October 2013
Today I feel like exploring the realms of Hollywood Insanity.
What is Insanity? It has many names, madness, crazy, nuts, unhinged. But the correct term is 'Psychotic'.
Many people think of insanity as a very fascinating and interesting phenomenon. It means to be like 'The Joker' or 'Hannibal Lecter' or any other villain in a stereotypical Good vs. Evil film.
But we confuse insanity, or rather psychosis, with someone who is a 'psychopath' or a 'Sociopath'. But being a psychopath or a sociopath does mean you're 'insane'.
What you must understand is, this topic is very, very expansive. And I am armed only with a rudimentary knowledge of these topics. But I hope it will come across as a coherent, clear and cohesive article (if we can call it that).
So, first of all, a sociopath is someone who hates society, someone who can be classified as an introvert, antisocial, hostile, and unresponsive to any extension of a friendly hand. This type of person is not violent, unless he is an extreme case of a sociopath, where he seeks to deliberately harm society.
A psychopath is someone who can be described quite succinctly as 'morally insane'. The psychopath is someone who has no conscience, who has no moral compass, who can not see the difference between right and wrong. And so, to achieve anything, the psychopath is willing to go to any lengths, do anything. A psychopath is someone who is very charming, charismatic, and has what people may refer to as 'magnetism', meaning that people are drawn to that person. Now, that does not mean a psychopath is every person who has a very large social circle. No, a psychopath is someone who can and will manipulate you to achieve whatever he has his eyes set on. They can turn on you in an instant, and will be brutal in their revenge. This may not be a physical violence, it may be a social alienation. A psychopath maintains all of his ability to think, plan, and act. He can be a functioning member of society, but he has no sense of morality. (It must be noted, that nobody can be labelled a Psychopath until the age of 18, displaying any... symptoms (?) before that age can only earn you the label of having 'psychopathic tendencies'. Interesting is it not?)
But then, if this is not true insanity, why is it depicted as such by Hollywood? Its because the TRUE insanity, doesn't inspire a Hero. It inspires pity.
Insanity is a debilitating disease. It eats away at the MIND of a person, until he is nothing but a shell, memories, abilities, skills, all gone. And it is impossible to cure. Imagine a Batman movie where The Joker was INSANE instead of a psychopath; does it seem interesting now? Or sad? What about Lex Luthor? If he were INSANE, would Superman want for him to die?
See, in the course of the last few decades, the real meaning of words have been warped by Hollywood, just so that it makes a better movie/TV show.
What is Insanity? It has many names, madness, crazy, nuts, unhinged. But the correct term is 'Psychotic'.
Many people think of insanity as a very fascinating and interesting phenomenon. It means to be like 'The Joker' or 'Hannibal Lecter' or any other villain in a stereotypical Good vs. Evil film.
But we confuse insanity, or rather psychosis, with someone who is a 'psychopath' or a 'Sociopath'. But being a psychopath or a sociopath does mean you're 'insane'.
What you must understand is, this topic is very, very expansive. And I am armed only with a rudimentary knowledge of these topics. But I hope it will come across as a coherent, clear and cohesive article (if we can call it that).
So, first of all, a sociopath is someone who hates society, someone who can be classified as an introvert, antisocial, hostile, and unresponsive to any extension of a friendly hand. This type of person is not violent, unless he is an extreme case of a sociopath, where he seeks to deliberately harm society.
A psychopath is someone who can be described quite succinctly as 'morally insane'. The psychopath is someone who has no conscience, who has no moral compass, who can not see the difference between right and wrong. And so, to achieve anything, the psychopath is willing to go to any lengths, do anything. A psychopath is someone who is very charming, charismatic, and has what people may refer to as 'magnetism', meaning that people are drawn to that person. Now, that does not mean a psychopath is every person who has a very large social circle. No, a psychopath is someone who can and will manipulate you to achieve whatever he has his eyes set on. They can turn on you in an instant, and will be brutal in their revenge. This may not be a physical violence, it may be a social alienation. A psychopath maintains all of his ability to think, plan, and act. He can be a functioning member of society, but he has no sense of morality. (It must be noted, that nobody can be labelled a Psychopath until the age of 18, displaying any... symptoms (?) before that age can only earn you the label of having 'psychopathic tendencies'. Interesting is it not?)
But then, if this is not true insanity, why is it depicted as such by Hollywood? Its because the TRUE insanity, doesn't inspire a Hero. It inspires pity.
Insanity is a debilitating disease. It eats away at the MIND of a person, until he is nothing but a shell, memories, abilities, skills, all gone. And it is impossible to cure. Imagine a Batman movie where The Joker was INSANE instead of a psychopath; does it seem interesting now? Or sad? What about Lex Luthor? If he were INSANE, would Superman want for him to die?
See, in the course of the last few decades, the real meaning of words have been warped by Hollywood, just so that it makes a better movie/TV show.
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