Characters on the Couch
Film & Television Blog
by Dr. Sandra Cohen
THE END OF THE TOUR
Jason Segel Gets Inside
Foster Wallace’s Quiet Torment
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…
AMY
How A Psychoanalyst Looks At
Her “Freudian Fate” & Bulimia
Asif Kapadia’s deeply truthful, Amy, makes something very clear. Although Amy Winehouse predicted fame would “drive her mad,” it was more her psychological troubles that set her on a fatal downward spiral. The lyrics to What Is It About Men – “my Freudian fate. History repeats itself. It fails to die,” only touch the surface…
STAGE FRIGHT
If You’re Terrified To Perform
There’s An Answer
Joan Acocella’s comprehensive New Yorker piece (August 3, 2015) “I Can’t Go On!” concludes: “There seems to be no cure for stage fright.” That’s not true. For stage fright to be cured or at the very least tolerably minimized, a deeply personal understanding must be found for each person’s fears. I’m a psychoanalyst who treats…
