Search

Wicked Nerdery

Where psychology, pop culture, and true crime collide

Open Search
Month

October 2015

Twisted Love: The Sharpes of Crimson Peak

For the film Crimson Peak director Guillermo del Toro said he wanted to take the classic Gothic Romance story and twist it.  As an example he pointed out that it’s not necessarily the woman who needs rescuing by the man, but the reverse.  Whether he realizes it or not he also put twists on the classic concept of the serial killer couple.  While the one in Crimson Peak realistically follows the basics of how these sorts of pairings function it also subverts the cliches found in most fictional portrayals for a fresh take. …But before I continue please note, if you’ve not seen the film, there will be lots of spoilers to come…

…Seriously, I’m going to reveal plot points and secrets…

…Last chance…

Okay, if you read past this, it’s your fault!!

Continue reading “Twisted Love: The Sharpes of Crimson Peak” →

0

Sinister is Sexy

Onscreen sinister is sexy, whether we care to admit it or not.  Villains in TV and movies are fascinating to watch; you can’t take your eyes off them.  (Casting may help, true, but Hannibal Lector is entrancing played by Mads Mikkelsen, Anthony Hopkins, Brian Cox, or Gaspard Ulliel.)  But why?  Why do so many of us fall for the villain even when he or she is so…well…villainous?

Please note: I’m not talking about the villains in slasher films like Jason Voorhees or Freddie Kruger, but the ones that lean towards sane, sober, and sociopathic; the ones that could actually exist, in one form or another, in the real world.

Continue reading “Sinister is Sexy” →

0

Necrophilia: Desire for the Dead

Necrophilia seems to be the cornerstone of every psycho…but a damn creepy idea to the rest of us.  After all who in the world would want to have sex with a dead person?  There are actually a number of different reasons; some are more understandable or romanticized and others more ghoulish and stomach-turning.  Whatever the reason though it’s pretty safe to say that this love/sexual preference/fetish is not the norm and likely (if not certainly) indicates some serious mental, emotional, and social problems in those that have it.

Continue reading “Necrophilia: Desire for the Dead” →

0

Oh Poor You, Poor Me!! – Tony Soprano and Borderline Personality Disorder

d9Enx6B

The Sopranos was THE television show of the early 2000s.  Everyone watched it.  They discussed, debated, examined, and quoted it (“Oh, poor you!” and “Toodle-fucking-oo?” were particular favorites in my family).  There were show-based teeshirts – still have my Satriale’s Pork Store one – and cookbooks.  At the center of it all, the man at the top of the mob-chain and patriarch of the titular family, was Anthony “Tony” Soprano.  Tony could’ve been the classic mobster with a simple psychopathic personality, but the writers (and Mr Gandolfini’s wonderful portrayal) made him so much more.  He was a complex man and became an icon for TV’s anti-hero.  He was also possibly the first male with borderline personality disorder in pop culture to go mainstream.

In order to show what I’m talking about I’ll go through the nine key symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder (of which one need only have five in order to be diagnosed according to the National Institute of Mental Health) and show just how mobster Tony Soprano fit them.

Continue reading “Oh Poor You, Poor Me!! – Tony Soprano and Borderline Personality Disorder” →

0

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑