Psychological Disorders Through Film
Films are an integral part of the courses that I teach. At least that’s what I tell myself. I show some type of video each day. Yet, I never talk with my students about how to read a film. It’s easy to “get” a film, right? No! This is one of the best takeaways from my seminar participation. It was invaluable to view films repeatedly, discuss details and meanings with others and to learn from the multiple perspectives, thoughts, and interpretations. Film is unique. It’s different from other types of art forms in that you can easily become immersed in the story of the film. “The camera carries the viewer into each scene, and the viewer perceives events from the inside as if surrounded by the characters in the film. The actors do not have to describe their feelings, as in a play, because the viewer directly experiences what they see and feel.”3 Psychological disorders are depicted in three film genres: drama, horror, and suspense. In the case of this unit, we will focus our attention on drama since it is more realistic and engaging.4 It also lends itself nicely to the unit’s culminating activity of creating Clinical Patient Records. In regard to psychological disorders, films can play an important role in clarifying misconceptions and stereotypes.
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