Programmed November 2020

Frame of Mind: Psychiatry On-Screen

How do you portray the complex inner workings of the human mind on-screen? It’s a challenge that has long tantalized filmmakers, as seen in this wide-ranging look at some of cinema’s most fascinating explorations of neuroses, psychoses, and the art and science of psychiatry. From pop-Freudian deconstructions of criminal psychology ( The Dark Past , The Mark ) to immersions into the inner workings of psychiatric institutions ( The Cobweb , David and Lisa ) to explorations of the therapist-patient relationship both serious ( Pressure Point , Ordinary People ) and satiric ( The President’s Analyst , The Ninth Configuration ), these films reflect the increasingly nuanced representation of psychiatry in art as well as our evolving understanding of our own minds and selves. Added on Sunday, 1 November 2020