Movie Connections Psych Films Extra Credit Library Thursday, September 23, 2010 I Am Sam Genre: Drama Year: 2001 Rating: PG-13 Actors: Sean Penn, Michelle Pfeiffer, Dakota Fanning Topics: Mental Retardation, Forensic, Family Dysfunction Write a synopsis using 10 terms from Chapters 1, 2, and 6. Connection: Sean Penn portrays a man with mental retardation fighting for custody of his 7-year-old child. Sam's group of friends are entertaining - two are truly developmentally disabled - his close neighbor is agoraphobic. His lawyer is the stereotypical overworked yuppie professional woman, estranged from her family. The film is a classic tearjerker. Despite significant research for the film (watch the supplemental documentary), how realistic were the events? Did he take her to a pediatrician? Did the pediatrician have any concerns about his care? Was that a realistic portrayal of cross-examination of an expert witness? Could Sam really have afforded the apartment at the end in Los Angeles, making somewhere around $8/hour? What really was in the best interest of the child? Was the opposing attorney all that wrong? Many things to consider. Extra Credit Points 10 Thursday, September 23, 2010 Minority Report Genre: Thriller Year: 2002 Rating: PG13 Write a synopsis using 10 terms from Chapter 8. Connection: 1. Precognition is the ability to foretell events. How has the ability to see the future changed Washington D.C.? Why does it only show certain situations? 2. Many people are convinced that ESP exists because of an intense personal experience. In “Minority Report” what is attributed to their ability to foretell the future? 3. With precognition your life appears to be mapped out. How did the movie refute this belief? Extra Credit Points 15 Thursday, September 23, 2010 Finding Nemo Genre: Animation /Family Year: 2003 Rating: G Write a synopsis using 10 terms from Chapter 10. Give one example, other than 9/11 of a time you had a flashbulb Connection: 1. Document a scene where Dory is practicing Maintenance Rehearsal? 2. At one point on their journey, Dory is cautioned to go through a trench, not over it. Dory forgets this information, of course, but when they finally get to the trench she has the intuitive feeling that they should go through, not over. Marlin overrules her, and they encounter a school of jellyfish. Why would Dory be able to recall that material? 3. When Dory finally encounters Nemo, she has of course forgotten all about him. When she asks his name, he replies "Nemo", and she comments that "That's a nice name". Does this indicate short term or long term memory loss? Extra Credit Points 15 Thursday, September 23, 2010 Gothika (2003) 1) The purpose of watching the movie Gothika was to make a connection between the material covered in class and Hollywood, but the film also allows the material to become more meaningful. What is the benefit of making material more meaningful? (Ch. 10) 2) Why was Miranda Grey unable to recall the disturbing events that took place on the night her husband was murdered? Support Answer (Ch. 10) 3) Would Miranda Grey’s lawyer recommend her to take a Lie Detection Test? Support Answer (Ch. 12) 4) Were the torturing and killing by Doug Grey and Sheriff Ryan conducted with intrinsic or extrinsic motivation? Why do you believe so? (Ch. 12) 5) According to Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, what motivated Doug Grey and Sheriff Ryan to commit those horrifying crimes? Was it Fundamental, Psychological or Self Actualization? Explain your reasoning. (Ch. 12) 6) Is Miranda Grey motivated to find the real killers through intrinsic or extrinsic motivation? Why do you believe so? (Ch. 12) 7) Describe the three parts of the emotional state of fear. (Ch. 12) Extra Credit Points 14 Thursday, September 23, 2010 Frailty (2001) Chapter 10: Memory and Thought 1) The movie offers insight into the troubled past of the Meik family by recalling evidence through Fenton’s flashbacks. Fenton’s flashbacks represent what type of memory? Explain 2) As Fenton tells FBI Agent Doyle the story of slayings, Agent Doyle is skeptical of the facts presented. Agent Doyle refers to Fenton as “some crazy nut” and thinks some of his story is distorted and fictional. Agent Doyle’s belief that Fenton’s recollection was flawed is an example of what kind of problem in retrieving information? Explain 3) When Fenton tells his tragic and horrifying story, Agent Doyle becomes hesitant because of how long Fenton was able to keep this a secret. Fenton’s response was he wanted to block out these memories and forget. How can an individual simply brush aside such traumatic events? In Psychology, we refer to this as what? Be sure to go into detail. 4) The purpose of watching the movie Frailty was to make a connection between the material covered in class and Hollywood, but the film also allows the material to become more meaningful. What is the benefit of making material more meaningful? Chapter 12: Motivation and Emotion 5) The movie takes a disturbing twist, as the once loving family becomes religious fanatics set on a crusade to destroy “demons.” Fenton’s father and brother, Adam, swore to carry out this “divine” mission but Fenton refuses to participate in the killings. Incorporating Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, what motivated Fenton to avoid turning his family in (Fundamental, Psychological or Self- Actualization)? Be specific and explain in detail. 6) Adam and his father call themselves “God’s Hands” and our excited to take on this mission. If Adam and his father were “God’s Hands” abolishing demons, were they doing this more for extrinsic or intrinsic reasons? Explain why you feel this way. If Adam and his father were merely fanatic religious serial killers/freaks that went off the deep end, were they doing this more for extrinsic or intrinsic reasons? Explain why you feel this way. 7) We have a wide range of emotions, some that promote approach behavior and others that influence avoidance behavior. Name and describe some emotions you felt during the movie and indicate if they were positive or negative emotions (pg. 329) 8) Emotions are based on three parts: physical, cognitive and behavioral. Use one emotion you felt from the movie Frailty and explain each stage of the emotion. For example Happy- physical heart rate and breathing increased, behavioral outward expression of a smile, and cognitive describe the scene and how the situation causes the emotion. Extra Credit Points 16 Thursday, September 23, 2010 A Beautiful Mind Genre: Drama Year: 2001 Rating: PG-13 Actors: Russell Crowe, Ed Harris, Jennifer Connelly Topics: Schizophrenia Write a synopsis using 10 terms from Chapter 16. Connection: Academy Award winner for Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress. Russell Crowe portrays Nash, a brilliant mathematician. There is a major plot twist - stop reading here if you don't want it spoiled…We learn that we are misled - situations and characters turn out to be portrayals of Nash's delusional thinking and hallucinations. We see him spiral downward in the throws of his psychotic thinking or the side effects of his medications. What do you think about the suggestion that he was able to self-challenge the reality of the hallucinations, as at the end of the movie? What do you with plenty more information missing from the Hollywood version… Extra Credit Points 10 Thursday, September 23, 2010 Matchstick Men Genre: Drama/Comedy Year: 2003 Rating: PG-13 Actors: Nicolas Cage, Sam Rockwell, Alison Lohman Topics: OCD, Treatment, Personality Disorder Write a synopsis using 10 terms from Chapter 16. Connection: Nicholas Cage as the con man with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Very entertaining film. Consider the accuracy of portrayal (was it "real" OCD or a conversion disorder, for example). What about the ethics of the treatment he experienced? Extra Credit Points 10 Thursday, September 23, 2010 What About Bob? Genre: Comedy Year: 1991 Rating: PG-13 Actors: Richard Dreyfuss, Bill Murray, Julie Hagerty Topics: Treatment, Personality Disorder, Family Dysfunction Write a synopsis using 10 terms from Chapter 15 and 16. Connection: Cute movie with Richard Dreyfuss as the competent (or burned out?) psychotherapist and Bill Murray as the patient (who seems to have more insight...). Note the difference in perception of Bob between the therapist and his family. Has its flaws, but is a fun film. Extra Credit Points 10 Thursday, September 23, 2010 As Good As It Gets Favorite Genre: Drama/Comedy Year: 1997 Rating: PG-13 Actors: Jack Nicholson, Greg Kinnear, Helen Hunt Topics: OCD, Personality Disorder Write a synopsis using 10 terms from Chapter 15 and 16. Connection: Academy Award winner for Best Actor and Best Actress. Jack Nicholson with Obsessive- Compulsive Disorder, as well as plenty of Axis II. Really great movie. Extra Credit Points 10 Thursday, September 23, 2010 Conspiracy Theory Genre: Drama Year: 1997 Rating: R Actors: Mel Gibson, Julia Roberts, Patrick Stewart Topics: Paranoia Write a synopsis using 10 terms from Chapter 15 and 16. Connection: Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts - good combo, but realistic movie? Mel is paranoid, conspiracies everywhere, but once in awhile, "just like a stopped clock," (wonderful analogy from Roger Ebert) he's right. There also is a government psychiatrist (are his treatments therapeutic?!). Diagnosis for Mel? [Suggested by Victoria Mellody, University of Arizona-Tucson] Extra Credit Points 10 Thursday, September 23, 2010 Copycat Genre: Drama Year: 1995 Rating: R Actors: Sigourney Weaver., Holly Hunter, Dermot Mulroney Topics: Anxiety Disorder, Forensic Write a synopsis using 10 terms from Chapter 16. Connection: Sigourney Weaver as an agoraphobic psychologist, oh, and there's a homicidal maniac in the movie.