A Psychological Reading of The Fountainhead
Real independence is a trait of mind. It is a commitment to one's own perception of reality as an absolute standard of thought and action. Why was this so hard for Peter Keating to distinguish between "Self" (what I am) and "Ideal Self" (what I wish I were)? It is evident that Peter Keating's incongruent self-concept is the result of Keatings' beliefs that conditional love from others could only be obtained by distorting his experiences in order to portray the "Ideal Self". This form of personality development starts from childhood experiences and can be directly connected to the amount of congruence or incongruence of one's experience in life. Keating is a prime example of incongruency or someone that registers every little move within the environment. Keating has a constant fear of what is perceived within the consciousness of others, which he spends his entire life trying to appease and control. (Rogers, 1961) Keating is basically a hypocrite, by saying one thing and acting in an opposite manner. Keating is not the only hypocrite. Keating is relieved when he notices that Guy Francon is putting on a front for his benefit. It means that Francon too is a man like Keating, with the same attitude toward the consciousness of others. This way of thinking was accurately described as Ayn Rand uses Roark's words in his last courtroom speech, "The man who attempts to live for others is a dependent. He is a parasite in motive and makes parasites of those he serves. The relationship produces nothing but mutual corruption. It is impossible in concept. The nearest approach to reality - the man who lives to serve others - is the slave." ( Fountainhead, p. 680) When Keating first proposes to Dominique, he speaks rapidly, easily, and so sure of himself it was not difficult. A lie is described as an effort to manipulate the consciousness of others, a way that comes too natural to Keating. Though he is an intelligent man, not without some heart, he is fundamentally incapable of being honest. The concept of truth, the grasp of reality in Keating's mind is different and frightening. Rand uses the terminology "second-hander" to describe the Peter Keatings' of the world. "The choice is not self-sacrifice or domination. The choice is independence or dependence. The code of the creator or the second-hander.
“Excelsior! I’m gonna take all this negativity and use it as fuel and I’m gonna find a silver lining. That’s what I’m gonna do” (Russell, 2013). A silver lining is defined as having optimism or a positive outlook on a situation that might seem gloomy on the outside. Silver Linings Playbook is centered around Pat Solitono Jr, a middle-aged man who just spent eight months in a psychiatric hospital for beating the man whom his wife had an affair with. Pat leaves the hospital determined to accomplish his unrealistic goal of winning his wife back. His motto is “Excelsior” (Russell, 2013) and he uses this to fuel his actions. He believes every negative action can result in a positive action. He also believes he can rise up and be superior over his actions and others to win his wife back. Pat has Bipolar I disorder with manic episodes that can be seen played out in the movie. He himself states, “undiagnosed bipolar with mood swings and weird thinking brought on by stress” (Russell, 2013).
Gus Van Sant’s Good Will Hunting and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby explore the themes of trauma and redemption through the creators unsystematic stories. Traumatic events and it’s effects on both protagonists are the main focus of the texts. Sant’s troubled genius, Will Hunting has difficulties connecting with individuals due to a history of emotional abuse. Fitzgerald’s famous romantic comes in the form of, Jay Gatsby, a financially successful man that has difficulties moving on from his former lover, Daisy. Both Jay and Will are on the path to self actualisation. Equally notable is the negative effects of the past on their personal lives and the different methods each character takes to overcome these experiences and grow. The creators
The movie A League of Their Own is about a female baseball league that was formed since the men were off fighting in World War II. The need to keep professional baseball going the owners tried the All American Girls Professional Baseball League (Marshall, 1992). Most of the movies that we watch have multiple examples of social psychology concepts. The movie A League of Their Own did have concepts that we learned about. The five concepts that I pick out of the movie were schemas, self-fulfilling prophesy, display rules, self-handicapping, and social exchange theory.
Throughout the text Keating connects with people on a personal level through his word choice and tone. This connection with his audience allows him to further develop belonging, and evoke a greater emotional response in his audience. This word choice and tone can be seen in the lines, “We took the traditional lands and smashed the traditional way of life. We brought the diseases. The alcohol. We committed the murders. We practiced discrimination and exclusion. It was our ignorance and our prejudice.”
Incohesive, long, and dialogue-heavy, Inherent Vice has all the potential to flounder. Yet under the steady (or rather, wild) hands of director Paul Thomas Anderson, the film becomes a psychedelic, incredibly enjoyable ride brimming with wit and melancholy. The film follows Larry ‘Doc’ Sportello (played in routinely magnificent fashion by the now ever-reliable Joaquin Phoenix), and his exploits to help his ex-girlfriend, Shasta Fey (Katherine Waterston, also exquisite) investigate a kidnapping of notorious real-estate billionaire Mickey Wolfmann. From there, the plot descends (or ascends, depending on your perspective of the film) into sumptuous lunacy; a mystery involving the coveted and secretive
Who is John Galt? John Galt is the ideal man. Ayn Rand illustrates the embodiment of the lost virtue—the human mind— in John’s character through his juxtaposition against the modern “man”. In the collectivist society portrayed in Atlas Shrugged, men are punished for using their only method of survival—thinking. John Galt utilizes his mind to create achievements and prosperity. By vowing to live his life only according to his own selfish ends, he earns the right to live freely to delight in this virtue. This highest virtue is the value he holds of his own life—a demonstration of his eternal love to life itself.
Social Psychology is the study of how we think and relate to other people. These psychologists focused on how the social situation influences others behavior. We see social influences everywhere we go, but might not notice it. Like when watching a movie for fun you do not notice it as much as when you are actually looking for the behaviors, like in the film The Breakfast Club. There are several examples of social psychological behaviors in the film.
J.D Salinger’s novel, Catcher In The Rye is about a teen, Holden Caulfield, the protagonist of the narrative. Holden is full of unique problems and most of the time lost in his own world, that can’t face reality. The psychoanalytic theory arranges a lens of definition when working at Holden Caulfield. Holden is seen as a lonely, rebellious teen who flunked out of an all boys private school, Pencey Prep. Failing school exemplifies how Holden controls his own decisions in the real world. As stubborn Holden is, opening up his persona and experiences to people is very hard for him, “I’ll just tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me…” (Salinger 1). From a Freudian psychoanalytical perspective Holden would seem to keep all his thoughts all bottled up, not speaking, and opening up to people. “The preconscious holds information we’ve stored from past experience or learning. This information can be retrieved from memory and brought into awareness at any time.” (Nevid 469). Holden is one step closer to becoming a better changed person by speaking to his psychiatrist, and there is only way to find out if he did.
The film The Notebook offers not only a form of entertainment but also different psychology concepts throughout the film. The Notebook is told from the point of view of an elderly man reading to a woman around his own age. He reads the story of two young lovers that come from differing backgrounds but fall in love. The young girl, Allie, is from a well-off family from the city that is visiting Seabrook Island for the summer. While the young man, Noah, is a poor country boy and that must work to make a living. They quickly fall in love but Allie’s parents disapprove of Noah due to his economic status. Once Allie leaves Seabrook, Noah writes her everyday but her mother hides the letters. The young lovers wait for one
Everyone has faults, some people are greedy, some don’t know how to use manners, and others neglect a person’s feeling all together. Most of the time people just have one “fault” that they try to get better at. In Hedda’s case, she has all three problems but she encourages them instead of trying to learn to control them. In the play Hedda Gabler the author Henrik Ibsen shows that Hedda’s ill-behaved manners, greed for power and lack of emotional understanding of others will come back and bite her in the butt.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind dramatizes the destruction of a relationship through personality differences. The director, Michel Gondry, alludes to relationship struggles, by stitching together a not so spotless tale of the mind searching for love and ultimately eternal happiness. Clementine Kruczynski first meet’s Joel Barish at a friend’s party, seemingly the only two awkward people eating separately from the bunch. Joel instantly notices Ms. Kruczynski for her tangerine colored hoodie. Gondry thus indicates that color, especially when related to Clementine, plays an intimate role in her personality structure, and her relationship Joel. At the party conversation strangely flows between Joel
Social status, gender, and misguided intentions render Hedda Gabler and Emma Bovary alienated individuals. One question remains, who deserves the title tragic hero or villain? Hedda commits suicide to avoid being caged and blackmailed by Judge Brack, while Emma commits suicide to avoid the public shame that will inevitably come from soiling her husband’s name and acquiring unimaginable debt. Hedda refuses to commit adultery because she “has made her bed, and now she must lie in it” she knows that every action or fib has its consequences. Emma on the other hand commits adultery with two different men, trying to find her hopes and dreams. Both had a choice when choosing whom they wanted to marry. Hedda Gabler wins, because although she is rude, manipulative, and vindictive; she accepts the consequences of her actions unlike Emma.
Hedda is a product of the nineteenth century, when women were ordained to become either proper old maids (like George's aunts) or modest housekeepers (like Mrs. Elvsted), however Hedda is an anomaly. She has been raised by a dominating father and rebels against his leadership at the same time she revels in his power. General Gabler taught Hedda to ride and shoot, which symbolizes the origin of her attraction with the violent and the romantic, Hedda's intense preoccupation with pistols, her desire to have control over the fate of another individual and take part in the public life of men, her rejection of family life shown in her at times mal...
Now more than ever we live in a world of power struggles but in Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Kesey brings the attention of this struggle to a more controversial setting. The book is placed in a mental institution called Combine. A key part to understanding Kesey’s message is understanding his history. He was a nurse in a mental institution which inspired this book because of his own personal observations and experiences. That means that his purpose is not just logical but very much comes from the heart. Another key part is the time period. During the early 1960s America was in the space race. There was a strong power struggle then as well between capitalism vs communism. They also were in a stage of reform in which the idea
The character of Hedda Gabler in Ibsen’s play is a unique and extraordinary person. There has been a lot of public dislike towards her and seen as a very manipulative, cold and even masculine portrayal of a woman. As stated by Jones “has imagination, and an intense appetite for beauty, she has no conscience, no conviction: with plenty of cleverness, energy, and personal fascination she remains mean, envious, insolent, cruel in protest against others ' happiness, fiendish in her dislike of inartistic people and things, a bully in reaction from her own cowardice." (2). Her personality was considered to be too different for the time that she lived in; it was seen as obstinate, and people went as far as to say she was less of a woman for the way