Movies and Madness, Through a Psychiatrist’s Eyes | James Charney

<p>James Charney is a psychiatrist, cinephile, professor, and author. </p><p>His latest book, “Madness at the Movies” examines the mental disorders by which Hollywood’s most infamously deranged characters (Travis Bickle from Scorcese’s “Taxi Driver”; Norman Bates from Hitchcock’s “Psycho”) are afflicted. </p><p>The book, written for a popular audience, is an extension of a beloved course (also entitled, “Madness at the Movies”) that he taught at Yale University for many years. </p><p>A physician by training, Dr. Charney is not only a lover of movies, but a faithful student of their history and a discerning judge of their merit. As you’ll see, his knowledge of film history is encyclopedic, and his passion for the art is infectious! </p><p>It was an absolute honor to speak with him and I can’t wait to watch all of the films he recommended! </p><p>In this episode, Dr. Charney and I discuss: </p><p>His exposure to the cinema at a young age; The importance of the movie theater in the 1950s (contrasted with its unimportance today); The communal experience of attending the theater; Being traumatized by horror films as a boy (and how that became the genre to which he later devoted much of his professorial career!); The greatest duos in film history; The best action films in the modern age; How action sequences are edited; How to keep the attention of an audience; How to watch and (really) appreciate a film; Musicals, then and now; If we are at a low ebb of creativity; Why we should all go back and watch “the classics”; How to become fully cultured in the arts; Where to view the oldies; Television v. Movies; The Sopranos; Succession; Breaking Bad; Aristotle and Fred Astair; Katherine Hepburn and Gene Kelly; and MUCH MORE! </p><p>Links to Dr. Charney’s stuff: </p><p>His book, "Madness At The Movies": <br>https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/12732/madness-movies</p><p>https://www.amazon.com/Madness-Movies-Understanding-Illness-through/dp/142144562X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=14X4H0ELCJS0M&amp;keywords=madness+at+the+movies&a