Romance of regression. The image of a psychotherapist in the retrospective of Hollywood cinema (2011 - 1992)

Over the past twenty years, a lot of changes and discoveries have taken place in foreign cinema. Sometimes the world had to endure turmoil, as on that day on March 31, 1999, when the Americans flinched and realized that we are all loaded into the Matrix. However, having learned how to create scenes of apocalypses and model the destroyed cities, the filmmakers and screenwriters could not develop the image in every respect of a competent, competent psychotherapist. And is it really necessary for the viewer to gradually get used to the monotonous movie? How many wondered when watching movies about how the image of the therapist regressed over the past few years?

Let us turn to the film, which gave rise to the "psychotherapeutic twenty years".

1992 - the psychological thriller "Final Analysis" by Phil Joanu comes out on the screens. The motto of this film might sound like "Rules exist to break them." Richard Gere in the image of Dr. Barra falls in love with her sister's sister, which, by the way, is forbidden, and the second half of the film is pursued by her, which turned out to be a psychopath. Survives by pure chance, when the chances seem to be gone. In 1992, this is still new. Violation of elementary ethical and professional norms and rules, amazing vitality are the first strokes in the image of the screen psychotherapist.

1994 - the theme of the relationship between the patient and the psychotherapist is played out differently in Richard Rush 's film "The Color of the Night" . In front of Bill Cape (Bruce Willis) during the therapeutic session the client is thrown out of the window. Seeing her body, he is shocked and becomes a protanope - no longer distinguish red. Bill Cape is deeply going through what happened and decides to visit his friend, also a psychoanalyst, to unwind. A friend takes Bill in his chic mansion, introduces a group of his patients and, of course ... dies under mysterious circumstances. And Bill falls in love with a mysterious stranger. If, up to this point, the plot has developed thanks to one woman, then the next one is directed by another. Apparently, leaving the therapist without affecting the lady is completely indecent. The plot is again built on a solid foundation of deviations and distortions, washed by a sea of innocent blood. Who knows how to save the world, Bruce did not save this film from awarding her the "Golden Raspberry".

1997 - American film "Will Willing Hunting" Clever Gus Van Senta captures the imagination of viewers around the world and collects almost $ 226 million with a budget of 10. Oscars, awards for "a special contribution to the cinema" and "an outstanding European contribution to the world cinema." However, how not to notice that here again the image of the therapist is very specific.

Under the influence of the problematic genius Will Hunting (Matt Damon), the therapist Sean Maguire (Robin Williams) begins to delve into himself and rethink his life. The "doctor-patient" relationship grows into a friendly sympathy. Sean begins to try to get out of the depression, and this process is quite painful. From here one more stroke in the image of the psychotherapist on the screen: he does not so much treat his patients, how much he suffers and changes from the relationship with them.

Again, there is a female image in the film - the favorite wife of the therapist, the story of the acquaintance with which Maguire strikes Will. Two years before the events, she dies of cancer, which is the reason for her husband's depression. In some ways, in this film, much is also tied up on the gum, but the script writers Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, fortunately, did not even remember about the teachings of Sigmund Freud.

Further, in 1999, a comedy about the interaction of the New York mafia, Paul Vitti (Robert De Niro) and psychoanalyst Ben Sobel (Billy Crystal) is available for hire . "Analyze this" - the creation of the director Harold Ramis, which is worth seeing fans of American comedies: not too vulgar and not too chaste. However, Freud's memory was again disturbed - his far from perfect theories of subconscious fears, complexes and phobias clearly served as one of the sources of inspiration for the screenwriter. Hence, on the example of several films, we conclude - the screen psychotherapist without Zygmund is practically nowhere.

To date, there are more than 400 methods and schools of practical psychology and psychotherapy in the world. Most of them are much more effective than orthodox Freudian psychoanalysis. Leaders in the treatment of neuroses and other mental disorders - cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy and gestalt therapy ("Psychotherapeutic Encyclopedia" edited by Karvasarskii).

On August 6, 1999, Bruce Willis returns to his audience as a child psychologist and psychiatrist in M. Night Shyamalan's film The Sixth Sense . It should be noted that this film is a colossal anti-advertising for all psychologists and psychotherapists inhabiting the globe. A small miscalculation during the treatment of the boy leads to the child growing up an aggressive psychopath who gets into the apartment to the former doctor, shoots him, and then ends with himself. A graduate and experienced specialist who receives a diploma for achievements in the field of psychiatry and merit before Philadelphia, does not treat the patient, but cripples his life.

In the 2003 Peter Sigal film Anger Management, Dr. Buddy Riedell himself is emotionally unstable and even aggressive. The method that he practices, based on pressure and immersing the patient in stress, ultimately helps the businessman Dave Baznik, but most viewers, having looked at this film, will probably make a decision never and never to contact such ... doctors.

A truly "masterpiece", "the crown of creation" is David Cronenberg 's film "The Dangerous Method" , released in 2011 . To distort even more the history of the relationship of Sigmund Freud, not just and not the two mentioned in this article, and Carl Gustav Jung, perhaps, is extremely difficult. Of all the works of Freud, of course, the doctrine of sexuality was chosen. To add sharpness, it was necessary to make Jung a man with deviations, prone to violence, cruelty, an absolute cynic, who came into contact with his mentally ill patient. Freud, however, is shown by a wise experience by an elderly gentleman who does not approve of the adventures of his young, somewhat arrogant, sometimes overly emotional colleague. A more direct opposition (the link between which is represented by a Russian Jewess - Sabina Spielrein) is difficult to imagine. Scientific terms are sounded, in the intervals between the scenes of violence of the eyes the sunny landscapes are pleasing, and yet we know little about the real history of the development of psychoanalysis and about Freud's contribution to psychology more than before getting to know this film.

With what remains a misinformed, confused viewer? Vulnerable, vulnerable, aggressive, violating conceivable and unthinkable professional norms, screen psychotherapists cause any feelings except ... trust. Maybe that's why Americans take tons of antidepressants in tons, and many Hollywood stars, after alcohol libations and debauchery, are more likely to come to their senses on a "shkonka" in a police station than in a psychotherapist's office?