Characters on the Couch
Film & Television Blog
by Dr. Sandra Cohen
PERFECT DAYS: When “Now is Now” Isn’t as Simple as It Seems
Hirayama (Kôji Yakusho) cleans toilets in Wim Wenders 2023 film, Perfect Days. He cleans with perfect attentiveness and precision. Hirayama cares about what he does. He cares with the peacefulness of a man who seems happy in his very routine days. I say “seems” because living in the “now” as Hirayama has perfected, isn’t always…
MY OLD ASS: A Fear of Goodbyes
18-year-old Elliott’s worst fear was goodbye. This fear persisted into her almost-40s, as we see when she encounters My Old Ass on a Shrooms trip in Megan Park’s film. You wouldn’t know Elliott was afraid to say goodbye with her repeated mantra that she can’t wait to get away. She’s even convinced her family. That…
WICKED: Rage at Abuse Isn’t Wicked
John M. Chu‘s 2024 film, Wicked, shows us in spades what happens to an abused child. That’s Elphaba. Abandoned. Shamed. Blamed. Rejected. Bullied. Shunned. Of course, rage fills Elphaba. It’s a terrible injustice to label her Wicked. Elphaba’s no different than many abused children. Hungry for love, she keeps her hurt bottled up. Caters to…
