Monday, April 7

Psychological Disorders - two weeks worth

Psychological Disorders:
A.  Early causes (if any)   B.  Break-out of Symptoms   C.  DSM Diagnosis & treatment  D.  Prognosis

1.  PTSD   PTSD and USC Film school after army  PTSD symptoms  History of PTSD "The Hurt Locker" "Marnie" (Hitchcock)   Jenny in "Forrest Gump"   Watson in the first episode of the new "Sherlock Holmes"   Celie in "The Color Purple"

2.  Low-Grade depression Dysthemic Disorder    Dysthemia   YouTube on Dysthemia  Dysthemia in Women   A Cartoon look at it  Wife in "Kramer vs. Kramer"   Neighbor's wife in "American Beauty"    Meryl Streep and 50s wife in "The Hours"   wife in "Ordinary People"  Shirley MacLaine in "The Apartment"

3. "Manic Depressive" Bi-Polar disorder   What is bi-polar?  NYT    Catherine Zeta-Jones on bi-polar   Ted Talk on it   Why Can't Hollywood Get bi-polar Right?"   "A Shrink's critique of "Silver Linings Playbook'"  2nd Shrink's Critique of "Silver Linings Playbook"  "A Beautiful Mind"   "Pollack"  "Girl, Interrupted"

Your assignment, due (typed) Group B April 7.  Group C April 14.
emailing it early is good; but really due hard copy on due date
  • pick one disorder (1-2-3 above for Group B or 1-2-3-4 below for Group C)
  • read at least two of the links for that disorder
  • provide a one to two page double spaced review or highlights of the two links 
  • list at least two more films that depict this disorder
  • with at least one film (my list or your list) articulate how that movie reveals that disease.
April 14, we move on to 4 more; GROUP C responsible (Shru, Amanda, June)
1 Borderline Personality Disorder test:  do U have it? test 2 here are some movies   NIMH    details  
2 Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)  WebMD    WIKI   a test  Cleveland Clinic classic movies:  Three Faces of Eve and Sybl (the original with Sally Field)   
3 Narcissistic Personality Disorder (as opposed to egotism) a test  Psych Today  HuffPo  SciAmerican some resources "The Drama of the Gifted Child" and invalidation; "Mommy Dearest", "American Psycho"
4 Schizophrenia   NIH  early testing   the types of schiz  social factors, not brain   classic movie "Sunset Blvd."

What Every Body Is Saying - Joe Navarro

All read Chapters One and Two and Eight

  1. Feet:  Mike and Amanda (Chapter 3)
  2. Torso:  Shru and Si (Chapter 4)
  3. Arms:  June and Satoshi (Chapter 5)
  4. Hands and Fingers:  Saud and Bibo (Chapater 6)
  5. Face:  Amal and Allesandro (Chapter 7)
Read now!  this assignment is going to be due on April 28st 
Start thinking of 2 films that either show or COULD HAVE shown better, more clear body language of the type that you are researching.  You are either reporting on what you found where the body goes with the assumed underlying psychology or your are critiquing where the director missed an opportunity.

Saturday, April 5

Assignment for ALL: due after vacation (typed) April 7

You have two charts:  one is on gold paper handed out last class type - it's the chart of "types" and you generally understand the four "types".  Email if you do not have one, and I'll email you one.
The second chart we talked about last time.  Here is a synopsis:

In life, or in a movie, action typically begins on the left side:  with CHANGE or with GOAL SETTING.  All of these four components of a group happen together, but we are artificially separating them just as we artificially put you into a "type."  Well, when action happens, it happens in a sequence.  Remember how we discussed that when a GOAL is set, it's a good idea for ease, comfort, workability, balance to move from GOAL to INTEGRATION and then on to PROCEDURE.  That movement is indicated by the grey curvy line above.  If, on the other hand, a group moved in a "square", from GOAL to PROCEDURE, the group segments might "fall apart" or become more unbalanced.

Take these two complimentary charts - the types (for individuals) and the four functions (for groups)--as well as the movement (curved lines or straight square) and see if they can help you analyze a movie.  It can be a movie you love or a movie you are making.

Use no more than two pages.  Just see how these breakdowns and theory of action help you keep things straight in analyzing or creating a script.

I am watching "Breaking Bad" right now.  Wow.  Well, the series starts with the trousers falling down from the sky (what's that, we say) and soon enough we go back three weeks to learn that the main character has been diagnosed with cancer.  That's a change!  So change starts the action.  It immediately gives the main character a new goal, and he sets out with a procedure (cook meth with a punk) without following the (recommended) curve and checking in with both himself and his wife and family to see how this new goals "fits with" their organization and values.  That "square" movement from GOAL to PROCEDURE is what gives all the amazing action of the series "Breaking Bad."  I could write about that for a couple of pages using tons of examples.  BE SPECIFIC.  Use examples of action, lines, color, costume, music, shooting angles, character names (interesting how this main character's name is White), and any other specifics that make your analysis come alive.

Also, this main character White seemed to have led a life as a supporter - school teacher, helped his handicapped son, let his wife make all the decisions.  In fact, he even says that he feels all his life he never had any CHOICES (no opportunity to be a decision maker).  Well, the change and setting the new procedure in motion made him absolutely become an absolute CONTROLLER.  In fact, it is as if to balance out his life at the end, he had to go into CONTROLLING big time to balance out all that SUPPORT he'd been providing.

Remember:  no more than 2 pages.