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Madness at the Movies
by Jennifer L. Holley
May 2003 PSYC 404b/FILM 343b
Psychopathology in Film
Faculty: James Charney, Lecturer “Movies are the lingua franca of today—and a vivid way of learning." So says James Charney, a psychiatrist and film buff who is teaching a senior seminar called "Psychopathology in Film," in which films are used as if they were case studies. Many students in the class have already taken abnormal psychology, but what Charney notes is different about his class is that the students aren’t just learning symptoms. They’re learning (via the film) what it feels like to be severely mentally ill. The movies are shown in a theater-like setting: at night, on screens, with groups of people watching. The students are told to look out for cinematic techniques or character behaviors that suggest a diagnosis. But note-taking during the movies is forbidden. Charney wants them first to have the experience of watching the film as part of an audience. Discussion takes place during the seminar the next day, while the film is still fresh in the students' minds.
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Students watch Psycho to observe dissociative personality disorder.
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In order to help students hone their ability to observe certain aspects of psychopathology, Charney shows in-class clips of other movies that enhance an understanding of the behavior exhibited in the featured film. For example, after the students watch Psycho in its entirety, they see clips of Dead of Night, The Three Faces of Eve, and Primal Fear, all of which illustrate the dissociative personality disorder. The films themselves are the "readings" for the course. They offer the clinical material for the class to do a "mental status exam" on the leading character. The course begins with the most serious forms of mental illness, such as schizophrenia, and progresses toward more familiar illnesses. This mirrors the way psychiatry is taught to doctors. "It’s easier to learn if everything is writ large," says Charney. "As you become more comfortable with observing 'madness,' you can start noting the more subtle indicators of anxiety, depression, or the wonderfully neurotic behavior in Woody Allen movies.” The class, Charney believes, can offer valuable life lessons for any student—regardless of whether he or she is a psychology or film major. About half the class hails from other departments. "I was an English major, but I like to think that made me a better doctor," he says. "What we're doing here is learning about human nature.”  |
