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Episode 064: Sex, Drugs, and Psychoanalysis? A Dangerous Method (2011) with Sheila Thomas
Join Alex and guest host Dr. Sheila Thomas as they chat about the connection and the eventual schism of Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud in David Cronenberg’s psychological thriller (?) A Dangerous Method, based on the book A Most Dangerous Method: The Story of Jung, Freud, and Sabina Spielrein, and the stage play The Talking Cure. The film stars Michael Fassbender as Jung and Viggo Mortensen as Freud, with Kiera Knightley as Sabina Spielrein. Spielrein enters Jung’s life as a woman with hysteria (not a real disorder), but that turns into an affair with Jung, as he grapples with expanding psychoanalysis into something bigger than what Freud says he wants (lol, to be “empirical” and a “science!”).…
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Episode 061: McMurphy’s Stay at the State Hospital — One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
Join Alex as he discusses One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975), a tour de force from Milos Forman, Jack Nicholson, and Louise Fletcher! The film follows Randall McMurphy, an inmate at a work camp in Oregon who successfully (?) tricks them into thinking he’s insane and so he gets transferred to the Oregon State Hospital, a psychiatric facility. This episode explores the state of treatment in the early 1960s in America and elsewhere in the Western world, as well as the Dark Triad set of personality traits — the hallmark of psychopathy — in the character of McMurphy himself. Did the system fail McMurphy or did McMurphy fail in the system?…
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Episode 056: How Did Psychology Hurt Scott Calvin? The Santa Clause (1994)
Join Alex as he discusses a timeless Christmas classic, The Santa Clause (1994), starring Tim Allen in one of his more-famous roles. Watch as he becomes Santa after being tricked into it by magical law — this sounds like real life — and as he spends the entire runtime throwing psychiatry and psychology under the bus! It’s almost like the real Tim Allen put in his own disdain for an entire professional field into the movie! But don’t forget about all the great examples of belief perseverance and belief revision amongst the characters! Just press play on this episode — your ears will know what to do!…
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Episode 055: Autism and a Better Life for Cattle — Temple Grandin (2010) with Sara Bagley
Join Alex and returning guest host Dr. Sara Bagley as they embark on a discussion of Autism Spectrum Disorder and visual eidetic memory in the lovely and inspiring biopic of the real-life ASD advocate AND cattle-life revolutionary, Temple Grandin in HBO’s Temple Grandin (2010)! They discuss the basics of ASD, what the film gets right and what the film ditches for the sake of the narrative, as well as Dr. Grandin’s amazing shift in the cattle industry’s practices. They include nuggets of visual storytelling so that the viewer can feel and experience Temple’s internal struggle and brilliance, expertly portrayed by Claire Danes!…
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Episode 049: Birthdays Are Random, Folks — Born on the Fourth of July (1989) with Anthony Zoccolillo
Join Alex and returning guest host Dr. Anthony Zoccolillo as they discuss the middle film of Oliver Stone’s Vietnam trilogy, Born on the Fourth of July (1989). Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), patriotism, and activism are fantastic topics to explore in this war film based on the life of a real Vietnam veteran that went from blind patriot to leading antiwar activist, Ron Kovic. It really puts events of today in perspective, sheesh…
Check out 50 States of Terror episode that Zocc was on for Mental Health Awareness Month, May 2022!
Please leave your feedback on this post, the main site (cinemapsychpod.swanpsych.com…
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Episode 041: If Freud is the Butt of the Jokes, What Does it Mean? What About Bob (1991) with Jordan Wagge
Join Alex and returning guest host Dr. Jordan Wagge (Twitter: @jorowags) as they take a closer look at the goofy Bill Murray comedy What About Bob? (1991). This Frank Oz classic that also stars Richard Dreyfuss as Dr. Leo Marvin is a wild ride in anxiety, therapy, and Freud jokes! Alex and Jordan officially start the Dr. Leo Marvin Haters Club and decide he is one of the worst people — not just therapist — in the world. But remember, don’t think too hard about the psych portrayal in the movie, it’s a comedy!
Please leave your feedback on this post, the main site (cinemapsychpod.swanpsych.com…
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Episode 035: Mental Health, Sexuality, and Suicide, Oh My! The Hours (2002) with Crystal Steltenpohl
Join Alex and Dr. Crystal Steltenpohl in a discussion of the various psychological concepts in the crushing, but a poignant look at relationships and happiness, film The Hours (2002). The film stars Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore, and Meryl Streep as three women struggling with their mental health, relationships, and happiness, connected by the story written by the famous Virginia Woolf. Listen, Nicole Kidman’s prosthetic nose was great to be like Virginia, but it didn’t change color!
Check out Crystal on Twitter! Also, don’t forget to pop over to the Open Scholarship Knowledge Base.
Please leave your feedback on this post, the main site (cinemapsychpod.swanpsych.com…
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Episode 033: With L-Dopa, You Too Can Do the Hokey Pokey (But Only if You’re Rigid)—Awakenings (1990) with Sara Bagley
Join Alex and guest host Dr. Sara Bagley in a discussion of the psychological concepts in the wonderful film based on the book of the same name, written by Dr. Oliver Sacks, Awakenings (1990)! The film stars Robin Williams as a facsimile of Dr. Sacks and Robert De Niro in one of his strongest method roles. We discuss everything you wanted to know about L-Dopa and dopamine, among this wild trip based in truth.
Please leave your feedback on this post, the main site (cinemapsychpod.swanpsych.com), on Facebook (@CinPsyPod), or Twitter (@CinPsyPod). We’d love to hear from you!…
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Episode 022: Welp, it Looks Like I Broke the First Two Rules—Fight Club (1999)
Join Alex in a solo episode as he discusses the psychological concepts in a wild ride of a film, Fight Club (1999), starring Edward Norton and Brad Pitt as <<SPOILER ALERTthe same person… but actually different people? This episode is also an experimental delivery, with the bulk of the discussion happening during a live stream of Alex’s (https://twitch.tv/cogpsychprof), with participation and some shoutouts to Twitch chat.
Please leave your feedback on this post, the main site (cinemapsychpod.swanpsych.com), on Facebook (@CinPsyPod), or Twitter (@CinPsyPod). We’d love to hear from you!
Don’t forget to check out our Patreon and/or Paypal links to contribute to this podcast and keep the lights on!…
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Episode 021: The Film Where the DID Psychologist Does Everything Wrong—Split (2016) with Lyra Stein
Join Alex and guest host Dr. Lyra Stein in a discussion of the psychological concepts in Split (2016), a film where M. Night Shyamalan returns to the height of his powers in an exploration of Dissociative Identity Disorder, but breaks that whole thing by bringing in some supernatural elements. James McAvoy is so good, though!
Please leave your feedback on this post, the main site (cinemapsychpod.swanpsych.com), on Facebook (@CinPsyPod), or Twitter (@CinPsyPod). We’d love to hear from you!
Don’t forget to check out our Patreon and/or Paypal links to contribute to this podcast and keep the lights on!…