Rain+Man+-+Rachel

RAIN MAN (1988) 

Trailer: media type="youtube" key="KKC3W0awjm0?fs=1" height="385" width="480"

Psychological Disorder & Symptoms: The psychological disorder that the movie //Rain Man// deals with is autism. This disorder sounds very familiar because we went over this in class before. Autism is classified as a neurodevelopmental disorder and the exact cause of autism is not yet discovered. But many scientists believe that autism has a huge influence in genetics. Inside the autistic brain, neurons and neurotransmitters have weak connections. This is the best explanation of what causes autism, but direct cause is unknown. In the movie, Charlie (Tom Cruise) describes his brother Raymond who has autism as a person "living in his own world". Charlie is absolutely right: autistic people do have social problems. They tend to show difficulties in establishing relationships, communication, and controlled behavior. For example, in //Rain Man//, Raymond keeps repeating same phrases over and over. He also shows brilliant talent in numbers and memory. This is called "idiot savant" meaning that because part of the brain has shut down some function, it is easy for the brain to concentrate on other ability, which is in this case is numbers and memory. Furthermore, he of course also has issues with communicating and building relationships. In addition, when they feel threatened, they display aggressive behaviors such as self-torture and screaming.

Treatment:

Autism can never go away. In the movie, Raymond has spent all his life in a mental institution. In early ages, there are some treatments needed for autistic patients. Play psychotherapy is a key cure in treating autism. Through various activities they get to improve their lingual and other basic abilities. In addition to that, sometimes medicines are necessary to prevent self-torture behaviors. In Rain Man, there were people at the institution to look over patients and to be with them when they need to. On the Babbit brothers' journey to Los Angeles, Raymond calls out the name V-E-R-N, his mainman, when he feels he is in danger. I did not see any sign of Raymond taking medicine in the film but he does have a regular daily routine which I think is just the institution rule not particular treatment for autism. Furthermore, he has to do what he wants to do or else he starts screaming or hitting himself. There are some moments when Raymond has strong dislike for. For example, he is afraid of air planes. Therefore, from Cincinnati to Los Angeles, the Babbits had to drive. Also since autistic people have serious problems with communication, negotiation or talking out of something is impossible. Charlie at first was very frustrated, but the more he spends time with Raymond, he begins to listen to Ray’s needs and takes a good care of him.

 What I learned:

I quite did not get the concept of autism in class. However, by watching this video, I understood very deeply about the disorder autism. Furthermore, I learned more about human nature rather than psychological aspect. Even though I try not to be, it is true that being close to people with disabilities is not easy. And of course, Charlie Babbit went though it too when he first saw his brother. People often think they can teach disabled people, but in fact, it is the other way around. Raymond is one sweet guy once you get to know him. Unless you do not create fear, he will be nice to you and do whatever you tell him to do. Repeating same phrases over and over is annoying, but he has mental disorder. It is same as suffering from other other disease such as cancer or AIDS. We do not blame those patients for throwing up or bleeding, so we should protect rather than getting mad at Raymond. This movie definitely changed my view of people with mental disorders. Their atypical behavior is not necessarily what they really intend to do, their brains are ill. At the end, Charlie does have bonds with Raymond, but Raymond does not. Even though Charlie tries hard to connect to his brother, Raymond does not know. I thought that was really sad reality. This is something that we cannot do no matter how much we try to understand. //Rain Man// is such an inspirational movie that will stay forever in me.

 Reason for choosing this film:

Personally, even though I love watching investigation dramas that deals with psychology such as //The Mentalist// and //Criminal Mind//, I do not enjoy watching serious mental movies such as //Silence of the Lambs//. To be honest, those are scary. That is why I chose //Rain Man//, a heartwarming movie. Also I have heard of this movie a lot since I was young and I like watching famous movies. Now after watching this film, I know why it has such a good reputation.

Assessment:

Use of class time 5/5 Reason for grade: I used my time wisely in class to work on this project. Depth of work done 13/15 Reason for grade: I believe contents wise the depth of work done is decent, but I think I have some problems with sentence fluency. What I learned 5/5 Reason for grade: I wrote my heart out from what I have learned by watching this movie. Wikispace's attractiveness 5/5 Reason for grade: This page is visually very attractive. Total 28/30