What makes for a Best Picture, psychologically speaking?
We've been reviewing the nominees for Oscar Best Picture, and so far we've been through 9 of the 10 (update, just reviewed the last one)
Our main filter has been the extent to which each film reflects 4 key evolutionary themes common in Hollywood: Getting Along, Getting Ahead, Getting the Bad Guys, and Getting the Girl (or the Guy). We've also been reviewing some links with relevant psychological research. This year's Oscar contenders certainly hit all these themes, and tap into a number of interesting psychological concepts. Here's the list so far (some are on my son's website, A Caveman Goes to Hollywood). Our grades were sometimes a little tough, but we were rating them relative to the other candidates for Best Picture.
Summaries, and Links to full reviews of Oscar Best Picture nominees:
Avatar 3D: Evolutionary Psychology goes to Hollywood
Avatar 3D is like mind candy -- doing for cinema what Ben and Jerry did for ice cream. Besides successfully transporting the viewer to a new world, the movie taps the key evolutionary themes of classic Hollywood movies: Getting the Girl, Getting Along, Getting Ahead, and Getting the Bad Guys. (We both gave this an A, and so far, it's our strong top choice)
Mating Budget Bankruptcy: Review of Precious
What is it like to be obese, friendless, and poverty stricken, living with a mother who hates you, and a father who rapes you? Most of us probably don’t even want to think about such questions, much less sit through a movie about just such a life. Nevertheless, if you haven’t seen Precious, you should. Not only does it tap interesting psychological processes, it may make you feel differently about your own life. (We both gave this an A also, it's our favorite underdog)
For a psychological lift on Valentine's Day, Watch UP
Are we really saying you'll get more psychologically out of a Disney cartoon - with a schmaltzy Hollywood ending and the grumpy aging voice of Ed Asner - than out of an avant-garde movie that takes an edgy look at modern life and stars George Clooney at his cleverest coolest best? Up celebrates the social contacts that psychological researchers have shown so important to health and happiness, and will send you and those you love (regardless of your ages) away feeling both perceptually rewarded and glad to be connected (DTK gives this an A, DLK a B+)
Evolutionary Psychology and the Oscar Race II: The Hurt Locker
The Hurt Locker – a leading contender for Best Picture -- is a well-made, psychologically engaging movie about one of the scariest jobs on the planet -- defusing terrorist bombs that may or may not go off at any second. It will provide any normal viewer with a week’s quota of nail-biting anxiety. But why did it ultimately send us home feeling just a little bit bored? We analyze the movie in terms of 4 central evolutionary themes. (We split slightly on this one, A from DLK, B from DTK).
When Life Imitates a Made-For-TV movie: Review of The Blind Side
Michael Oher was a poor black kid taken into the home of a wealthy white family. They fed him, clothed him, and tutored him, and helped him turn his life around. Michael’s tested IQ went up 20 or 30 points, he went to college, and went on to become a highly payed NFL football player. The story is a celebration of positive psychology – of astounding acts of kindness, courage, and overcoming adversity. So what’s not to love about a movie that tells this wonderful story? (We both gave this one a C)
The Morality of Mayhem and Murder: Inglourious Basterds
Psychological research suggests that depictions of violence in the media have numerous adverse effects, such as desensitizing viewers to real violence. What in the world could make a liberal psychologist, who has reviewed all this research, enjoy a film in which the central characters go after their victims with bombs, baseball bats, and scalping knives? (we surprised ourselves when we both graded this an A)
Modern technology as intimacy's enemy: Are we all "Up in the Air?"
Relationships with families, lovers, and friends, are costly. Modern technology -- in the form of planes that allow us to move far away, and communication devices such as cell phones and computers that allow us to maintain some semblance of contact -- can free us from those costs. But at what price? (Doug gives this a B+, Dave gives it a C)
Two kinds of bad guys: District 9 and human prejudice.
UBC psychologist Mark Schaller’s research demonstrates big differences between prejudice based on fear and prejudice based on disgust. Schaller notes that movies exploit both kinds of prejudices – sometimes depicting big bad burly guys with guns, other times depicting oozing, slimy, disease-ridden aliens. District 9 manages to turn the volume up on both fear and disgust at the same time, while depicting a nearly hopeless and degenerate world full of prejudice. How does it do all these nasty things in a way that is psychologically appealing enough to merit a nomination for Best Picture? (We both graded this one a B)
Does God Exist, and If So, Who Cares? A Serious Man
Why do people believe in God? This is a question several evolutionary psychologists have been asking of late, and it’s one that the Coen Brothers address in A Serious Man. Will this movie stand as a deep comedic treatment of the meaning of life, next to Woody Allen’s Crimes and Misdemeanors, or is more like a philosophical treatise written by the stoner Dude in the Big Lebowski? (We both gave this a C, though I might up that to a B after seeing the whole set)
