The Aviator Movie Psychology Essay

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What is Psychology? Psychology is the scientific and systematic study of people’s behavior and mental processes. I was assigned to analyze the movie, The Aviator, from a social-psychological perspective. I found three psychological principles that stuck out to me in this film which were the Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, the Catharsis Theory, and Groupthink. This movie attempts to represent each of these psychological concepts in different scenes throughout the film. The film did a very good job explain each of these principles in a way that was easily understood. The first psychological principle portrayed in the film The Aviator, is Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. The main character, Howard Hughes, displays this psychological disorder …show more content…

Howard had to face Groupthink in the film during his trial with the United States Senators. Groupthink is portrayed in very negative ways. In the scene that portrayed Groupthink, a Senator named Owen Brewster had it out for Howard’s career. Owen Brewster was very close with Juan Trippe, who is the owner of the other huge airline called PanAm that is in competition with Howard’s Trans World Airline (TWA). One day, Senator Brewster gets a warrant from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to search Howard’s house to look for evidence to prove that he is guilty of embezzling government funds. Howard is not really guilty of this crime but Senator Brewster wants him put out of business for his own financial gains. Howard then must go to court against the Senate with Senator Brewster at the lead of it all. Howard Hughes provides very clear evidence and statements that make it clear to the other members of the Senate that he is not guilty of the crime. Senator Brewster pushes on because no one else from the Senate steps up to say anything defending Howard because they are scared to lose their job and standing with Senator Brewster. Howard somehow still got out of the charges and was called innocent but the trial still took around three months to complete just because none of the other Senators would stand up and defend Howard when they knew he was

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