Psychological Disorders in the Movies Research Paper (25%)
The writing assignment will examine the representation of mental illness in the movies. Please carefully review the rubric for more detail on how the paper will be assessed.
Select one of the movies below and focus on only one character and one psychological disorder. Some of the movies portray several characters struggling with a disorder; please focus on only one character and one disorder.
As you watch the movie, keep in mind that you will have to answer the following questions in your assignment:
1. What psychological disorder was being illustrated in this film and by which character? Identify the disorder by its correct name and provide the diagnostic criteria (use the DSM-5).
2. What is the typical etiology for this disorder (e.g., age of onset, causal factors/triggers, progression/development of symptoms, co-morbidities, recommended types and effectiveness of treatment, etc…)? These questions should be addressed using external sources (journal articles, not web pages or the textbook).
3. To what degree was the portrayal of the film realistic?
After considering the diagnostic criteria for this disorder, known causal factors, etiology/progression of symptoms, and types of treatment and nature of recovery, determine the extent to which you believe the film provided a realistic portrayal of this disorder. In what ways was the portrayal accurate? In what ways was it inaccurate? Which diagnostic criteria were portrayed in the film? (provide at least one specific example for each criterion you believe was portrayed). This section should not be “opinion”, it should be based on reasoning that incorporates research-based knowledge about the disorder; for every determination you make about the realism, there should be reference to evidence to support the idea, with appropriate citation of the source(s).
Movie Options: These movies have been previewed and pre-selected for their content and relevance; please do not make your own substitutions without prior approval; failure to do so will result in a zero.
• A Beautiful Mind Girl Interrupted
• Black Swan American Sniper
• Finding Nemo Silver Linings Playbook
• As Good as it Gets
• The Soloist The Fisher King
Format and Requirements of Writing Assignment
The assignment should be written in APA format (7th edition): it should be typed, double-spaced, with Arial or Times New Roman font (12 point font), using appropriate paragraph structure.
The paper should be no more than 8 pages long, excluding title and reference pages. You must provide in-text citations and reference for any of your sources, using APA format.
You must use at least three peer-reviewed articles from a scholarly journal as sources for your paper. For each missing required source, you will be deducted 5%, up to a maximum of 15%.
Web-pages, textbooks, etc… are NOT journal articles.
