Cinematherapy: Metaphorically promoting therapeutic change

Cinematherapy involves assigning clients commercial movies to view between sessions of therapy. This article describes the applications of cinematherapy as a useful adjunct to more traditional approaches to therapeutic change. Techniques for implementation are outlined, and potential advantages of the use of cinematherapy are discussed. While cinematherapy may be used as an assignment within a variety of theoretical orientations, this article conceptualizes the technique from the perspective of the use of metaphor to promote therapeutic change. Although many therapists report informal use of films in working with clients, there is a paucity of research on the efficacy of cinematherapy as a counselling technique. The article makes extrapolations about effectiveness based on empirical findings involving use of the related technique of bibliotherapy. However, the authors hope that the article will inspire more formal research into the use of cinematherapy.     

In Treatment

This article deals with current representations of psychotherapy in movies and television and focuses on the recent TV series In Treatment. It is discussed if and how this and other TV series might contribute to a change in the public image of psychotherapy. This discussion is based on studies investigating the public image of psychotherapy and its image within the media as well as the potential to use movies and TV as a stage for psychotherapeutic processes. Among several TV series dealing with psychotherapy, In Treatment plays a special role because of its conception as an intimate play. The series is described and discussed in relation to the question how realistic psychotherapy is staged and whether the hero of the series ??Dr. Paul Weston?? can be used as a model in psychotherapeutic training.     

Imitation,Impersonation, and Transformation: Using Male Role Models in Films to Promote Maturity

Becoming a man is developmental. Boys model after men in their lives as well as figures they see in the media. When role models are positive, appropriate, and present, boys grow into constructive adults who contribute to society. This article examines how counselors can intentionally help young men mature into well‐grounded and prosocial individuals through the use of models in films. It provides a list of some movies that counselors can use in the process.     

Cultivating Multiculturally Competent Counselors Through Movies

Confined by monocultural geographic features or encapsulated life experience, many counselor-training programs or trainees suffer from the lack of a multicultural environment, which could benefit students’ education. Recognizing the limitations in reality, the author introduces the use of movies to counterbalance the disadvantages, while maximizing students’ multicultural counseling competency. Aiming toward helping trainees vicariously reach the culmination of studies in counseling, this article addresses the use of cinemeducation in the context of cross-cultural counseling, via the application of qualitative research methodology. The theoretical underpinning of the movie project, the use of movies to augment students’ multicultural counseling opportunities outside classrooms, and students’ reactions are all discussed.     

Contrafreeloading and the value of control over visual stimuli in Japanese macaques (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Macaca fuscata</Emphasis>)

Contrafreeloading, which means that animals work for food even though identical food is freely available, has been reported in animals’ feeding behavior. This phenomenon has been assumed to be explained by the information primacy model, in which the information about a food resource as well as the food itself is valuable for animals. This study confirmed a contrafreeloading-like phenomenon using movies as rewards rather than food in Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) and investigated the motivational system that exists behind contrafreeloading. In the experiment, movies that were presented dependently on subjects’ responses (earned movies) and movies that were presented automatically (free movies) were supplied simultaneously. The subjects continued to make responses to obtain the presentation of the earned movies although identical movies were available as free movies. These results provide the first evidence of contrafreeloading that occurs with movie rewards. The motivation maintaining the contrafreeloading behavior for movies may be control over the environment according to the competence theory.     

Cryptic Emotions and the Emergence of a Metatheory of Mind in Popular Filmmaking

Hollywood movies can be deeply engaging and easy to understand. To succeed in this manner, feature‐length movies employ many editing techniques with strong psychological underpinnings. We explore the origins and development of one of these, the reaction shot. This shot typically shows a single, unspeaking character with modest facial expression in response to an event or to the behavior or speech of another character. In a sample of movies from 1940 to 2010, we show that the prevalence of one type of these shots—which we call the cryptic reaction shot—has grown dramatically. These shots are designed to enhance viewers’ emotional involvement with characters. They depict a facial gesture that reflects a slightly negative and slightly aroused emotional state. Their use at the end of conversations, and typically at the end of scenes, helps to leave viewers in a state of speculation about what the character is thinking and what her thoughts may mean for the ongoing narrative.     

Alcohol in the Movies: Characteristics of Drinkers and Nondrinkers in Films From 1940 to 1989

We examined depictions of alcohol use in 100 popular films spanning 5 decades. Drinkers were depicted as more attractive, more romantically/sexually active, more aggressive, and having a higher socioeconomic status than nondrinkers. No systematic changes were found across decades that might reflect the growing knowledge base regarding the adverse effects of alcohol use. We compared the depiction of alcohol use in movies to real-world demographics and found that alcohol use in movies is somewhat glamorized.     

Does Watching Smoking in Movies Promote Teenage Smoking?

ABSTRACT— Compared to adolescents with low exposure to smoking in movies, those with high exposure are about three times as likely to try smoking or become smokers. We have observed this effect in nationally representative samples using cross-sectional and longitudinal designs. This effect remains statistically significant after controlling for numerous other traditional risk factors, such as personality, parenting style, and sociodemographics. Indeed, the movie-smoking exposure effect on adolescent smoking initiation is greatest among those traditionally considered at lower risk for smoking, such as those low in sensation seeking and those whose parents do not smoke. In this article, we consider possible moderators and mediators of this important media effect as well as health-policy implications. The take-home message is that eliminating smoking in movies may prevent a substantial number of adolescents from smoking.     

Preachers and Prophets: Using Film to Teach American Religious History

Abstract. Can students learn religious history from movies? While using film as text is likely to attract students’ interest, will such a course be able to negotiate the complex intertwining of film with religion and history to provide students with more than mere entertainment? Will students respond to a challenge to move beyond a movie's surface visual experience to address the core lessons history posits: it's not always been this way, we are the product of what has come before us, I/we are being called to change? This article discusses one attempt to answer these questions and examines both the opportunities and difficulties of using movies to teach religious history.     

Creativity,Drugs, Crime,and Education: On Eisenman's Contemporary Social issues: Drugs,Crime, Creativity,and Education

This article reports analyses of the verdicts of various film organizations that annually present awards to motion pictures and investigates whether they award/nominate the same movies in a given year. This research disputes previous findings that reported a high level of agreement between those juries, by the means of reliability analysis and the Cronbach's alpha composite. Arguments were raised for why these earlier findings were flawed and why the use of Cronbach's alpha is problematic. Different aspects of consensus are discussed, after which a new measure (β) is introduced. This is followed by a detailed comparison between particular juries with regard to the percentage share of their decisions that award the most successful (chosen by multiple other juries as well) and the least successful (uniquely awarded) films. This measure shows how often a singular jury decides in line with the others and how much does it stray from the consensus. The article also broadens the theoretical discussions about the reasons for (not) expecting a consensus to arise between various expert juries. It argues that by adopting a cultural economic perspective we become aware of various reasons, most importantly competition between the award events and the juries tend towards a lower level of consensus.     

Evaluation of Training in Mental Health

Abstract

This paper reports on the use of cinema therapy at a psychiatry clinic for inpatients. The program, “Watching Cinema Group Therapy,” was used with over 500 inpatients over the course of one year. We found that using movies for group psychotherapy sessions encouraged the patients to talk about their beliefs, thoughts, and feelings while discussing the characters and stories. We also used the movies as a reward for patients who had developed a therapeutic alliance. It motivated the patients to be active instead of simply remaining in their rooms. As a follow-up to full-length films, it was more useful to show short scenes to patients who had been administered high doses of drugs. Movies can be an important, positive, and productive means of treatment and teaching.     

Positive or Negative Effects of Technology Enhancement for Brand Placements? Memory of Brand Placements in 2D, 3D,and 4D Movies

Brand placements in movies are common throughout the world. Within the last few years, 3D movie technology has experienced substantial growth in both cinemas and home entertainment. Furthermore, advanced cinemas also offer 4D experiences by adding scent, airflow or tactile stimuli to the 3D film. Based on the limited capacity model of information processing and the levels of processing effect theory, we conduct two studies to investigate how delivery modes of a 2D movie clip, compared to a 3D and a 4D (3D + scent) movie clip, influence recall and recognition of brands that are placed in either prominent or subtle ways. With regard to subtle placements, results from both studies demonstrate that the memory of subtle brand placements is negatively affected by the enhancement offered by 3D or 4D, as compared to 2D movies. With regard to prominent placements, results indicate that the memory of a highly prominent brand placement benefits from 3D, but not from 4D technology. This article addresses implications for research as well as for marketers and movie makers, while also outlining directions for further research.     

Men's media use, sexual cognitions, and sexual risk behavior: testing a mediational model

Efforts to link media use to adolescents' sexual initiation have produced somewhat inconsistent results, perhaps as a result of the limited framing of the question. This study sought to expand current approaches by sampling college students instead of high school students, by investigating a range of sexual behaviors and media formats, and by testing a model that featured sexual cognitions as mediators. We tested our model with a sample of 796 heterosexual, male college students who reported on their regular consumption of 4 media (prime-time TV programs, music videos, movies, and men's magazines); their attitudes toward abstinence, the male sexual role, and nonrelational sex; their perceptions of peer sexual behavior; and several aspects of their sexual behavior (e.g., number of sexual partners). Findings revealed strong support for our mediated model, with exposure to men's magazines and movies contributing most strongly to their sexual cognitions, and with men's cognitions, in turn, contributing heavily to their sexual behavior. Some direct connections from media use to sexual behavior also emerged. Together, the findings provide insight into both potential mechanisms for and new approaches to addressing this issue.     

Holocaust and Hollywood: An Annotated Filmography

This paper offers a list of Hollywood movies pertaining to the Holocaust. Its aim is to facilitate the access of individuals, libraries, foundations, film clubs, and Holocaust-related study groups to this powerful material. These movies enhance empathy and knowledge regarding the Holocaust and thus serve an important psychoeducational function for all, but especially for those not directly affected by this great human tragedy.     

Batman in the Classroom: Academic Philosophy and “… and Philosophy”

Though the interaction of philosophy with pop culture has so far mostly taken the form of books for nonphilosophers that use various shows and movies as sources of examples to illustrate “traditional” philosophical issues, this article contends that serious engagement with the informal philosophical discussions expressed in popular entertainments constitutes a kind of “ethnophilosophy” and should be considered an important part of the discipline. Our disciplinary responsibility for maintaining and considering the history of philosophy ought to include even the philosophical conversations that occur outside the academy; however unlike “proper” philosophy this material may be, it nonetheless represents engagement—sometimes substantial engagement—with the same issues that concern those of us who are considered “professional” philosophers, and thus is legitimately of interest to us.     

Cigarette Smoking in the Movies: The Influence of Product Placement on Attitudes Toward Smoking and Smokers1

Product placement in which actors use products on screen to promote those products, has received little research attention. The current research examines the effects of cigarette use in movies on various attitudes toward smoking and to ward the actor using the product. Participants (N= 120) viewed a 20‐min clip of Die Hard; half viewing a clip in which the lead character smoked, and half viewing a clip in which the lead character did not smoke. Nonsmokers who were low in need for cognition and who saw the lead character smoking reported more favorable attitudes about smoking. In addition smokers who saw the character smoking rated him as more appealing, while nonsmokers' ratings of the character were not affected by his smoking. Results are discussed in terms of the role of the placement of cigarettes in movies in the development of important smoking‐related attitudes.     

Difficulties for the Reconciling and Estranging Projects: Some Symmetries

Suppose that Susan did not go to the movies. The reconciling project attempts to show that this plus Determinism does not imply that Susan could not have gone to the movies. The estranging project attempts to show the opposite. A counter-entailment argument is of the form A is consistent with C, and C entails not-B, therefore A does not entail B. An instance of the counter-entailment arguments undermines a central argument for the reconciling project. Another instance undermines a central argument for the estranging project. This is one symmetry. In each case, the natural response to the counter-entailment argument begs the question. This is another symmetry.     

Lesbian Sex in Mainstream Cinema and Audience Enjoyment

We explore factors affecting audience engagement in mainstream movies showing explicit lesbian sex. A total of 236 participants of different genders and sexual orientations completed a questionnaire measuring factors related to enjoyment immediately after watching La vie d’Adèle in commercial cinemas. Statistical analysis confirmed that positive audience engagement is explained by several factors: viewers considering that the sexual intercourse portrayed is not excessive, the artistic–dramatic justification of the scenes, the inspired appreciation, the perceived realism of the sex scenes and the sexual arousal experienced. Results also show that the use of lesbian sex as a lure is a crucial factor for eliciting enjoyment and appreciation of movies featuring images of explicit sex.