Social Behavior And Film Analysis: Melvin

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The movie starts with a scene involving the main character Melvin trying to coax his neighbor’s dog into the elevator with the hope that the dog would run away. The scene ends with the dog not getting into the elevator so Melvin putting the dog down the garbage shoot. Early on it is not hard to spot Melvin’s abnormality. He has a long list of behaviors that would be deemed abnormal: cruelty to animals, sequential series when locking his door, using a bar of soap only one time, wearing gloves, won’t step on cracks, doesn’t like to be touched. His anti-social behavior makes him very despising to people. He is very cynical and verbally abusive with the use of racial slurs, insults and a clear lack of compassion for others. Melvin is a wealthy single man who lives in a high end apartment …show more content…

This was not seen as a disease or disorder but instead as a large character flaw, and for those interacting with him would feel that he choose to act this way. The film brought to light how our first encounter with a person suffering from OCPD might be and how we might react. Our initial reaction is to be offended, without wondering why they act the way they do. The restaurant erupted in applause as Melvin was asked to leave. However the waitress treated him with respect and compassion. Did she see something in his behavior that she recognized in herself or was she just nice. I felt the movie brought awareness to abnormal behavior and the underling circumstance behind it. Melvin briefly described his childhood, hit with a ruler and “dad didn’t come out of his room for days”. His childhood must have had some impact on his abnormalities. I feel this film helps viewer to have a better understanding of mental illness. The lesson being, we should be less quick to judge and more inclined to try and understand a person’s behavior and that compassion and empathy can influence ones progression to get

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