Reign over Me: an Analysis
Iryka Smeke
Psych P. 1
11-16-10
Prompt: 1
"Can I leave?'
'If you want it to be over.'
'It's over."
Charlie in “Reign Over Me” seemed to be a mainstream introduction to an area of the human psyche few will receive personal contact or interaction with in their lifetimes. Tragedy as a concept is a loosely defined term, one that varies greatly depending on exactly who is getting affected, how and why. Yet the writer of the screenplay chose to slab with this nearing-middle-age man, Charlie, as a victim of what universally most can say does warrant personal effect and disaster. Death of a family. In but a situation he could not control (this theme of him constantly struggling to be the only outside influence that affects his life and decisions one that will be recurring), Charlie is in an instant shattered. His mind and all subsequent areas thrown to the curb and the realm of lost thought and cognition to be his home for the four years that have passed since the fated accident; what we see as 9-11. Yet through a purely psychological standpoint, the question remains to be asked. Has Charlie not as a fictional character, but embodiment of PTSD to be shown to many as the first impression of the disorder, been written off as an accurate and understandable portrayal of a reaction one would expect? (PTSD, also known as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, is an anxiety disorder characterized by insomnia, social withdrawal, haunting memories, and/or hypersensitivity to select situations or objects after a traumatic experience; Charlie has had experience with all.) Due to personal bias with this disorder latter sections of this analysis may or may not directly oppose with the message of what Charlie has to bring as sufferer of PTSD, but overall Charlie's cognitive, physical, and emotional damage due to his hardships are very different from my sense of "pain" through the disorder (in a sense you can say we together encompass both of the extremes of manifestation {A
Psych P. 1
11-16-10
Prompt: 1
"Can I leave?'
'If you want it to be over.'
'It's over."
Charlie in “Reign Over Me” seemed to be a mainstream introduction to an area of the human psyche few will receive personal contact or interaction with in their lifetimes. Tragedy as a concept is a loosely defined term, one that varies greatly depending on exactly who is getting affected, how and why. Yet the writer of the screenplay chose to slab with this nearing-middle-age man, Charlie, as a victim of what universally most can say does warrant personal effect and disaster. Death of a family. In but a situation he could not control (this theme of him constantly struggling to be the only outside influence that affects his life and decisions one that will be recurring), Charlie is in an instant shattered. His mind and all subsequent areas thrown to the curb and the realm of lost thought and cognition to be his home for the four years that have passed since the fated accident; what we see as 9-11. Yet through a purely psychological standpoint, the question remains to be asked. Has Charlie not as a fictional character, but embodiment of PTSD to be shown to many as the first impression of the disorder, been written off as an accurate and understandable portrayal of a reaction one would expect? (PTSD, also known as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, is an anxiety disorder characterized by insomnia, social withdrawal, haunting memories, and/or hypersensitivity to select situations or objects after a traumatic experience; Charlie has had experience with all.) Due to personal bias with this disorder latter sections of this analysis may or may not directly oppose with the message of what Charlie has to bring as sufferer of PTSD, but overall Charlie's cognitive, physical, and emotional damage due to his hardships are very different from my sense of "pain" through the disorder (in a sense you can say we together encompass both of the extremes of manifestation {A