Ayala Madness

Madness: Inside and Out. Ms. Ayala. What is the line between sanity and derangement? Why does insanity fascinate and repel us? And what is the reality behind our conceptions of madness? The purpose of this course is to dig deeper into these questions, and seeks to raise new ones, as we take a multifaceted look at madness.

We will start the year through the lense of popular culture by analyzing specific characters in widely viewed films. These will include the classic movies Psycho (1960) and the character Norman Bates, A Clockwork Orange (1971) and Alex, The Shining (1980) and Jack Torrence, Silence of the Lambs (1990) and Hannibal Lector, Fight Club (1999) and The Narrator, and The Dark Knight (2008) and The Joker. Through these films we will gain an understanding of madness as marketed to the public, as well as what about the portrayals and plot lines centered around these crazy characters has changed and what has remained the same throughout the years.

We will then dig deeper into the psychology behind these characters actions and learn about mental disorders such as PTSD, insomnia, and schizophrenia. In conjunction with a psychological
It was 8th grade english class; after having studied Romeo and Juliet we were going to watch a film version that my teacher could only describe as “straying from the traditional”. It was Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 Romeo + Juliet. This was at last the movie that introduced me to everything that can be done within a film to serve the larger purpose; the score, pacing, set design, cinematography, everything from the choice of color scheme in wardrobe to 50 foot sound stages can be imbued with meaning towards the larger story. Movies were no longer just another vehicle in which to deliver Harry Potter to me, they were pieces of art themselves. Sure, some awful pieces of art at times, but with chefs-d’oeuvre in between. And ever since then, every movie I watch is an