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Analysis Of The Movie Mommie Dearest

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Psychological disorders are very real and present in many people we come in contact with daily, however, are very rarely talked about. Learning about these disorders can help us to understand others and ourselves better by telling us why we do and think the things we do. One effective way that we can observe and learn about psychological disorders is through movies. “Mommie Dearest” was directed by Frank Perry. It is centered around the actress Joan Crawford, who suffered from various psychological disorders. Joan’s daughter, Christina, wrote a book about her mother and her many problems and it was later turned into a movie. It is very effective to use movie analysis as a way of learning, especially in psychology, because it provides a great way to observe without distractions. When you’re looking at disorders, it’s difficult to find a person who has many of these disorders and will allow you to observe them. Psychological disorders can be split into two major groups, personality disorders and mood disorders. Personality disorders are patterns of traits that can get in the way of your social or work life and may interrupt the individual’s normal lifestyle. Mood disorders are inconsistent and unreliable changes in mood by the affected individual. (Rathus, 1998). With all of this being said, it brings me to my point that I will be talking about for the rest of this essay. Joan Crawford demonstrates the personality disorders of histrionic, narcissism, and OCPD. When it comes to mood disorders, Joan demonstrates bipolar disorder. First, I will be talking about histrionic. People who are histrionic are often very emotional and seek constant attention. (Psychology Today, 2017). The cause of this is unknown but some saw it may have something to do with childhood events and/or genetics. Symptoms of this are seeking reassurance constantly, being self-centered, being very concerned with physical appearance, and having your opinions be easily influenced by other people. There are many times in the movie where Joan Crawford showed signs of histrionic. The first example I will be sharing is at Christina’s birthday party. (Mommie Dearest, 1981). It appeared to me that Joan adopted children just for the attention of it.

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