The Aviator Character Analysis

Howard Hughes appears to be the world’s most brilliant and eccentric aviator and movie director in the film The Aviator (Mann & Scorsese, 2004). He is admired, wealthy and powerful. However, throughout the course of the film, his eccentricities lead to significant impairment. Paranoia, impulsivity and fears of contamination plague his thoughts and behaviors. He becomes unable to cope with being in public and he cannot maintain personal or professional relationships. As a result, Howard is left isolated, losing his social support and success. It is evident that he has symptoms that are characteristic of both obsessive-compulsive disorder and bipolar I disorder. His behaviors become so impairing and distressing that they impact every sphere of

In The Aviator, he creates much social discomfort due to his fear of contamination. When Howard is in a public restroom thoroughly washing his hands, he notices an elderly handicapped man approaching the sink. He begins to sweat and he becomes extremely tense as the man draws closer to the sink. Howard’s anxiety intensifies when the elderly man asks him to hand him a towel. Howard ultimately refuses to help him, which leaves the man angry and frustrated with Howard’s odd behavior (Mann & Scorsese, 2004). For the average person, handing someone a towel is a simple, nonthreatening act. Howard’s refusal is therefore confusing and is creates social strain for the elderly man. Later in the film, Howard is in a meeting with one of his colleagues. Howard notices that there is some dust on the lapel of his colleague’s jacket. He is disgusted by the dust and demands that his colleague cleans it off immediately, making him visibly uncomfortable and annoyed (Mann & Scorsese, 2004). Howard’s fear of contamination causes him to act out, leaving people feeling uncomfortable in his

Howard Hughes fulfills the DSM 5 criteria for OCD: The obsessions are repetitive and he tries unsuccessfully to repress his urges. His behaviors are compulsive and serve to reduce his anxiety. The obsessions and compulsions are time consuming. Additionally, they “are not attributable the physiological effects of a substance or other another medical condition” and “the disturbance is not better explained by the symptoms of another mental disorder” (Butcher et al., 2014, p.195). He also has symptoms that are characteristic of other disorders, such as bipolar I disorder and schizophrenia. He has bursts of energy and feels as though he could accomplish anything. He also claims that he can actually see the germs on his hands or faucets. The manic episodes and visual hallucinations are not DSM 5 criteria for OCD, rather they are symptoms of bipolar I disorder and schizophrenia respectively (Butcher et al., 2014, p.241, p.448). Therefore it is possible that Howard could have had OCD comorbid with bipolar I disorder with psychotic