Objective of the Film Series

The NCP film series allow clinicians to explore psychoanalytic concepts in an open and exciting discussion format. By using the dynamics of film characters and plots as metaphors for the projections of mental states we can gain an understanding of dynamics of people who come to us for help. Movies are geared to mental health professionals and general public who are interested in psychoanalytic ideas.

• • Discuss the impact of psychoanalytic thought which reoccurs in the character portrayals of actors
  • Explore multiple psychoanalytic concepts through character’s development;
  • Uncover key elements of psychoanalysis through interrelationships of characters and characterological deviations.
  

Six Friday Nights
September 2008 – June 2009
Time:  7:30 PM
Place: New Center for Psychoanalysis
Cost:  $10 per film for general public (no student discounts);
$20 for mental health professionals receiving 2.5 CE Credits
CE Credits: 2.5

Notes on a Scandal
September 26, 2008
An Anatomy of Narcissism.
How do you make a movie about two English school teachers spellbinding?
Cast Cate Blanchett and Judi Dench, make one a malignant narcissist, the other an unwitting one, and make them both intermittently sympathetic and despicable to life! Gather your diagnostic definitions and prepare to debate!
For more info on this film...

Film Objectives:
• Review the diagnoses of narcissism from a broader, more complex perspective
• Demonstrate how narcissism looks, not just in a book, but acted out in real life situations in the film, as well as in clinical settings
• Discover how the audience's original understandings of narcissism have been revised as a result of the film and the group discussion

Discussant: Brandon French, Ph.D.


The Piano
October 3, 2008
This is an extraordinary exploration of erotic passions and vengeful jealousies!
Ada, a young mute woman, speaks through her music to the two men, her husband by arranged marriage and her neighbor. Violent and intense emotions erupt, as they both desire her, and try to win her heart.
For more info on this film...

Film Objectives:
• Discuss psychoanalytical perspectives of erotic imagination
• Explore of the concepts of Intimacy, Passion, Lust, Commitment
• Examine of the dynamics of triangular relationships and jealousy

Discussant: Elena Balashova-Shamis, Psy.D.


Chinatown
October 17, 2008
Roman Polanski's brooding filmnoir of Los Angeles of the 1930s starring Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, John Huston, with Oscar-winning script by Robert Towne. "One of the greatest, most completely satisfying crime films of all time." Participants should have seen the film before hand, as portions will not be shown so there will be sufficient time for psychoanalytic discussion.
For more info on this film...

Film Objectives:
• Discuss the dynamics of the "compulsion to repeat" from variouspsychoanalytic points of view
• Analyze psychological damage when the incest taboo is violated

Discussants: Thomas Brod, M.D., Apurvah Shah, M.D.



Thin
November 14, 2008
A documentary on eating disorders.
Four girls share the stories of their lives consumed by the urge to be thin. As one formulates, “if it takes dying to get there, so be it.” Mental health care professionals bring their clinical observations and thoughts, reflecting on successful and unsuccessful outcomes. This touching, first-hand account reveals the power of self-destruction and the importance of attachment for the development of body identity and personal sovereignty. The classical paradigm of eating disorders – Binswanger’s Ellen West case – is employed in the discussion.
For more info on this film...

Film Objectives:
• Identify clinical elements of eating disorders
• Develop a strategy to assist patients with eating disorders address their conflicted feelings related to their distorted body image and enhance their personal growth

Discussant: Elena Bezzubova, Ph.D., M.D.


Flight of the Red Balloon
December 5, 2008
Inspired by the classic Red Balloon, this widely acclaimed film by Hsiao-hsien Hou, starring Juliet Binoche, is about a little boy and his babysitter who inhabit the same imaginary world where they are followed by a strange red balloon.
For more info on this film...

Film Objectives:
• Identify Bion's concepts of analytic reverie, and the container and the contained
• Describe the omnipotent object in the paranoid-schizoid and depressive positions

Discussants: Thomas Brod, M.D., Apurvah Shah, M.D.


The Tin Drum
January 30, 2009
The Tin Drum won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and tied with Apocalypse Now for the Cannes Film Festival’s Golden Palm. It depicts a young boy, frustrated with the adult world, who decides at 3 years old to stop growing. Set in Poland during WorldWar II, the film touches on many important psychological and sociological trends that are developed in this extraordinary film, conceptualized from the Pulitzer-prize winning novel by Günter Grasse. The instructors use this screening as an introduction to the course being presented on January 31, The Puer Aeternus II, highlighting the Jungian archetype of the Puer Aeternus.
For more info on this film...

Film Objectives:
• Understand the archetype of the Puer Aeternus, using scenes from the film
• Understand the consequences to a child who is exposed to a love triangle in his/her household

Discussant: Frank Clayman-Cook, Ph.D.


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Six Friday Nights
September 2008 – June 2009
Time:  7:30 PM
Place: New Center for Psychoanalysis
Cost:  $10 per film for general public;
$20 for mental health professionals receiving 2.5 CE Credits
CE Credits: 2.5

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