Psychology helps to understand the coordination between the mind and body and how it impacts our lives in various forms. Studies persist in trying to understand psychology deeper. As it can be mysterious and unpredictable, the interest ignites. Certain movies as well as series are released as a result of this curiousness. These films provide gripping portrayals of psychological experiment and their results, questioning ethics, the power of the mind and human behaviour. Here are a few films based on the sector of psychology that delve into themes of human nature, control and manipulation.
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A Clockwork Orange (1971)
A Clockwork Orange is a thrilling movie with an experimental plot. It is a 1971 dystopian crime film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick taking the classic novel of Anthony Burgess as inspiration. It includes contemplating and disturbing plots to comment on psychiatry, juvenile delinquency and social, and political ethos in near-future Britain.
In this movie, Alex the main protagonist is an anti-social violence-loving individual who ends up committing a grievous sexual offence. He was sentenced to 14 years of imprisonment and was taken up as a subject for performing psychological experiments where he was drugged heavily and exposed to electrocution continuously while displaying adult films which ultimately resulted in his aversion and withdrawal from women and any form of sexual act. Finally, he meets the individual whose life he had destroyed who himself tries to recognise Alex and take revenge on him.
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Shutter Island (2010)
This was a blockbuster movie crafted by Martin Scorsese starring Leonardo Dicaprio adapted from a novel again. In “Shutter Island,” U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels is sent to investigate the disappearance of a patient from a remote asylum on a stormy island, but as he digs deeper, he begins to question his sanity and memories, ultimately revealing that he is a patient at the asylum himself, repressing a traumatic past where he murdered his wife who drowned their children; the entire investigation is a manifestation of his subconscious mind trying to confront the truth.
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The Island (2005)
The Island is an American science fiction action film directed and co-produced by Michael bay and scripted by Caspian Tredwell-Owen. The movie follows a character who struggles to fit into a rigidly structured society. Living in an isolated compound, they begin to question the truth about their world and its hidden realities.
Technically everyone in the movie lives in a compound and is allowed to go and live outside based on a lottery once in a while for an experiment purpose where the survival tricks and forms are being studied. The story follows a person or group stranded on a remote island, uncovering its hidden secrets while facing survival challenges and societal conflicts. It explores themes of isolation, human nature, and the struggle to maintain civilization. Depending on the narrative, it may also touch on prejudice, social exclusion, and the impact of outsiders on the community.
The Stanford Prison Experiment (2015)
The Stanford Prison Experiment is a psychological experimentation-based movie directed by Kyle Patrick Alvarez where individuals are exposed to a prison-like environment for a couple of weeks and their behaviour, and formats to adapt to the environment as well as the change in nature is being noted. The stimulation of a prison environment thus is examined. This whole movie was scripted based on a real-life experience. They select at least eighteen males for the experiment where they are being paid around 15 dollars per day.
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Vanilla Sky (2001)
Vanilla Sky is a 2001 American science fiction psychological thriller film directed by Cameron Crowe starring Tom Cruise and Penelope Cruz where the movie follows a magazine publisher who begins to question reality after getting into a horrible car crash. In this movie, the main character undergoes traumatic tragedies twice and ends up losing his handsomeness. First, the disfigurement of the face due to a car crash resulted in depression and anti-social behaviour.
As the protagonist was recovering from his experience, he suffered further loss, including his loved ones and his father. This led him to turn to technological support, allowing him to communicate and experience lucid dreams of his desires. So, thus movie shows basically how an accident influences an individual to step up and take certain steps as well as shows how keen an individual can get after suffering to experience everything.
Read More: Anti-Social Personality: A curse to society
Donnie Darko (2001)
Donnie Darko is a 2001 American science fiction psychological thriller film written as well as directed by Richard Kelly along with the Flower Films productions. The movie follows the life of a troubled teenager, Donnie, who experiences visions of a man in a rabbit suit and a giant jet engine crashing into his bedroom. As he tries to make sense of these events, he becomes entangled in a series of mysterious occurrences that seem connected to preventing the end of the world. The movie shows the worth of living and loving life. It also explores free will, determinism and the quest to understand, our purpose in life.
FAQs
1. What is the Purpose of Experimental Movies?
The goal and criteria behind showcasing an experiment-based movie is to place the viewer in a more active and more intelligent thoughtful relationship with the film and teach about certain sectors of life.
2. Do experimental movies invite interpretation?
The challenge of open interpretation in experimental film rests in its invitation to viewers to partake in the creation procedure
3. What are the Six Characteristics most Experimental Films share?
Expert verified answer. Fred Camper outlines six characteristics shared by an experimental movie includes: stylistic excess, rejection of mundane life, emphasis on the filmic process, exploration of the viewer’s experience, non-linear narratives, and interdisciplinary connections.
4. What are the three characteristics of Experimentation?
The article considers the three characteristics of the basic experiment i.e. random assignment of subjects, manipulation of the relevant variables and control of irrelevant variables.
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