After the first spider diagram we elected to choose the film topic as Schizophrenia as we felt there is not many if any films truly based on how the mental disorder of this magnitude can affect every day life. We took inspiration from films such as Psycho, Donnie Darko, Identity and Fight Club
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Phoenix officeworker Marion Crane is fed up with the way life has treated her. She has to meet her lover Sam in lunch breaks and they cannot get married because Sam has to give most of his money away in alimony. One Friday Marion is trusted to bank $40,000 by her employer. Seeing the opportunity to take the money and start a new life, Marion leaves town and heads towards Sam's California store. Tired after the long drive and caught in a storm, she gets off the main highway and pulls into The Bates Motel. The motel is managed by a quiet young man called Norman who seems to be dominated by his mother.Written by Col Needham <col@imdb.com>
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Donnie Darko doesn't get along too well with his family, his teachers and his classmates; but he does manage to find a sympathetic friend in Gretchen, who agrees to date him. He has a compassionate psychiatrist, who discovers hypnosis is the means to unlock hidden secrets. His other companion may not be a true ally. Donnie has a friend named Frank - a large bunny which only Donnie can see. When an engine falls off a plane and destroys his bedroom, Donnie is not there. Both the event, and Donnie's escape, seem to have been caused by supernatural events. Donnie's mental illness, if such it is, may never allow him to find out for sure. Written by J. Spurlin
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Strangers from all different walks of life: a limo driver escorting a fading television star, parents with a young son whose marriage is in crisis, a cop transporting a dangerous convict, a beautiful call girl, a couple of young newlyweds, and a nervous motel manager are caught up in a severe rainstorm, stuck at a motel in desolate Nevada. Soon they realize they may be at the motel for another reason when one by one, people start getting killed off. As tensions flare and fingers are pointed, they have to get to the bottom of why they're there. Meanwhile in an undisclosed location, a psychiatrist is trying to prove the innocence of a man accused of murder in an eleventh hour trial. How these two through-lines are related can only be found in Identity. Written by mystic80
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A ticking-time-bomb insomniac and a slippery soap salesman channel primal male aggression into a shocking new form of therapy. Their concept catches on, with underground "fight clubs" forming in every town, until an eccentric gets in the way and ignites an out-of-control spiral toward oblivion. Written by Anonymous
After Finding some films that involved Schizophrenia I then decided to do some of my own personal research on schizophrenia and this is what i found:
Schizophrenia
mental disorder characterized by a
disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests
itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by
significant social or occupational dysfunction. The onset of symptoms typically
occurs in young adulthood, with a global lifetime prevalence of about 0.3–0.7%.
Diagnosis is based on observed behavior and the patient's reported experiences.
schizophrenia
does not imply a "split mind" and it is not the same as dissociative
identity disorder—also known as "multiple personality disorder" or
"split personality"—a condition with which it is often confused in
public perception.
The
disorder is thought mainly to affect cognition, but it also usually contributes to chronic problems with
behavior and emotion. People with schizophrenia are likely to have additional (comorbid) conditions, including major depression and anxiety disorders; the lifetime occurrence ofsubstance abuse is almost 50%. Social problems, such as
long-term unemployment, poverty and homelessness, are common. The average life expectancy of people with the disorder is 12 to 15 years less than
those without, the result of increased physical health problems and a higher suicide rate (about 5%)
Positive and negative symptoms
Schizophrenia
is often described in terms of positive and negative (or deficit) symptoms. Positive
symptoms are those that most individuals do not normally experience but are
present in people with schizophrenia. They can include delusions, disordered
thoughts and speech, and tactile, auditory, visual, olfactory and gustatory
hallucinations, typically regarded as manifestations of psychosis. Hallucinations
are also typically related to the content of the delusional theme. Positive
symptoms generally respond well to medication. Negative symptoms are deficits of normal
emotional responses or of other thought processes, and respond less well to
medication. They commonly include flat or blunted affect and emotion, poverty
of speech (alogia), inability to experience pleasure (anhedonia), lack of
desire to form relationships (asociality), and lack of motivation (avolition).
Research suggests that negative symptoms contribute more to poor quality of
life, functional disability, and the burden on others than do positive
symptoms. People with prominent negative
symptoms often have a history of poor adjustment before the onset of illness,
and response to medication is often limited.
Schizophrenia is a long-term
mental health condition that causes a range of different psychological symptoms.
These include:
- hallucinations - hearing or
seeing things that do not exist
- delusions - unusual
beliefs that are not based on reality and often contradict the evidence
- muddled thoughts based on the
hallucinations or delusions
- changes in behaviour
Doctors describe schizophrenia as a
psychotic illness. This means that sometimes a person may not be able to
distinguish their own thoughts and ideas from reality.
The exact cause of schizophrenia is
unknown. However, most experts believe that the condition is caused by a
combination of genetic and environmental factors.
How
common is schizophrenia?
Schizophrenia is one of the most
common serious mental health conditions. The 2000 National Survey of
Psychiatric Morbidity in the UK found that 5 in 1000 people experienced a
psychotic disorder (including schizophrenia and manic depression). Men and
women are equally affected by the condition.
In men, schizophrenia usually begins
between the ages of 15 and 30. In women, schizophrenia usually occurs later, beginning
between the ages of 25 and 30.
Misconceptions about schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is often poorly understood and many
people have misconceptions about it. Two of the most common
misconceptions about schizophrenia are:- People with schizophrenia have a split or dual personality.
- People with schizophrenia are violent.
Split personality
It is commonly thought that people with schizophrenia have
a split personality, acting perfectly normally one minute and irrationally or
bizarrely the next. However, this is not true. Although the term schizophrenia
is a Greek word that means 'split mind', the term was first used long before
the condition was properly understood.It would be more accurate to say that people with schizophrenia have a mind that can experience episodes of dysfunction and disorder.
Violent crime
Most studies confirm that there is a link between violence
and schizophrenia. However, the media tend to exaggerate this, with acts of
violence committed by people with schizophrenia getting a great deal of
high-profile media coverage. This gives the impression that such acts happen
frequently when they are in fact very rare.The reality is that violent crime is more likely to be linked to alcohol or other substance misuse than to schizophrenia. A person with schizophrenia is far more likely to be the victim of violent crime than the instigator.
How is
schizophrenia diagnosed?
When you become unwell, you are likely
to show significant changes in your behaviour. For some people this can happen
quite suddenly, but for others these changes may occur more gradually. You may
become upset, anxious, confused and suspicious of other people, particularly
anyone who doesn’t agree with your perceptions. You may be unaware, or
reluctant to believe, that you need help.In making a diagnosis, doctors will want to rule out other physical or mental health problems. They will look for various ‘positive’ symptoms and ‘negative’ symptoms, and make a diagnosis based on the presence and duration of some or all of these symptoms.
Positive
symptoms
‘Positive’ symptoms are symptoms that
most people do not normally experience. They include: strange thinking
(‘thought disorder’), hallucinations and delusions.Strange thinking (‘thought disorder’)
Your thoughts and ideas may seem jumbled and make little sense to others. Conversation may be very difficult and this may contribute to a sense of loneliness and isolation.
Hallucinations
Hallucinations can affect any of your senses. You might:
- see things that others don’t
- smell things that others don’t
- hear voices or sounds that others don’t.
I
can ignore the voices most of the time but some days it’s insistent and
frightening.
According to some research, up to four
per cent of the population hear voices. For most people, the voices they hear
present no problem and are not associated with schizophrenia.Delusions
Delusions are usually strongly held beliefs or experiences that are not in line with a generally accepted reality. Delusions associated with schizophrenia are probably distressing for you, or those around you, as they may be unusual or extreme. For instance, you might believe secret agents are following you or that outside forces are controlling you or putting thoughts into your mind. For more information, see Mind’s booklets, Understanding paranoia and Understanding psychotic experiences.
Negative
symptoms
‘Negative’ symptoms are a lack of some
emotional responses or thought processes. ‘Negative’ symptoms include: lack of
interest, emotional flatness, inability to concentrate, wanting to avoid people
or to be protected.
I
was finding it difficult to talk, the words in my mind just would not come out.
Being withdrawn, being apathetic, and
being unable to concentrate are all described as ‘negative’ rather than
‘positive’, because they show a reduction in thought or function. It can be
very difficult to tell whether negative symptoms are part of the schizophrenia,
or whether they are present because you are reacting to other frightening or
distressing symptoms. For example, a person with a mental health problem may be
discriminated against or ignored which may cause them to feel isolated and
depressed and so withdraw.
What causes
schizophrenia?
There’s no complete answer to why some
people develop symptoms of schizophrenia when other people do not. And, because
of differences of opinion about the definition of schizophrenia and its
symptoms, it’s not easy to identify what might cause it.It’s generally agreed that schizophrenia is probably caused by a combination of factors; someone’s genetic make-up could make them more vulnerable, but stressful events or life experiences could trigger the onset of symptoms. It can be helpful to think about potential causes of schizophrenia in terms of how much evidence there is to support the idea that a particular trait, event or factor causes schizophrenia.
Dopamine
Dopamine is one of the chemicals that carry
messages between brain cells. There is evidence that too much dopamine may be
involved in the development of schizophrenia, but it’s still
After gathering information I decided to create a second spider diagram showing what i had learnt and how it would affect the film.
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