The Psychopath in Film

(Paperback)

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The Psychopath in Film examines the cognitive and emotional proficiency of psychopaths at surviving the goodness juggernaut using a model that takes into account three different levels of cognition and two levels of emotion. The prominent force of the soulless creature created in the cinema schemes as a connoisseur of evil. However, the psychopath must work at making evil work. Wayne Wilson assembles the cognitive and emotional fundamentals essential for evil's success. Cognitively, the psychopaths must possess the ability to maintain a calculating secrecy, they must harbor a flair for misdirection, and they must choose freely to abdicate responsibility while victimizing others. Emotionally, psychopaths should not feel remorse for their actions, and may benefit from the capacity to experience exuberance over their wicked ways, which tends to be the most compelling trait of psychopaths in films. This study delves into these tendencies as represented in the characters created in movies from classics through modern film, focusing on the question of the psychopath's possession of the aptitude to commit undue harm.

Author Bio

Wayne Wilson is Professor of Psychology at Stephen F. Austin State University and author of Sexuality in the Land of Oz (University Press of America, 1994).