Psychology's Best Movies

And the Oscar goes to... which psychological disorder?

Posted Jan 14, 2012

As each award season approaches, the world's attention focuses on Hollywood and the best of its productions. Underneath the glitz and the glamour, psychology provides much of the substance that propels producers, directors, and screenwriters to give creative voice to the range of human experiences. Audiences are fascinated by heartless murderers, tragic heros or heroines wrestling with psychological demons, couples who tear each other apart, and families that make their home life a constant nightmare. Whether frightening or hilarious, Hollywood's dramatization of the psychological life of its characters is what keeps us glued to the screen.

As it turns out, the Academy Awards are heavily weighted toward films that depict psychological themes. They also seem to place an unusual emphasis on certain types of characters and issues. Here I've compiled a list of psychological themes in award-winning movies, including movies that won Best Leading Actor, Best Leading Actress, and Best Picture (although I did cheat in one important instance). This led to a potential set of 252 films and characters. Of these, I count more than 60 that fit my criteria. It's possible that I've missed one or two, and if so, I welcome comments to point these out!

There's one other important way that psychology went to the movies, and that is in the real life of 2010's Best Actor and Best Actress. Both Natalie Portman and Colin Firth are co-authors of published psychological articles. Portman served as an undergraduate research assistant (here's hope to all underpaid and overworked psych students). Firth actually funded a brain imaging study comparing political conservatives to liberals. You can check out those references below. Obviously publishing a psychology article is highly correlated with your chances of winning an Oscar. Who said correlation didn't equal causation? (Just kidding, of course).

And now, can we have the envelope, please? Here is a list of stars and films, along with what I would consider the categories of psychological disorder that they most closely depict.

Best Actress Winners (and their associated disorders):

1939: Vivien Leigh, Gone with the Wind: Narcissistic personality disorder

1957: Joanne Woodward, The Three Faces of Eve: Dissociative identity disorder

1968: Barbra Streisand, Funny Girl: Narcissistic personality disorder (tied with Katharine Hepburn for Best Actress)

1972: Liza Minelli, Cabaret: Narcissistic personality disorder

1977: Diane Keaton, Annie Hall: Generalized anxiety disorder

2000: Angelina Jolie*, Girl, Interrupted: Borderline personality disorder

2002: Nicole Kidman, The Hours: Major depressive disorder

2010: Natalie Portman, Black Swan: Psychotic disorder, not otherwise specified

*Best supporting actress

Best Actor Winners (and their associated disorders):

1945: Ray Milland, The Lost Weekend: Alcohol dependence

1948: Laurence Olivier, Hamlet: Major depressive disorder

1960: Burt Lancaster, Elmer Gantry: Narcissistic personality disorder

1970: George C. Scott (refused), Patton: Narcissistic personality disorder

1972: Marlon Brando (refused), The Godfather: Antisocial personality disorder

1976: Peter Finch, Network: Major depressive disorder

1978: Jon Voight, Coming Home: PTSD

1980: Robert De Niro, Raging Bull: Intermittent explosive disorder

1984: F. Murray Abraham, Amadeus: Delusional disorder

1987: Michael Douglas, Wall Street: Antisocial personality disorder

1988: Dustin Hoffman, Rain Man: Autism spectrum disorder

1991: Anthony Hopkins, Silence of the Lambs: Antisocial personality disorder

1997: Jack Nicholson, As Good as it Gets: Obsessive compulsive disorder

1999: Kevin Spacey, American Beauty: Pedophilic disorder

2006: Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland: Antisocial personality disorder/narcissistic personality disorder

2007: Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will be Blood: Antisocial personality disorder

2009: Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart: Alcohol dependence

2010: Colin Firth, The King's Speech: Stuttering

Best Picture Winners (and disorders portrayed):

1939: Gone With the Wind: Narcissistic personality disorder

1940: Rebecca: Complicated bereavement

1945: The Lost Weekend: Alcohol dependence

1946: The Best Years of Our Life: PTSD

1948: Hamlet: Major depressive disorder

1950: All About Eve: Dissociative Identity Disorder

1955: Marty: Intellectual developmental disability

1958: Gigi: Pedophilic disorder

1963: Tom Jones: Compulsive sexuality

1968: Oliver: Antisocial personality disorder

1969: Midnight Cowboy: Drug dependence

1970: Patton: Narcissistic personality disorder

1972: The Godfather: Antisocial personality disorder

1973: The Sting: Antisocial personality disorder

1974: The Godfather Part II: Antisocial personality disorder

1975: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest: Schizophrenia (Jack Nicholson won Best Actor, though his character did not have schizophrenia)

1977: Annie Hall: Generalized anxiety disorder

1984: Amadeus: Delusional disorder

1986: Platoon: Acute stress disorder

1988: Rain Man: Autism spectrum disorder

1991: Silence of the Lambs: Antisocial personality disorder

1992: Unforgiven: Antisocial personality disorder

1994: Forrest Gump: Intellectual developmental disability

1996: The English Patient: PTSD (probable)

1999: American Beauty: Pedophilic disorder

2001: A Beautiful Mind: Schizophrenia

2002: Chicago: Narcissistic personality disorder (Roxie Hart and Billy Flynn) and antisocial personality disorder (Velma Kelly)

2006: The Departed: Antisocial personality disorder

2007: No Country for Old Men: Antisocial personality disorder

2009: The Hurt Locker: Acute stress disorder (or PTSD)

2010: The King's Speech: Stuttering

Movies based on severely impaired family relationships

1966: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (including Elizabeth Taylor as Best Actress)

1979: Kramer vs. Kramer

1980: Ordinary People

1983: Terms of Endearment

The Oscars for most frequent psychological disorder go to:

Clearly, psychology features heavily in Hollywood's feature films. Let's hope that someday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences includes psychology as one of its sciences!

Follow me on Twitter @swhitbo for daily updates on psychology, health, and aging. Feel free to join my Facebook group, "Fulfillment at Any Age," to discuss today's blog, or to ask further questions about this posting.

Copyright Susan Krauss Whitbourne, Ph.D. 2012

References

Baird, A. A., Kagan, J., Gaudette, T., Walz, K. A., Hershlag*, N., & Boas, D. A. (2002). Frontal lobe activation during object permanence: data from near-infrared spectroscopy. Neuroimage, 16(4), 1120-1125. doi: S1053811902911705 [pii]

Kanai, R., Feilden, T., Firth, C., & Rees, G. (2011). Political Orientations Are Correlated with Brain Structure in Young Adults. Current biology : CB, 21(8), 677-680.

*Portman's real name

Hannibal Lector: You are what you eat.

Submitted by Kelly Cash on January 14, 2012 - 9:41am

Antisocial personality disorder - 23% of all themes
Narcissistic personality disorder- 19% of all themes

I grew up on Hollywood's themes. I must be 23% antisocial and 19% narcissistic. 2% delusional. 5% PTSD. 50% borderline. 1% normal.

Re: Hannibal Lector: You are what you eat.

Submitted by Susan Krauss Whitbourne Ph.D. on January 14, 2012 - 1:41pm

Dear Kelly,
Thank you for your comment!
Best,
Susan

Another movie to add...

Submitted by Joi Carpenter on January 30, 2015 - 7:36pm

I didn't see Cybil on your list?...starring Sally Field.
Multiple personalities disorder
I loved it. Saw it in high school a long time ago in my psychology class.
Psychology is truly complex and to me, SO interesting!

Another one...

Submitted by Joi on January 30, 2015 - 7:50pm

"What About Bob?" Bill Murray
Obsessive compulsive

Reductive analysis

Submitted by Anonymous on January 14, 2012 - 11:14am

These are also works of art with groundbreaking film techniques, and they comment on major historical events (Civil War) and universal themes (love, parenting, creativity).

To somehow reduce the complexity of these films to a simple abnormal diagnosis ignores all of the beauty and groundbreaking technical accomplishments of these films.

The same thing happens when a psychologist reduces the human patient to an abnormal diagnosis when the patient has dozens of normal and positive qualities that get ignored.

This is simplistic and reductive.

Re: Reductive analysis

Submitted by Susan Krauss Whitbourne Ph.D. on January 14, 2012 - 1:41pm

Dear anonymous,
I'm sorry that you feel this way about my blog post. Believe me, I understand and appreciate all great works of art, and most of these are my favorite movies. I simply was trying to point out that the main characters or themes draw from the qualities of these major psychological disorders. Obviously, much more could be said about each of these and also that people are more than their diagnoses.
Thank you for sharing your views on the post.
Best,
Susan

It's no wonder the world is

Submitted by Luditte on January 15, 2012 - 5:27pm

It's no wonder the world is as it is, mainly the US, with people turning into crazed lunatics, monsters, when the 'entertainment' they are given presents the worst type of characters, and as most take their standards from the media, they become influenced, whether they know it or not, by such caricatures. What more can one expect of humanity when they are given such mediocrities, wretches, psychotics as representatives of a human being? Nothing good can result out of that. Sure, some might say that we all have a choice, but what happens when one is bombarded by these mediocrities 24/7, in print, in film, in television? Enshrining the worst aspects as virtues; criminals become celebrities, killers get lauded and paraded through the media, often films are made about their horrors. What type of message does this send to the masses?

I don't even know where to

Submitted by Anonymous on February 28, 2014 - 12:11am

I don't even know where to start. First of all, people with any mental illness is in NO WAY a mediocrity, wretch or any of the words you use. You wouldn't call a diabetic a monster just because he/she is affected by that, so why do you do it with people that have mental disorders? I can tell you this firsthand since I deal with severe depression and obsessive compulsive disorder myself. That doesn't mean I'm anything you said back there. And just so you know, some of the greatest minds in mankind's history suffered from mental illnesses.

On the other hand, what do you expect movies to be about? For a good story to be told there has to be some form of conflict so the story can move forward. Some of these conflicts are the ones the characters' have with themselves, or with social interactions or their personality itself may come as a conflict for others; (there are lot of variations to this). Movies are inspired on real life, and real life HAS mental illnesses.

Please remember that movies are stories told to create an emotional reaction on the audience. In a horror film you want them to be scared, while a comedy seeks your laughs. That being said, in a psychological movie you'd want the audience to feel the psychological conflict so your emotions are aroused by the experience. If this is so hard to understand try to imagine it the other way around: a movie about the most mentally stable person in the world without any conflict in his life. That does not sound like a great movie idea.

Now, having addressed your comment in a calm, civilized way; let me be a bit more emotional about it. The real MEDIOCRITIES are people like you. YOU with your narrow vision and lack of reasoning. Not one patient with a mental disorder asked for it, neither enjoys it. That's why IT IS a medical condition, and NOT JUST A CHOICE, like you're claiming. People like you are the real monsters that judge a person based on a medical condition.

Thank you...

Not reduce, but use… the examples on films…

Submitted by Edgar A Lopez on October 26, 2016 - 4:25pm

Anonymous wrote:

These are also works of art with groundbreaking film techniques, and they comment on major historical events (Civil War) and universal themes (love, parenting, creativity).

To somehow reduce the complexity of these films to a simple abnormal diagnosis ignores all of the beauty and groundbreaking technical accomplishments of these films.

The same thing happens when a psychologist reduces the human patient to an abnormal diagnosis when the patient has dozens of normal and positive qualities that get ignored.

This is simplistic and reductive.

I believe this post is a guide for the people who are studying psychology, Mental and Personality Disorders … we are aware of the art behind this films and many others not mention in this post… for example, there is no Kurosawa or Ingmar Bergman. Although, there is a point… the best movies are based on the temperament and character and that equals the personality which we as researchers of the behavioral and cognitive sciences found terribly interesting plus their respective disorders… no offense but you are out of context… and we need to diagnosed as the physician needs to diagnosed as well to have a guide on the kind of treatment that we will use on behalf of mental healthcare…

It's no wonder the world is

Submitted by Luditte on January 15, 2012 - 5:27pm

it's no wonder

Submitted by ROY on January 19, 2012 - 2:10pm

Not only is it no wonder, it may be on purpose...

Stigmatization of Psychological Disorders

Submitted by tdl7470 on February 26, 2012 - 5:20pm

I think it is great that movies are made in attempt to portray mental illness and provide insight into some psychological disorders. However,it is also important to understand that these are dramatizations of psychological disorders made for the purpose of entertainment. Therefore, although these movies are helpful in shedding some light on to the experiences individuals endure, they must be viewed with a critical eye. Some of these movies may add to the stigmatization of psychological disorders within our society.

Stigmatization of Psychological Disorders

Submitted by tdl7470 on February 26, 2012 - 5:34pm

I think it is great that movies are made in attempt to portray mental illness and provide insight into some psychological disorders. However, it is also important to understand that these are dramatizations of psychological disorders made for the purpose of entertainment. Therefore, although these movies are helpful in shedding some light on to the experiences individuals endure, they must be viewed with a critical eye. Some of these movies may add to the stigmatization of psychological disorders within our society.

I cannot believe "We need to

Submitted by anda on February 27, 2012 - 11:48am

I cannot believe "We need to talk about Kevin" has not received any nomination. It was just an amazing psychological movie.

How could LOTR not be on the list?

Submitted by The Precious on February 22, 2013 - 9:38am

I always thought Gollum/Smeagol in Lord of the Rings was a great character to watch. He had two personalities and struggled with his obsession with the ring.

*Minor correction: Angelina

Submitted by Anonymous on February 27, 2014 - 11:43pm

*Minor correction: Angelina Jolie in Girl Interrupted suffers from antisocial and narcissistic disorder. The character diagnosed with borderline personality disorder is Wynona Ryder's one, the main character of the movie.

I'm no psychologist, but since the story takes place in a mental institution and based on a true story, (Girl, Interrupted is a memoir book by Susana Kaysen), the diagnoses are the first thing you know about each character. I make this observation based on the book, besides the movie itself.

Annie Hall- really??

Submitted by Lucy on April 21, 2015 - 1:58pm

The fact that Diane Keaton's character is on the list, but not Woody Allen's leads me to believe that the author of this article missed the point of the movie.

As an admirer of Vivien Leigh

Submitted by carole heath on February 22, 2017 - 5:53pm

As an admirer of Vivien Leigh I have read many books on her life. Sadly she was victim of bipolar disorder called manic depression in her day. She had many electric shock treatments. There was not the drugs around in het time to help control the illness.when we played the part of blanche in streetcar named desire.i don't think her husband Laurence Olivier wanted her to do it ad it mirrored her own problems. But I think that Vivien Leigh felt she could bring to the role more realism. I believe the part really got under her skin and she started to act and speak like blanche in real life. Vivien Leigh I think brought so much pathos to the role and won an award.but most likely at the cost of het own health and peace of mind.

The Soloist??

Submitted by Yvette Cathers on August 12, 2017 - 1:38pm

I realize this is an older article, but perhaps, it needs to be updated. The topic is interesting, but where the frip is The Soloist? One of the best movies I've ever seen, and based on a true story. Deals with Schizophrenia.

People.

Submitted by Callie Weiss on February 7, 2018 - 6:29am

Well if we consider that psychology is about people, and everything people do, and movies are about people too, then it follows that every single movie ever made can be said to be about some kind of psychology thingy or other. Whether the film makers intended it or not. LOLOL

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About the Author

Susan Krauss Whitbourne, Ph.D., is a Professor Emerita of Psychological and Brain Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her latest book is The Search for Fulfillment.

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