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Psychology and the Media Research Paper Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Jade Patterson West Georgia Technical College Abstract Psychology has been displayed in media for years, whether it is through movies, TV series, novels, one character, or all characters. Many times a character from a piece of media will have a psychological disorder. A psychological disorder is defined as “deviant, distressful, and dysfunctional pattern of thoughts, feeling, or behaviors” . When authors display a disorder in their characters, it allows people to see and get to know these psychological disorders without even realizing.
Many favorite cartoons and movies are of, or contain, a character with a psychological disorder. This research paper will describe three of many psychological disorders: Idiopathic Hypersonic, Social Anxiety Disorder, and Intermittent Explosive Disorder, and also examples of the three disorders from the classic Disney movie Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a story of a princess whose mother died and dad got remarried to a woman that became Snows evil stepmother. The evil stepmother did not like Snow for she was “the fairest in the land”.
So the stepmother ordered her huntsman to kill Snow, but he could not follow through; he left her in the forest to be killed by the wild beasts. Snow was not killed by the wild beasts, but instead found seven little dwarfs who lived in a small cottage and mined at a diamond mine. Each dwarf had his own personal name: Happy, Grumpy, Dopey, Sleepy, Bashful, Sneeze, and Doc. The names were original to the dwarfs in that they displayed their personalities, or rather their disorders, very well. Snow White bonded with these seven little men by staying with them and hiding out in the woods from ere evil stepmother.
She cleaned and cooked for them while they worked at the mine, and one day while they were gone to work she had a visitor. The visitor was an elderly lady with a basket of fruit who offered Snow an apple. Snow gladly took the apple not knowing it was poisoned by her stepmother disguised as the elderly lady. The apple did not kill her but made her go into a deep sleep, or coma. When the dwarfs found her they were devastated and put her in a glass coffin to mourn her. Sleeping Snow White in the glass coffin. He then kissed her and she awakened.
They ere said to live happily ever after . Idiopathic Hypersonic is a sleeping disorder in which one has excessive sleeping without an evident reason. Someone with this disorder may have trouble getting out of bed and over sleeping, falling asleep at work, or behind the wheel. This disorder is also referred to as Drowsiness-idiopathic and Somnolence-idiopathic . As listed online on Meddling Plus, some symptoms are: anxiety, feeling irritated, loss of appetite, low energy, restlessness, slow thinking or speech, and trouble remembering.
Meddling Plus states, “Idiopathic hypersonic is usually treated with stimulant medications such as amphetamine, methamphetamine, and modifying. These drugs may not work as well for this condition as they do for narcolepsy. ” Narcolepsy is not to be confused with Idiopathic Hypersonic, in that it is a much more difficult disease that involves instantly falling asleep or losing muscle control because of strong emotions . If someone has trouble sleeping or excessive drowsiness they could see a health care provider to have tests performed for Idiopathic Hypersonic.
An example in media of this disorder is the dwarf, Sleepy, room the movie Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Sleepy was the dwarf that, obviously, was always sleeping . He could have easily had the psychological disorder Idiopathic Hypersonic. No matter what the event Sleepy was falling asleep. He could be eating a wonderful meal prepared by Snow White, working with the other dwarfs at the diamond mine, helping Snow clean the cottage, or arguing with Grumpy and Sleepy would be asleep as soon as his head nodded. Sleepy had some of the symptoms of Idiopathic Hypersonic such as low energy, restlessness, and slow thinking and speech.
Social Anxiety Disorder is when one has excessive self- consciousness and shyness while socializing. It is defined by WebMD as an anxiety disorder in which one has an excessive and irrational fear of social situations. Simply put by M. G. David, “Social phobia is shyness taken to an extreme” . Anxiety can form in someone from their past history of being closely observed and Judged by others . As anyone knows, a person with any social issues is afraid of saying the wrong thing, pronouncing a word incorrectly, and altogether afraid of humiliation and embarrassment.
People with Social Anxiety Disorder tend to steer away from large groups of people whether it is in the grocery store, at the podium in front of the class, or especially on stage in front of an audience. Some physical symptoms of this anxiety disorder include: confusion, pounding heart, sweating, shaking, blushing, muscle tension, upset stomach, and diarrhea . WebMD states that “Social anxiety disorder is the most common anxiety disorder and the third most common mental disorder in the U. S. , after depression and alcohol dependence. ” Someone with Social
Anxiety Disorder can be treated by cognitive behavioral therapy (CB) along with antidepressants like Paxar and tranquilizer such as Sloping. An example of Social Anxiety Disorder through a character is Bashful from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Bashful was, as his name says, bashful. He was the shy dwarf out of the seven and was usually quiet. He did bring himself to talk to Snow White a couple of times, but his cheeks would never fail to blush. Red faced, head down, and swaying shyly back and forth was usually the way Bashful was seen.
Bashful would not be the war to call a house meeting or tell everyone to get to work. He would never dare his Social Anxiety Disorder, Bashful could not handle such tasks. Intermittent Explosive Disorder is when one displays excessive anger or rage from a small trigger. According to Mayo Clinic, this disorder involves recurrent episodes of violent behavior or angry voiced outbursts in which one reacts completely out of proportion to a situation . Having extreme road rage, breaking costly things, or abusing a spouse or child is signs of Intermittent Explosive Disorder.
Mayo Clinic says, “Later, people tit intermittent explosive disorder may feel remorse, regret or embarrassment”. Some symptoms include: irritability, increased energy, anger, racing thoughts, tingling, palpitations, chest tension, and pressure in the head . Treatments are available and differ for each person and their specific problems. Like Social Anxiety Disorder, a person with Intermittent Explosive Disorder can also be treated by CB along with antidepressants, mood stabilizers, and other medications . Another example from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is Grumpy who displays Intermittent Explosive Disorder.