The film Cast Away deals with a variety of psychological concepts. Among these are intelligence and the human need for social interaction. One concept that is not present in the movie is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, also known as PTSD.
Intelligence is defined by David Myers in his AP Psychology textbook on page 525 as a “mental quality consisting of the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations.” This definition of intelligence is prevalent in the film through the character of Chuck Noland. After the plane crash, Noland is stranded on an uninhabited island. He is alone and must use any knowledge he has to survive. For shelter, he uses the remains of the life raft from the airplane to protect him from the sun and rain. He uses the shirt he was wearing as a headband to keep his body cool while he is searching the island for food. For covering his feet because he lost his shoes in the crash, Chuck cuts off sections of his pant legs and ties them around his feet. To crack open the extremely tough outer shell of a coconut, Noland uses the sharp shard of a broken rock to cut into the shell. The empty coconuts are used to collect water rain water.
Chuck uses empty to coconuts to collect drinking water.http://yify-torrents.com/movie/Cast_Away_2000
Chuck uses empty to coconuts to collect drinking water.
http://yify-torrents.com/movie/Cast_Away_2000
A diagram of Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs.http://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html
A diagram of Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
http://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html
Also, he fashions a spear from a long stick to throw at fish swimming in the shallow waters off the shore. Because he is able to adjust to his surroundings in order to survive, Noland demonstrates intelligence. According to Elaine Cassel, Noland uses his practical intelligence, as defined by Robert Sternberg’s triarchic theory. Sternberg’s theory, as explained on page 527 of Myers’ textbook, states that practical intelligence is adaption to everyday situations. In Noland’s case, he must adjust to his surroundings on the island in order to survive. Cassel also states that his motivation to survive is explained by Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. The first basic level of this hierarchy of needs, is the need to physically stay alive. Myers’ explanation of the drive-reduction theory on page 329 explains Noland’s desire to fulfill his hunger. This explanation states that “the idea that physiological need creates an aroused tension state (a drive) that motivates an organism to satisfy the need.” Therefore because Chuck feels hungry, he searches for coconuts and catches fish to eat in order to satisfy his hunger. Chuck’s is able to fulfill his needs by using objects around him as tools to catch food and keep his body from fatiguing. This means that Chuck is intelligent because he demonstrates the ability adjust to living on an uninhabited island. His intelligence is shown through the steps he takes in order to survive.
Another psychological concept in the movie is that humans need social interaction. Being stranded on alone on an island, Noland obviously has nobody to explain his emotions to. Chuck makes a face on a volleyball, naming him “Wilson”, in order to create a “person” to talk to. Chuck projects his thoughts on Wilson, and then adds Wilson’s half of the conversation in his head. He also draws pictures of himself and his girlfriend Kelly on the walls of the cave. Conversations are created by Chuck between Wilson and himself in order to express his feelings and maintain a certain level of mental stability. He draws the pictures of Kelly and himself because he is in love with her. Elaine Cassel states that these depictions of people are created in order to fulfill a person’s need for social interaction, which is the third level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
Wilson the Volleyballhttp://tierneylab.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/22/science-explains-wilson-the-volleyball/
Wilson the Volleyball
http://tierneylab.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/22/science-explains-wilson-the-volleyball/
While the emotional stress from being deserted on an island and then returning home years later can be traumatic, Chuck Noland does develop PTSD. PTSD is defined by Myers on page 573 as “an anxiety disorder characterized by haunting memories, nightmares, social withdrawal, jumpy anxiety, and/or insomnia that lingers for four weeks or more after a traumatic experience.” When on the island, Noland shows that he is strong and able to overcome the hardship of being stranded in the middle of the ocean. Also once he returns home after four years, Noland adjusts back into society with ease. The most troubling feelings he deals with are letting Kelly go, and the fact that there is now a professional football team in Tennessee. Symptoms of PTSD are not shown by Chuck when he is at home in the United States. He does not seem anxious or troubled by being stranded on the island. One symptom, social withdrawal, of PTSD appears present when Chuck is at his “welcome home” party. However, this may be simply from the shock of returning to back to the United States and adjusting to the crowd of people in his hotel room. Since he was alone on an island for four years, being in a group of people would take adjustment. Because of managing to adjust to a crowd of people, Chuck seems slightly withdrawn.
Chuck examines his room after all the guests have left.http://www.imdb.com/media/rm780441856/ch0005012 |
stay calm 