The movie “Fatal Attraction”, featuring Glenn Close as Alex, the mistress, and Michael Douglas as Dan Gallagher, portrays a case of borderline personality disorder. Dan Gallagher enjoys a weekend affair with Alex as his wife is out of town. All seems fine until Dan tries to go home, and leave the affair in the past. Throughout the rest of the film the audience sees a stream of events that depict the extreme and hostile reaction Alex has to the end of the affair. In the end, Alex is killed by Dan’s wife in a struggle for survival as Alex attacks her. The character representing borderline personality disorder in this film was Alex. She displays the wide criterion for the disorder quite accurately with a few exaggerations for entertainment …show more content…
663). This is first seen in Dan’s attempt to leave Alex’s apartments for the first time. She calmly appears with her hands folded behind her back. As Dan begins to kiss her, Alex raises her arms to embrace him, and blood begins to run everywhere. She had slit her wrists in a desperate attempt to get him to stay. She knew this would not end her life, but would and did accomplish the purpose of getting Dan to stay another night. This act also demonstrates Criterion 5 for borderline personality disorder which is frequent gestures or threats of suicidal behavior and self-mutilating gestures (American Psychiatric Association, p. 663). The purpose of self-harming behaviors is not always for the purpose of avoiding abandonment, but can also be an attempt to feel or regulate emotion (American Psychiatric Association, p. 664). It is said that the act can be used as a type of remorse or repentance of evilness (American Psychiatric Association, p. 664). Towards the end of the film there is a scene with Alex in the bathroom at Dan’s house with a knife in her hand …show more content…
Unfortunately, the movie did not display any form of treatment because Alex was shot dead in her attack of Dan’s wife. There are a few treatment option she could have sought had things played out differently, and had she recognized there was a problem she was ready to have the strength to face. The two key treatment options for this disorder are dialectical behavioral therapy and schema-focused therapy. Dialectical behavioral therapy focuses on acceptance (O’ Connell & Dowling, 2013, p. 519). A highly trained therapist will still teach new skills to live a more emotionally stable life, but this is not the main focus as it is in cognitive behavioral therapy. Studies suggest that through the one year outpatient treatment both the therapist and client will feel a greater sense of optimism, which is very helpful in light of healing (O’Connell & Dowling, 2013, p. 217). Schema-focused therapy looks to the inner child of the client. They are digging into the source of the disorder that is creating the problematic symptoms of the disorder (National Institute of Mental Health). The goal is to change the underlying beliefs that stem from the traumatic experience (heal the child), and create a new outlook and way of living for the adult. These newer, eclectic forms of therapy are proving to be more successful than past psychotherapies
Ken Kesey's award-winning novel, "One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest", was adapted into a film in 1975 written and directed by New York City native Bo Goldman and Czech director Milos Forman. Towards the end of the novel and film, Chief Bromden escapes from the ward. This scene is conveyed differently in the novel and film; however, there are evident similarities between each form of media. This scene is important to the plot because it wraps up the entire storyline. In the film and novel, similarities within Chief Bromden’s escape from the ward include the way Chief escaped, how he couldn't hear anyone in the ward due to being deaf, and how McMurphy assisted Bromden with gaining his confidence to lift the panel and throw it through the window. McMurphy essentially changed Bromden to help him break out of the asylum and back into the real world.
Honestly, all the treatment plans in the world may fix a problem but there will always be a reoccurrence if support from friends and family is not provided. For instance, going through family therapy is a positive option to choose from when trying to treat a disorder. Also with outside influences contributing to Brandy’s disorder, there is a limited chance she will recover completely. For example, societal pressures from coworkers contribute to her prognosis alongside her parents influence. Brandy’s family environment is rather negative considering her mom’s own personal weight issue and her father’s sexual overtones. In conclusion, if Brandy does recover, there is a high chance she will have a relapse and turn to her previous pathways. However, there is always hope she overcomes her issues after treatment and eventually find a supportive base of
People with Borderline Personality Disorder tend to view the world as simple as possible. People who view the world like this, confuse the actions of others. (Hoermann et al, 2005) Recurrent thoughts about their relationships with others, lead them to experience extreme emotional reactions, great agony which they have a hard time controlling, which would result in engaging in self-destructive behaviors. Diagnosing a patient with this disorder can be challenging which is why is it is labeled as one of the difficult ones to diagnose. (Hoermann et al, 2005)
Relationships are complicated, not every relationship will last, and this seems to be the most apparent with romantic relationships, as these types of relationships two partners will often come together and open up to each other and become very close. Every relationship needs effective communication, and this is evident in the film, The Breakup; starring Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn. This film ties in with Interpersonal Communications very well as it portrays its message of poor communication very well. Models of Relational Dynamics, couples conflict styles, crazymakers, and conflict in relational systems are some of the topics that the film perfectly depicts.
Many people never realize or take much notice on what deaf people go through in life, but by watching the movie "Love is Never Silent", hearing people are able to have a clear view of what it is like to be deaf in the hearing world. Many different perspectives towards how deaf people live, socialize, party or work are built by many distinctive types of people. As the movie "Love is Never Silent" shows, Margaret and her family are isolated from their community. They aren 't allowed to sign in front of the hearing because it 's strange and abnormal. Seeing a deaf person sign during a time where being different can make a person look like an outcast makes hearing people pity the deaf and end up treating them as ignorant people. Although deaf
therapy, but there are none that good enough because without it the individual will have the
6. "Deterrence is the art of producing, in the mind of the enemy, the fear to attack." -Dr. Strangelove. Deterrence in the film was the fear of the consequences of the nuclear attacks. It's significant because it encompasses idea of the Cold War.
Kluft and Foote. Borderline Personality Disorder. American Journal of Psycotherapy, Vol. 53, No. 3, Summer 1999.
Winston, Anthony P. Recent developments in borderline personality disorders. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, 2000, 211-217
For my final essay, I have chosen the movie “Fatal Attraction”, and I will focus on Alex Forrest and her mental disorder. Borderline Personality was displayed in the movie and Alex had almost every symptom of this disorder. Throughout this essay, I will be discussing Alex’s characteristics, intelligence, motivation, stress, social influences and/ or personality theories, treatment, and if the depiction of the disorder and treatment is consistent with what was discussed and read in the course.
Joan Crawford, was one of the most popular and well known actresses in Hollywood in the 1930s and 1940s. Although her life was more extraordinary than mundane, she suffered from multiple personality disorders, as do many Americans. Personality disorders are patterns of inflexible traits that disrupt social life or work and may distress the affected individual (Rathus, 2016). The movie Mommie Dearest, captures moments in Crawford’s life that show her struggles with her personality disorders. Throughout the movie, you watch her personalities become more prominent and abusive. Her main disorders include borderline and paranoid personality disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, as well as histrionic and narcissistic personality disorder.
1. What type of emotional disturbance does John Nash, the main character in the film,
Girl Interrupted is a film about a young woman, Susanna Kaysen, who voluntarily enters a psychiatric facility in Massachusetts. The purpose of this paper is to analyze a portrayal of psychiatric care in the 1960’s. The film is based on the memoirs of Susanna Kaysen and her experiences during an 18 month stay at a mental institution. During her visit, Susanna is diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. The film depicts psychiatric care, diagnoses, and treatments from a different era.
Based on a true story, the movie ‘Lone Survivor’ features four Navy SEALs that set out on a mission to Afghanistan with orders to capture and kill Taliban leader Ahmad Shah. The Navy SEALS are detected by villagers and the mission was compromised. Ultimately, the mission had been discovered and the men found themselves surrounded by dozens of Taliban soldiers. One of the Navy SEAL soldiers managed to dispatch to base and retrieve assistance but the Taliban shoot down the helicopter. During battle, three of the Navy SEAL soldiers were killed leaving one still alive.
Popular films are replete with characters that possess symptoms indicating severe psychological disorders. In the film “The Machinist”, the main character displays many symptoms, indicating more than one disorder. This essay will discuss the character’s background, symptoms, and actions in order to attempt to provide an appropriate psychological diagnosis. It is important to remember that filmmakers do not strictly follow the criteria found within the DSM, but any diagnosis found within this essay will be as accurate as possible.