
drama with a young woman with 20+ separate personalities.
THREE FACES OF EVE
Dissociative identity disorder. The fictionalized story if the
stuggle of Christine Sizemore and her therapist to cure her multiple
personality disorder.
Over a period of 44 years Sizemore had 22 different personalities.
THREE MEN AND A BABY
Developmental psychology.
TO SIR WITH LOVE
Educational psychology.
TRAINSPOTTING
Drug addiction, cultural issues.
TWELVE ANGRY ME
Social psychology - group processes, decision making, minority
influence. One man stands up to 11 other jurors; they just want to convict
the teenager accused of murder and go home, but the one man wants to think
about it first.
TWELVE MONKEYS
Time traveler trapped in mental institutions.
TWO DAYS IN THE VALLEY
Personality and affective disorders.
UNFORGETTABLE
A medical thriller. What if memories were stored in cerebral spinal
fluid which, when injected into another sentient being, would spin out as
mental home movies in their brain?
WAITING TO EXHALE
Development psychology.
THE WALL - PINK FLOYD
Abnormal psychology; absent father; overbearing mother.
WATERDANCE
Male paraplegics.
WHAT ABOUT BOB?
Whimsical look at anxieties. Bob Wiley is a troubled but lovable
therapy patient who fears everything! After seeking help from noted
psychiatrist Dr. Leo Marvin, Bob feels revived. but when the good doctor
skips town to go on a quiet family vacation, Bob, afraid of being alone,
follows - showing up unexpectedly at the therapist's lakeside retreat.
That's when the fun really begins! Bob innocently becomes the houseguest
that just won't leave - endearing himself to the other family members...and,
in the end, driving the stressed-out shrink absolutely crazy!
WHEN A MAN LOVES A WOMAN
Alcohol dependence. A happy home is threatened by wife's alcholoism.
WILD STRAWBERRIES
Lifespan issues; Erickson used this when he taught developmental
course. On his way to accept an honorary degree, an aging professor looks
back on his life and attempts to come to terms with its disappointments.
WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION
Courtroom mystery. Defendant on trial for murdering old lady and
wife turns state's evidence against him.
WIZARD OF OZ
Subliminal perception.
