Characters on the Couch
Film & Television Blog
by Dr. Sandra Cohen
HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS
Family, Sibling Warfare & Love
Holidays are getting close and they’re complicated enough without COVID-19. Now you have to think twice (or, at least for different reasons) whether you can risk going Home for The Holidays. The usual question is: Do you want to go home to family, with all the quirks, neuroses, and old sibling warfare that Jodie Foster’s…
THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE (1962)
A Narcissistic Mother & Her Child’s Soul
A narcissistic mother uses her children. She controls them, starves them of love. In John Frankenheimer’s The Manchurian Candidate (1962), that’s Eleanor Shaw Iselin, Mother of lead character Raymond Shaw. Raymond is convinced: “I’m not lovable.” No wonder he has enough hate to be brainwashed to kill. “Yes, Mother,” “Yes, Ma’am, and “Yes, Sir” govern his…
GROUNDHOG DAY (1993-2020)
What Does It Take To Get Out
Of A Very Bad Negative Rut?
Do you feel like poor Phil Connors (Bill Murray) – stuck repeating the same day over and over again? COVID-19 quarantine can do that. It’s been 27 years since Harold Ramis’ Groundhog Day hit the theaters for the first time. But 6 months probably feels long enough. If you’ve been ruminating about your love life…
