Movie Review on - Goodwill Hunting (2013)Movie link -Film/Video Catalog (ocls.ca)Prompt/thesis statement -What role do defence mechanisms play in the film goodWill Hunting?
attached a sample copy of how I want it to be written .
1 Evil & Humanity Analysis 8 “Experimenter” Kinsey Winger 5945720 LIBS1770-21W-Sec3 Prof. Brandi May Thursday April 8, 2021 Introduction The movie Experimenter (2015) tells the true story of Stanley Milgram and his radical experiments. The experiments were to determine a person’s obedience level and compliance. The participants were instructed to give another subject a shock if the subject did not answer a question correctly. Unknown to the participant, the other subject was in on the experiment and was not actually being shocked. The results were quite interesting and unexpected. Although people had the free will to stop, the majority of participants continued on with the experiment even when they knew they caused the other subject pain and possible harm. Definitions Obedience is described as “a form of social compliance that involves performing an action due to a request from an authority figures” (May, 2021, slide 13). Social compliance is the act of going along with what the masses deem appropriate even if you don’t actually agree (Shaw, 2019, pp. 223-228). Distinction/Supporting Points The role of free will in the Milgram experiments is somewhat of a gray area and really depends on the individual person involved. Some participants flat out refused to continue on, while most chose to keep going; free will played a part in both of these scenarios. These participants had the opportunity to stop, but pressure from an authority figure prompted them to keep going despite the stress it caused to both parties involved. They chose to continue to avoid the risk of disappointing the people in charge. At the very beginning of the film Experimenter (2015), Milner mentions his specific choice of lab coat colour. The fact that the scientists involved even wore lab coats displayed a level of authority which would cause the participant to be more likely to obey. The scientist conducting the experiment never threatened or physically forced any participants into continuing to shock the other subject, they simply repeated the same instructions over and over. The scientist would basically tell the participant continue or else the experiment would fail and it would be the participant’s fault. This put pressure on those acting out the experiment as they did not wish to let down the authority figure. Milgram later speaks about how he moved the test location to a somewhat questionable looking, run-down, office space in hopes the participants would be less likely to continue, but this didn’t seem to have an effect on the outcome. Eventually, they started testing on women to see if there would be a different result, but once again, it seemed to go the same way. One of the women later explained that she was frightened the roles would be switched and she would have to endure the pain of the shocks. This is a classic case of reward and punishment in the ten masks of administrative evil (May, 2021, slide 10). At that point, the participant chose to protect herself instead of helping the other subject. The experiments weren’t the only examples of social compliance and free will throughout the film. During a filming session to adapt Milner’s experiments to a television show, one of the actors tells Milner a story about when he was a boy. He speaks of how two police officers asked him to go with them where they proceeded to pour a substance all over his head. The actor goes on to explain how the officers laughed, so he also laughed despite the experience being unenjoyable. The boy could have said no to the officers, but because they were authority figures, he simply went along with it. There is also an instance where Milner is confronted on the street by a woman who recognized him from television. She accuses him of torturing people, an opinion provided by a television host. Because the television host holds a position of power, the woman chose to believe him instead of considering what Milner was trying to accomplish. Milner briefly touches on how his parents were victims of the Holocaust. He explains that his main reasoning for the experiments was to try and find reasoning behind why people in WWII Germany could have simply complied when hundreds of thousands of people were being killed for no reason. Men, women, children, old and young. They were unjustly sentenced to their deaths and very few chose to question the purpose of this mass extermination. Milner talks about Adolf Eichmann’s role in the Holocaust. With such a high position in the military, he could have said no and been a resistance to the slaughter. Instead, he chose to blindly follow orders and was one of the main orchestrators of the Holocaust. Perhaps if more people like Eichmann were to stand up to this horrid mistreatment of human beings, the entire event could have been stopped. Dialect/Opposing Point While the majority of people seem to succumb social compliance, there are a select few who seem to have stronger will power than others. They have strong ideals and morals which will not be phased by outside sources. In the film Experimenter (2015), William Shatner (or an actor playing him) spoke about the first ever on-screen, biracial kiss between a costar and himself. He discussed how the people in charge weren’t sure about actually going through with it, but Shatner paid no mind to their opinions. He chose to go ahead with it despite the mass opposition and, in the end, he made history and paved the way for more acceptance to biracial relationships on television. There was also an example of one man who defied the scientist in charge in the film Experimenter (2015). This man blatantly exclaimed that if the subject wanted to stop, he was going to stop. Demonstration/Conclusion There are two sides to free will; the choice to say yes, and the choice to say no. When it comes to social compliance, it’s important to weigh the situation carefully and think for yourself. One voice of opposition could sway the opinions of the masses. References Almereyda, M. (Director). (2015). Experimenter [Motion Picture]. USA: Magnolia Pictures. May, B. (2021). Institutional Evil [PowerPoint Slides]. Retrieved April 7, 2021, from eConestoga. May, B. (2021). Psychology of Evil [PowerPoint Slides]. Retrieved April 7, 2021, from eConestoga. Shaw, J. (2019). Evil: The Science Behind Humanity’s Dark Side (1st ed.) USA, Doubleday Canada. PowerPoint Presentation Defense Mechanisms When instinctual desires become much too overwhelming because we are not able to follow through with it, it causes a state of anxiety To relieve this anxiety, we unconsciously use what are called defense mechanisms. Image retrieved from https://www.bengaldaily.com/recognizing-anxiety-symptoms-signs-and-risk-factors/ Defense Mechanisms Defense mechanisms are unconscious psychological responses that protect people from things that they don't want to think about or deal with. For instance, if you wanted to have relations with your best friend's partner, it might create anxiety, and you would then make yourself feel better by doing one of the following things: Defense Mechanisms cont. Denial Refuse to accept realityRationalization Create biased explanations for the stressor. Ex. If you fail an exam you might blame the instructor instead of your own lack of preparation. Repression Instead of facing painful memories, you unconsciously hide them awayReaction Formation When you can't express your true feelings, you exaggerate the opposite Projection When you take unwanted feelings about yourself and attribute them to someone else. Ex. A cheating spouse is often suspicious of unfaithfulness.Sublimation Channel your frustrations into a positive way ex. Kickboxing/art Displacement Taking out your anger etc. On a non-threatening object or personCompartmentalization When you separate your life into different sectors. Ex. don't talk about home life at work. Regression Coping by resorting to an earlier developmental stageIntellectualization Try to remove emotion and deal with the situation through facts Alternative Approaches to Aggression As mentioned, Psychoanalytic theory relates to unconscious processes. In the mid 1900s, a different branch of Psychology emerged called Behaviorism. This branch emphasizes learning through interaction with one's environment. A famous study done in 1961 on aggression was done by Albert Bandura called the Bobo Doll experiment. Bobo Doll Experiment Bandura wanted to see what would happen in children witnessed an adult showing aggressive behaviour and was not being punished for it. Would the child choose the moral road or copy the adult?