Psychological theories in literature and film

Psychology - Film Review

FILM REVIEW in CONNECTION WITH PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORIES

The Film: Ordinary People (1980):

The 1980 film Ordinary People presents psychological issues of repressed rage, displaced and internalized anger, clinical depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and survivor's guilt, as well as social themes of maintaining external appearances that conflict sharply with the realities of family relationships and issues.

The film's protagonist is Conrad Jarrett, a teenager recently confined temporarily to a psychiatric facility after a suicide attempt. Conrad's depression was precipitated by the death of his older brother, Buck, in a sailing accident from which only Conrad survived.

Conrad is required to participate in psychiatric therapy, which eventually prompts his conscious acknowledgement of his repressed (and displaced, internalized) anger at his brother for giving up and not continuing to tread water and swim until both he and Conrad could be rescued. Meanwhile, Conrad is faced with the obvious undercurrent of apparent disappointment on the part of his mother that he, rather than Buck, was the lone survivor, as Buck had always been her favorite son.

Mrs. Conrad has apparently completely shut herself down emotionally as means of self-protection from the unbearable pain of losing Buck. At the same time, she conducts her ordinary daily affairs and social obligations as though detached from the sorrow of her circumstances, smiling through social engagements and shopping for mundane clothing items for Conrad. Finally, Mr. Jarrett struggles with his son's depression, his wife's denial, his own grief, and eventually, the realization that he no longer loves his wife romantically.

Psychoanalytical Perspective and Developmental Psychology:

The psychoanalytic perspective clearly provides a basis for understanding Conrad's depression, which represents internalized rage at his beloved brother, to which Conrad is oblivious on any conscious level. According to psychoanalytic theory, it is easier for Conrad to blame himself instead of Buck, and this rage-turned-into-guilt accounts for his clinical depression as well as the suicide attempt triggered by Conrad's attempt to escape from it (Gerrig & Zimbardo 2005).

Conrad is unable to continue with his life after returning home and to school, as everything in his life floods him with vivid reminders of Buck, which is generally characteristic of the degree to which repressed emotions, particularly anger, wreak psychological havoc in one's life until they are acknowledged consciously, after which genuine recovery can begin (Gerrig & Zimbardo 2005). At the same time, one cannot discount the significance of routine implications of developmental psychology with which most teenagers struggle at Conrad's age.

The loss of Buck precisely at the period of adolescence where Conrad most needed the security, companionship, and leadership of his older brother would have been extremely difficult for Conrad, even under more ordinary circumstances. The tragic coincidental combination of the psychologically devastating circumstances of Buck's death with the loss of his companionship prove to be more than Conrad is capable of dealing with.

Just as Conrad seems to be making progress with his psychological recovery, he learns of the suicide of a girl he befriended while under fulltime psychiatric in-patient care. Ultimately, the crisis leads to his discovery, with his psychiatrist's help, of the actual source of his depression in the form of rage at Buck for giving up despite having always been the superior swimmer and athlete between them. Throughout their relationship, Dr. Berger employs the traditional psychoanalytic process of allowing Conrad to come to the realization himself instead of providing those answer (Gerrig & Zimbardo 2005).

Socio-cultural Issues: