Posts by Dr. Sandra E. Cohen
THE REVENANT
Humanizing Revenge
As much as I loved Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Birdman, I can’t say I felt the same about The Revenant. I know the film won big at the Golden Globes and has received Oscar nods for Best Picture and Best Actor. Perhaps that’s because a fantasy lives deep inside us about exacting revenge where we believe revenge…
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THE DANISH GIRL
Barren Trees & A Divided Self
Director Tom Hopper’s beautifully conceived film, The Danish Girl, begins and ends with artist Einar Wegener’s paintings of barren trees. The barrenness in these trees tells volumes about the lonely depletion of a self when the real self is split off and hidden. Artist Einar Wegener’s courageous transition from male to female, together with Eddie…
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TRUMBO & The Dynamics Of Fear
It’s Ravages, Ruins, & Undoing
“Now the truth of the matter is that there are a lot of things people don’t understand. Take the Einstein theory. Taxes. Love. Do you understand them? Neither do I. But they exist. They happen.” – Dalton Trumbo Dalton Trumbo is right. Things we don’t understand do happen. And, some things we don’t understand invoke…
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UnREAL
Bullying Women &
The Bully In Your Head
October 2015 is Bullying Prevention Month: Defeat The Bully In Your Head Lifetime TV UnREAL’s Rachel Goldberg (Shiri Appleby) and Quinn King (Constance Zimmer) are the quintessential bullies. They use, torment, humiliate, tear down, and pit their reality show’s women contestants against each other for a chance at Everlasting love. Love is the key word here.…
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WRITERS
NEED HELP WITH A CHARACTER?
Get It A Therapist
I’m a therapist and a writer. As a writer, one of the things I do is write this blog called Characters On The Couch where I play therapist to your favorite Film & TV characters. As a writer, I also know that some writing flows more easily than others. Developing psychologically complex characters can be particularly challenging.…
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WHAT HAPPENED, MISS SIMONE?
No Rest For
A Love-Starved Girl
What Happened, Miss Simone, Liz Garbus’ documentary of the brilliant and troubled Nina Simone’s life, ends by diagnosing Miss Simone with bipolar disorder. Does that explain her outrageous behavior? I don’t think so. Those with bipolar disorder are taken over by extremes of moods. But, in my experience, there’s much more to being bipolar than…
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