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Personality Analysis of Movie Character
Abraham Philip Francis
Department of Applied Psychology, Pondicherry University
APSY 413: Theories of Personality
Dr. Barani Ganth
26th February 2021
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Analyzing Howard Hughes' Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in 'The Aviator' Film, Summaries of Theories of Communication
The portrayal of Howard Hughes' Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) in Martin Scorsese's film 'The Aviator'. The analysis evaluates the accuracy of Hughes' depiction, the impact of media portrayals on mental illness stigma, and the potential triggers and theories behind his disorder. The document also discusses the film's both stigmatizing and de-stigmatizing portrayals of OCD.
What you will learn
- What are the potential childhood influences and environmental factors that may have contributed to Hughes' OCD?
- What social supports and treatments are depicted in 'The Aviator' for Hughes' OCD?
- How does the media's portrayal of OCD in 'The Aviator' impact public perception and stigma?
- What are the different perspectives on the cause of OCD, and how do they apply to Howard Hughes' case?
Typology: Summaries
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Personality Analysis of Movie Character
Abraham Philip Francis
Department of Applied Psychology, Pondicherry University
APSY 413: Theories of Personality Dr. Barani Ganth 26 th^ February 2021
Personality Analysis “Personality is the dynamic organization within the individual of those psychophysical systems that determine his unique adjustments to the environment” – Allport. As soon as my assignment was scheduled, I had an option to write about a movie character's personality analysis. It was one of the other three choices that I have to choose as my assignment topic. I immediately grabbed the offer to make an in-depth personality analysis of a movie character. At the very moment, the movie Aviator struck my mind. The character of the lead role portrayed is alluring, and it readily inspired me to do the personality analysis of that character. Yes, the integral idea behind choosing this particular movie and character apart from Dicaprio being my favourite Hollywood star is the personality connect it had by showcasing a mental disorder as real as possible. An in-depth portrayal of the character by the lead role that impressed me long time ago made me choose this movie without considering other options. The Aviator is a well-known American Biographical-Drama movie directed by Martin Scorsese, which plays Leonardo Dicaprio as the lead. The story has an in-depth association with critical psychological perspectives and a debilitating mental disorder called Obsessive- Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Although mental illness has a very high prevalence rate worldwide, the prevalence rate of obsessive-compulsive related disorders is relatively low. Since media, i.e., films and television shows are the most excellent form of showcasing mental illness today; depictions of the mentally ill, such as those suffering from obsessive-compulsive or a related disorder can create or nullify stigma and stereotypes. In order to lessen the stigma around mental disorders and encourage the mentally ill to seek help, the media's portrayals of the mentally ill must be evaluated for accurate depictions. The Aviator is one such film that characterizes a mental illness and the main character, Howard Hughes, is analyzed to determine
knowing his name and associating his name with great things. He was already incredibly wealthy from his father’s drill bit money, but he wanted to make movies along with several other new innovations. He never got contented with his work and often found himself unhappy with the work of his colleagues. He even risks his life by test flying his own planes to set records. He has such a passion for aviation that he buys Transcontinental & Western Air (TWA) even when he cannot be able to afford it ultimately. Why does he do this? Again, he knows what attracts the people, and he sees the profitability of public airline travel. During this time, Hughes becomes a consultant for the American government and aids the war effort. With the combined stress of filmmaking, managing an airline, and consulting for the government, Hughes' OCD begins to create obstacles in his daily life.
Hughes hits a career-low point when once he learns that the Air Force has pulled their contract for the Hercules (A Cargo aircraft ordered by the American government) and TWA has been grounded by the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB). Rather than choose between funding one of the two, Hughes bets on rectifying all the dues and does his own service to bring his company back. Senator Owen Brewster (who passed the CAB bill), invites Hughes to have lunch with him and decides to negotiate about the bill with him. At lunch, Senator Brewster intentionally leaves a thumbprint on Howard's drinking glass and serves him rather suspicious-looking fish to make him uncomfortable. Still, Howard calmly eats and drinks as if nothing was wrong. When encountered with the bill's negotiation, Hughes indicates his unwillingness to show weakness and just months after being released from the hospital because of his aircraft crash, Hughes refuses to use his cane and walks out of his house. Later he confronts his fear when he decides to come out of bankruptcy and faces Brewster at a public hearing in front of tons of cameras and people rather than sell TWA to Pan-Am. At the hearing, Hughes ignores the audience and
immediately goes after Brewster. He gets very diplomatic and persistent with the use of his words and knowledge to get out of the trouble that he faced by the government, which eventually enables him to comes out of the case.
He later goes on to meet several new women in his life, which he, in turn, makes as his own love interests. His friends, colleagues and the press call him a Playboy due to his ever- changing love interests. Howard’s actual legion of neurosis, as well as the constant attention he receives from the fairer sex, made it difficult for him to hold any relationship together for long. Ava Gardener and Faith Domergue, his later partners from the celebrity background, proved his liking for women, especially from the culture of theatre.
Hughes’ need to do something bigger and better than ever, ambitions permeates throughout the entire movie. His aspirations span across multiple industries. His eccentric ways of living and rash decisions that cost him millions never worried him or stopped him. All he wanted was to make the biggest movies and fly the fastest airplanes. In order to achieve these goals, he sacrifices his sanity, and although he does not go completely insane, he goes mentally unstable. The combination of burying himself in work and dealing with his worsening OCD and chronic pain due to plane crash injuries led him to live alone. That uncontrollable ambition ultimately drove away those close to him. Despite his adversity, he still wants and makes plans to buy a new fleet of an airline for his next dream project before his compulsions take control of him, and the movie draws to an end.
The Tormented Psyche:
Although there is a general consensus on the success of the film, the main concern is the depiction of obsessive-compulsive disorder: how the storyline attempts to explain the cause and
food plate and wrapping the wheel of an aero plane to act as a barrier against germs. He carries his own soap bar to use in public restrooms and washes his hands in a stereotyped way. As the movie continues, the severity and complexity of his symptoms increases, he repeats words and phrases compulsively and develops complex and elaborate routines that must be followed precisely and any such deviation from the meticulous routine compels him to start over from the beginning. At times he gets stuck in a repetitive and uncontrollable bout of compulsions to say few sentences like “Show me the Blueprints”, etc. He also got very suspicious with his girlfriends and decided to keep a recorder under their clothes. We see him begin to avoid appearing in public, washing his hands until they bleed, and temporarily settling him entirely in a screening room taken over with piles of tissues, with no one allowed to come in, in his obsessive effort to establish a “germ free zone” to live.
In inclusion to his OCD symptoms, the film reveals other aspects of Hughes' personality. He was quite driven and perfectionist, often going over time and over budget to complete a film or design an aero plane to his most preferred specifications. Seemingly at odds with his OCD- related safety obsessions, he also took risks with his physical safety, such as challenging world air flight records and choosing to pilot planes that had never been tested. Hughes' perfectionism is typical of some people with OCD, whereas the more risk-taking and sensationalistic aspects of his behaviour are much less typical. His mental disorder has contributed to his isolation and impairment in his life's social and business aspects. These scenes help illustrate how pervasive a mental disorder can damage a person.
An essential part of the film involves Hughes preparing for attending a senate hearing to defend himself against accusations of war profiteering. Before his hearing, the FBI raids Hughes's house, which trouble him severely and aggravates his Mysophobia. He burns all of his
clothes including the one he was wearing, in fear of germs contaminating his clothes. The Summon for Hearing came during the time when he was severely impaired by his OCD and virtually homebound in his screening room. To get to the senate hearing, Hughes had to leave his safe place by ignoring all his typical OCD routines, rituals and functioning in a relatively normal way especially in a highly stressful situation is very abnormal. However, this event is portrayed in the film and such a rapid positive change in functioning is not frequently observed. No matter what the level of motivation, in most cases a rapid, substantial remission in severe OCD symptoms is highly unusual mainly in the absence of treatment.
In summary, Hughes appeared to have had a classic case of contamination-related OCD, characterized by rigid and extensive rules and rituals, the underlying fears, the particularity and irrationality of the symptoms, the need to start over if a ritual is not observed correctly, growing suspiciousness and increasing symptoms in times of stress or trauma. The depiction of his symptoms at their most severe is quite accurate, including the appearance of his ‘safe’ room. His perfectionism and need for control are common in others with OCD. There were also aspects of Hughes’ personality that tends not to be associated with OCD, such as his risk-taking and promiscuity. Unlike most people with OCD, Hughes was very much buffered by his wealth and position, and could apparently function well despite extreme symptoms. However, the movie provides a realistic and sensitive portrayal of one man’s decade’s long struggle with OCD.
OCD along with Theories of Personality:
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder characterized by recurrent and disturbing thoughts (obsessions) and or repetitive, ritualized behaviours that the person feels driven to perform (compulsions). Obsessions can also take the form of intrusive images or
treatment. However, it has not been so helpful in explaining why people with OCD develop obsessions in the first place and why some people never develop compulsive behaviours.
Conclusion:
The central character in The Aviator clearly meets the criteria of the DSM-5’s classification of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Nevertheless, aspects of his personality and his behaviour that his diagnosis cannot explain contains both stigmatizing and de-stigmatizing portrayal of mental illness. A few stereotypes were reinforced. For example, the stereotype of a mentally ill person’s inability to have healthy relationships was reinforced through Hughes’s failed relationships with Ava Gardener and Kate. However, he maintains his relationship with Kate for a significant amount of time.
Although, the film also had a de-stigmatizing effect as well. An obvious example was Hughes' inability to pass a towel to a man on crutches in the bathroom. Although this scene can be seen as either stigmatizing, wherein the man on crutches as a real illness that prevents him from reaching the towels, this scene can also be viewed as mental illness and physical illness on the same playing field. Both illnesses equally prevented each man from reaching the towel; therefore, each illness is valid. Besides, one might conclude that he has a social anxiety disorder because obsessive-compulsive disorder can be comorbid with other mental illnesses; Hughes's character may not solely depict OCD. The audience may not know about comorbid illnesses and may attribute all symptoms to obsessive-compulsive disorder. Although characters should not be defined only by their mental disorders, the inclusion of symptoms of other disorders can cause confusion and misperception in the public if no clear explanation of indication of a character’s mental health is given.
Despite Hughes having a mental illness, he is still extremely successful in aviation, breaking records and creating airlines. This shows that a person can be successful despite a mental disorder. Therefore, this film contains both stigmatizing and de-stigmatizing characterizations of OCD. This disorder was depicted in a somewhat threatening manner which might be due to the director’s attempt to adhere to Howard Hughes's real life, and this portrayal of mental illness may have been an advancement in 2004. However, increased access to information on mental illness and OCD would necessitate a more de-stigmatizing and positive characterization today.
There are no specific treatments presented in the movie, although social supports are given to Hughes. Preceding to the emergence of evidence-based treatments such as cognitive behavioural psychotherapy or medication, Freud applied psychoanalysis to assess and cure obsessive-compulsive neurosis. Later, a new wave of treatments emerged. Few OCD patients have been treated with psychosurgery, including Cingulotomy and Capsulotomy over the past four decades. Electroconvulsive therapy has also been used in OCD patients but with little success in ineffectiveness. As shown in the movie, Hughes did not receive any of these treatments; however, he does receive social supports from his social circles, especially from his partners, Hepburn and Gardner. When he was majorly depressed, he locked himself alone in his screening room for months; Gardner helped him clean up and encouraged him to go to the hearings. This is an example of social supports, which has the ability to reduce Hughes’ psychosocial stresses. Although OCD can be very crippling, along with social support and proper psychological treatments that are readily available today, the population with these ailments can choose to come out of the illness and lead a successful life.