Books and Media References Blomkvist become further enmeshed, the Vanger Cor- 1. Vernon v. Bosley, [1997] 1 All E.R. 577, CA poration becomes the financial savior of Millennium. 2. Law Commission: Expert Evidence in Criminal Proceedings in England and Wales. Law Commission Number 325. London: In the course of the Vanger family investigation, The Stationary Office, 2011 Blomkvist decides he needs a research assistant. The Alec Buchanan, MD, PhD family lawyer recommends Milton Security investi- New Haven, CT gator Lisbeth Salander. The mysterious Salander is a Disclosures of financial or other potential conflicts of interest: Dr. proficient computer hacker and has a myriad of other Buchanan has recently coedited a book on a similar subject. specialized skills, including a photographic memory and good marksmanship. In fact, the Vangers had The Girl With the Dragon used her abilities to investigate Blomkvist thoroughly Tattoo: Forensic Psychiatric before deciding to employ him. Salander knows Blomkvist better than his own friends and family do. Perspectives Because of her own complex back-story, Salander’s Screenplay by Steven Zaillian, based on the novel by Steig involvement in the mystery is assured when Blom- Larsson. Directed by David Fincher. Produced by Scott kvist tells her that he is looking for “a killer of Rudin, Ole Søndberg, Søren Staermose, et al. A Columbia women.” Together, they uncover Nazis, pedophiles, Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer, Scott Rudin, Yellow Bird and worse in their quest. The mystery of Harriet’s Films production. Released in the United States disappearance culminates in a violent showdown December 20, 2011. 158 minutes. with someone very well-known to the Vanger clan. Every once in a while, fiction provides us with a Ultimately, instead of the hero’s saving the damsel in character who is so original, so extraordinary, that distress, it is the damsel who saves the day. Not only she captures our imaginations and won’t let them go. does Salander rescue Blomkvist from death, she uses Lisbeth Salander, anti-heroine of Stieg Larson’s Mil- her computer skills to ruin Wennerstro¨m and resur- lennium Trilogy of novels,1–3 is one such character. rect Blomkvist’s journalism career. So enamored are we with Ms. Salander that both Pages and pages have been written comparing and Americans and her Swedish countrymen created film contrasting Oplev’s and Fincher’s movies. A signifi- adaptations of her debut novel, The Girl with the cant portion of those reviews have focused on the Dragon Tattoo. The Swedish film was directed by pivotal role of Lisbeth Salander. The New York Times Niels Arden Oplev.4 David Fincher, director of several book review describes Fincher’s movie as follows: films worthy of psychiatry movie club analysis (Fight The story starts to fade as soon as the end credits run. But it Club, Seven, and Zodiac), directed the American film. is much harder to shake the lingering, troubling memory of Ostensibly, the main character of Dragon Tattoo is an angry, elusive and curiously magnetic young woman who belongs so completely to this cynical, cybernetic and Swedish journalist Mikael Blomkvist. Blomkvist is chaotic world without ever seeming to be at home in it.5 the publisher and main writer for Millennium mag- azine. He has made a name for himself by uncovering In the Swedish film, Salander was played expertly by financial crimes. After penning an expose´ on indus- Noomi Rapace. In the American film, she is por- trialist Hans-Erik Wennerstro¨m, he is sued for libel. trayed brilliantly by Rooney Mara, previously recog- Blomkvist loses the legal case and most of his life nized for her small but memorable role as Mark savings. The future of Millennium becomes uncer- Zuckerberg’s (Facebook CEO and creator) girlfriend tain. While awaiting the results of an appeal, he gets in Fincher’s Oscar-winning The Social Network. an intriguing offer from Hendrik Vanger, retired Rather than attempt to summarize the many reviews Vanger Corporation CEO. Under the guise of writ- written on the movies, we will instead focus on the ing the Vanger family history, Blomkvist is asked to character of Lisbeth Salander, described by Stieg investigate the 40-year-old disappearance of Harriet, Larsson as an adult Pippi Longstocking,6 and what Blomkvist’s childhood babysitter and Hendrik she has to offer to forensic psychiatry. The films and Vanger’s favorite great-niece. Vanger agrees to pay novels raise several diagnostic, as well as bread-and- the now savings-depleted Blomkvist handsomely. butter, forensic questions regarding Salander that More enticingly, Vanger promises to give Blomkvist can be assessed and enjoyably debated: traumatiza- solid evidence regarding the financial crimes perpe- tion, violence risk, professional malpractice, ethics- trated by Wennerstro¨m. As the Vangers and related misconduct, and guardianship. Volume 41, Number 2, 2013 319 Books and Media To quote Winston Churchill, Lisbeth Salander is through her nursing home visits with former guard- “a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.” ian Holger Palmgren. He cannot even communicate She is a walking bruise, a human pincushion whose with her, yet she returns again and again. Salander’s armor consists of black spiked leather, piercings, and ability to love is further shown through her relation- body art. In the first half of the film, small pieces of ship with Blomkvist. She even tells Palmgren that she her story unfold parallel to Blomkvist’s professional has made a friend (Blomkvist), a startling declaration disgrace and the onset of his new investigation. The for the isolated woman who trusts no one. audience sees Salander working for Milton Security, Dragon Tattoo’s original Swedish title translates as fighting back against a would-be purse snatcher, and Men Who Hate Women, which perfectly describes the becoming involved sexually with another woman. human makeup of Salander’s universe with rare ex- We learn that Salander has a guardian-of-person, ceptions, such as Blomkvist and Palmgren. Without Holger Palmgren. The reasons for this are detailed in giving too much away from installments 2 (The Girl the later films and novels. Palmgren had permitted Who Played with Fire)and3(The Girl Who Kicked the Salander to manage her own affairs; however, he be- Hornet’s Nest) to be released soon, Salander’s back- comes incapacitated by a stroke and is replaced by Nils story involves repeated traumas beginning at an early Bjurman. Bjurman expects a quid pro quo relationship age.2,3 The people she cares about are stripped from with his new ward. For example, to get some of her her by violence (her mother, a girlfriend) and illness money for a new computer, Salander must first perform (Palmgren). The mental health system heaps further fellatio on Bjurman. Rather than let Bjurman get the abuses on young Salander through the work of Dr. upper hand, Salander decides that she will use a hidden Peter Teleborian, a Dr. Evil of the first degree.7,8 camera to capture the next time her guardian wants her to Teleborian, a secret sadist and pedophile, heads the be “sociable” with him. In one of the most shocking psychiatric hospital where Salander was committed scenes of the movie, Bjurman horrifically rapes Sa- in childhood. Long beyond any clinical involvement lander, and the whole ordeal is captured on film. Sa- in Salander’s life, Teleborian misuses his power as a lander later uses this film to get violent revenge and to medical professional to try to restrict her freedom, secure for herself some freedom to manage her own both literally and figuratively. affairs. By the end of the third film and novel, we under- Initially, Salander’s character comes across as an- stand the foundations for Salander’s personality and tisocial, even psychopathic. She is physically violent behavior. It also becomes clear that posttraumatic and seemingly without empathy or remorse. There stress disorder (PTSD) is a more appropriate diagno- appear to be no real relationships in her life, causing sis for Salander than antisocial personality disorder or some viewers (and Blomkvist himself) to wonder if psychopathy. One forensic psychologist author com- she has Asperger’s syndrome. Her lack of interper- pleted the PCL-R and asserts that Salander’s score sonal relationships and odd persona have suggested would be 14, well below the cutoff for psychopathy.9 schizoid personality disorder to some. Salander, as Asperger’s and schizoid personality disorder can also her hacker alter-ego Wasp, willfully and frequently be dismissed based on her capacity for love and con- violates the law in her work as an investigator for nection. Salander’s emotional remoteness, hypervigi- Milton Security. As Dragon Tattoo unfolds, however, lance, and intrusive memories of her traumas are all it becomes apparent that Salander does in fact have a suggestive of PTSD. strong moral code. Foremost in her code is her intol- In a previous article,7 we discussed how popular erance of abuse against women, illustrated by her culture has the power to influence public perception seeking her own brand of justice after being raped by of psychiatrists and mental illness. With a character Bjurman. Her violence and violations of the law al- as indelible as Lisbeth Salander, it is important to be ways have a purpose, with material self-gain usually mindful of how her film presence shapes public per- low on her list of motivations. She is usually aggres- ception of psychiatric subjects and of gender roles. sive for self-protection, vengeance, or a desire to as- Salander, although not conventionally beautiful, spends sert her free will. Although she materially benefits much of the film scantily clad and her tattooed form is from her computer hacking, increasing her own lit and displayed like art.