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Characters On The Couch

How a psychologist thinks about your favorite Film & TV characters.

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Dr. Sandra E. Cohen

BENT Being Cruel When Love Is A Scary Thing

BENT
Being Cruel
When Love Is A Scary Thing

August 18, 2015 by Dr. Sandra E. Cohen

Spoiler Alert: Some Plot Details Revealed Cruelty comes in different forms. We can’t escape the obvious in BENT: the unimaginable inhumane cruelty of The Nazi Party towards Gays and Jews. Yet, we see more than the Nazi’s cruelty in this brilliantly acted, honest, heart-wrenching, and inspiring play (written by Martin Sherman and directed by Moises …

Read moreBENT
Being Cruel
When Love Is A Scary Thing
An Emmy for Jon Hamm? Yes! For Playing A Traumatized Man

EMMY FOR JON HAMM?
Yes! For Portraying
A Traumatized Man

August 14, 2015 by Dr. Sandra E. Cohen

Jon Hamm deserves an Emmy for Don Draper. I agree with Variety’s Debra Birnbaum about that. But, I find it unfortunate that voters would only now consider awarding him that Emmy. As Birnbaum wrote, Jon Hamm likely hasn’t won in the past since “Don Draper … was a cheating husband, a neglectful father, an unapologetic …

Read moreEMMY FOR JON HAMM?
Yes! For Portraying
A Traumatized Man
Donald Trump The Good & The Ugly in his Political Incorrectness

DONALD TRUMP
The Good & The Ugly
In His Political Incorrectness

August 13, 2015 by Dr. Sandra E. Cohen

The Good: We see exactly who he is – since Donald Trump has only contempt for any kind of political correctness. Most of us are politically correct because it reflects what we believe. Yet, political correctness for political correctness’s sake could hide what someone really thinks. The Donald isn’t self-aware enough to hide. He’s also …

Read moreDONALD TRUMP
The Good & The Ugly
In His Political Incorrectness
The Girl in the Train What's in an Obsession?

THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN
What’s In An Obsession?

August 11, 2015 by Dr. Sandra E. Cohen

Paula Hawkins’ New York Times bestselling novel, The Girl On The Train, gives us Rachel – a girl obsessed. There’s no question this novel is a mind-bending murder mystery par excellence. But, for me as a psychoanalyst, it poses a more interesting question. What’s behind Rachel’s obsession? Rachel Watson rides the train every day. She …

Read moreTHE GIRL ON THE TRAIN
What’s In An Obsession?
The End of the Tour David Foster Wallace's Self Loathing Voice & Depression

THE END OF THE TOUR
A Self-Loathing Voice & Depression

August 10, 2015 by Dr. Sandra E. Cohen

The End of the Tour shows that a self-loathing voice can’t be allowed to take center stage. It makes you believe other people are thinking terrible thoughts about you too. You keep your distance. It’s a lonely place to be. David Foster Wallace’s short story, The Depressed Person, shows he knew that struggle well. So …

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A Self-Loathing Voice & Depression
The End of The Tour

THE END OF THE TOUR
Jason Segel Gets Inside
Foster Wallace’s Quiet Torment

August 4, 2015 by Dr. Sandra E. Cohen

Depression is outwardly a quiet torment. Inside it’s an almost constant implosion of self-deprecating self-doubt. That’s what we witness in director James Ponsoldt’s The End of the Tour – wrapped around David Foster Wallace like his famous bandana. Woven all-too-frequently into the substance of his conversation with David Lipsky: the ravages of a cruelly oppressive …

Read moreTHE END OF THE TOUR
Jason Segel Gets Inside
Foster Wallace’s Quiet Torment
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Inspiration

“We come to Film and TV to find our hidden stories. If we look deeply into a character’s psyche, there is much to see about ourselves.”

Recent Posts

The Power of the Dog Why Phil Burbank’s Cruelty is About What He Hates in Himself
SOUND OF METAL How Silence Stops A Man From Running
The Father Dementia and The Fight To Hold Onto Who He Was

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