Paranoia in the cinema (part one)

The paranoid disorder has been the most frequently disorder represented in the cinema since the early years of the ’900 starting from the movie of G. Pabst The Mysteries of a Soul (1926). The same Red Book of C.G. Jung can be seen as the development of a pre-paranoid vision. Resorting to clinical ideas and describing personal and professional experiences, the author explores the world of the paranoid by reading some memorable cinematic scenes. A description of specific theatrical artifice and several film solutions offered by directors contributes to the identification of some of the central themes of paranoid representation in reality. Through clinical concepts and stories both professional and personal insights, the author outlines a film digression on the subject of paranoia since the early decades of the last century until the late 90’s. Some movies are taken into consideration because they manage to make the world of a paranoid lived in its interior (A Beautiful Mind) and also because they manage to show the relationship between paranoia and thrillers both dete-ctive (Hitchcock) and psychoanalytic (Polanski and Bunuel) type.

Keywords: Paranoia; Cinema; Induction of Madness; Paranormal; Red Book; Jung.

Giorgio Villa, La paranoia nel cinema (prima parte) in "PSICOBIETTIVO" 1/2017, pp 153-163, DOI: 10.3280/PSOB2017-001011