Psychology in Action is proud to announce a panel discussion in collaboration with the UCLA Theater, Film, and Television Department to take place on Friday, May 25th, 2012, from 4 to 6pm in UCLA’s Bridges Theater (Melnitz 1409).  The discussion will focus on the intersection of the science of mental illness and the art of filmmaking.  The event is completely FREE and open to the general public!  We hope to see you there!

 

Panelists

– Jim Uhls, screenwriter (Fight Club)

– Greg Hoblit, director (Primal Fear and Fracture)

– Dr. Reef Karim, psychiatric consultant (Thirteen, Bourne Identity, Alias)

– Dr. Richard Gilbert, professor of Clinical Psychology, LMU

Synopsis

Filmmakers create art that both provides entertainment and communicates a story or a vision. Films often examine the human condition, and inherent to understanding the human condition is understanding the full spectrum of psychological experience. Perhaps it is unsurprising that many characters in films frequently contend with common psychological issues (e.g., depression, anxiety, substance abuse), and rather disproportionately, cases of severe psychopathology (e.g., dissociative identity disorder, antisocial personality disorder, schizophrenia). This raises many interesting questions about why filmmakers and audiences continue to be intrigued by films that tell stories of mental illness, how these stories are told through the medium of film, what considerations filmmakers take into account when portraying mental illness, and how these films affect the audience.