As each award season approaches, the world's attention focuses on Hollywood and the best of its yearly 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 at times 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 do give unusual emphasis to 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 62 that fit my criteria, leading to the overwhelming statistic that psychology accounts for 25% of all Oscar-winning major films and roles. 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?
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
1999 Hilary Swank: Boys Don't Cry: Gender identity 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: Autistic 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 (including Jack Nicholson for Best Actor though he did not have schizophrenia)
1977: Annie Hall: Generalized anxiety disorder
1984: Amadeus: Delusional disorder
1986: Platoon: Acute stress disorder
1988: Rain Man: Autism
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:
Antisocial personality disorder - 23% of all themes
Narcissistic personality disorder- 19% of all themes
Clearly, psychology features heavily in Hollywood's feature films. Let's hope that someday, the Academcy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences includes psychology as one of its sciences!
As it turns out, the Academy Awards are heavily weighted toward films that depict psychological themes. They also do give unusual emphasis to 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 62 that fit my criteria, leading to the overwhelming statistic that psychology accounts for 25% of all Oscar-winning major films and roles. 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?
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
1999 Hilary Swank: Boys Don't Cry: Gender identity 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: Autistic 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 (including Jack Nicholson for Best Actor though he did not have schizophrenia)
1977: Annie Hall: Generalized anxiety disorder
1984: Amadeus: Delusional disorder
1986: Platoon: Acute stress disorder
1988: Rain Man: Autism
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:
Antisocial personality disorder - 23% of all themes
Narcissistic personality disorder- 19% of all themes
Clearly, psychology features heavily in Hollywood's feature films. Let's hope that someday, the Academcy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences includes psychology as one of its sciences!
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