Abstract
Any movie producer will tell you that action and violence will almost guarantee an international audience .This chapter discusses how the mass media affect the social understanding of traumatic events, how they influence individuals who have experienced a trauma in both positive and negative ways and how carefully chosen movies can be used to help clients reframe negative experiences and/or perceptions. The authors have enlisted several movies throughout the chapter that in their opinion can be therapeutic for trauma survivors if used appropriately. Films can help facilitate understanding; they can help the survivors realize that they are not alone in their suffering and that their thoughts and feelings are normal reactions to an abnormal event. Films also can be used to instill hope, can illustrate the importance of practicing forgiveness; and can provide information about how to heal, including role models who use healthy coping modalities. Films can also introduce integrative approaches such as psychotherapy, counseling, energy work, Reiki, acupuncture, deep tissue massages, flower remedies, and homeopathic remedies.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual for mental disorders. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.
Aronson, E. (1999). The social animal(8th ed.), 58pp, New York: Worth Publishers.
Attig, T. (2001). “Relearning the World: Making and Finding Meanings,” In R. A. Neimeyer (Ed.), Meaning Reconstruction and the Experience of Loss, pp. 33–53. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.
Cooper, A. (2008, March 13). A Spotlight on Prostitution, AC 360°, http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2008/03/13/a-spotlight-on-prostitution/. Last retrieved September 12 2008.
Danieli, Y. (1998). Introduction: History and conceptual foundations. In Y. Danieli (Ed.), International handbook of multigenerational legacies of trauma (pp. 1–20). New York: Plenum.
DeRanieri, J. T., Clements, P. T., Clark, K., Kuhn, D. W., & Manno, M. S. (2004). War, terrorism and children. Journal of School Nursing, 20(2), 17–23.
Ellenberger, H. F. (1970). The discovery of the unconscious. New York: Basic Books.
Elliott, D. M. (1997). Traumatic events: Prevalence and delayed recall in the general population. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 65, 811–820.
Entman, R. M. (2003). Cascading activation: Contesting the White House’s frame after 9/11. Political Communication, 20(4), 415–432(18).
Figley, C. R. (1996). The death was traumatic to say the least! In K. Doka (Ed.), Living with grief after sudden loss.London: Taylor & Francis.
Finnegan, L. (2006). No questions asked, news coverage since 9/11. Wesport, Conn: Praeger. Jenkins, Henry, “Lessons from Littleton. What Congress doesn’t want you to hear about youth and the media,” National association of independent schools, Winter 2000.
Frankl, V. (1965). Man’s search for meaning. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Goldsmith, R. E., Barlow, M. R., & Freyd, J. (2004). Knowing and not knowing about trauma: Implications for therapy. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 41(4), 448–463.
Herman, E. S., & Chomsky, N. (1988). Manufacturing consent: The political economy of the mass media. New York: Pantheon Books.
Herman, J. (1992). Trauma and recovery. Newyork, NY: Basic Books.
Kalayjian, A. (1999). Forgiveness and transcendence. Clio’s psyche, 6(3), 116–119.
Kalayjian, A. (2002). Biopsychosocial and spiritual treatment of trauma. In R. Massey, S. Massey, & F. Kaslow (Eds.), Comprehensive handbook of psychotherapy (pp. 615–637).New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Kalayjian, A. (2009). Forgiveness in Spite of Denial, Revisionism, and Injustice. In A. Kalayjian and R. F. Paloutzian (Eds.), Forgiveness and Reconciliation: Psychological Pathways to Conflict Transformation and Peace Building. New York, NY: Springer Publishing.
Kalayjian, A. (2007). Family challenges for post tsunami survivors in Sri Lanka: The bio-psychosocial, educational and spiritual approach. The Family Psychologist, 23(2), 8.
Kalayjian, A., & Weisberg, M. (2002). “Generational Impact of Mass Trauma: The Post-Ottoman Turkish Genocide of the Armenians.” Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Psychological Association, Chicago, IL.
Kanihan, D., & Gale, S. F. (2003). Within three hours 97 percent learn about the terrorist attacks. Media Studies of September 11, Newspaper Research Journal, Winter, 78.
Newhagen, J. E., (1998). TV news images that induce anger, fear, and disgust: effects on approach-avoidance and memory. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, Spring, 265pp.
Schiraldi, G. R. (2000). The post-traumatic stress disorder sourcebook. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Shapiro, E. R. (2002). Family bereavement after collective trauma: Private suffering, public meanings, and cultural contexts. Journal of Systemic Therapies, 21, 81–92.
Trimble, M. R. (1985). Post traumatic stress disorder: history of a concept. In C. R. Figley (Ed.), Trauma and its wake (p. 7). New York: Brunner/Mazel.
US Senate Commerce Committee meeting transcript. (2000). Sen. Sam Brownback statement on marketing violent movies to children. Wednesday, September 27.
Usborne, D. (2006). US cinemas pull harrowing movie about 9/11. The Independent Online, April 4.
Veith, I. (1965). Retrieved April 17, 2009, from the OLPC Wiki: http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/p/post_traumatic_stress_disorder/wiki.htm#wiki_Background
Warheit, B. (1985). A propositional paradigm for estimating the impact of disasters on mental health. Mass Emergencies and Disasters, 3, 29–48.
Achnowledgement
We express special gratitude to Elissa Jacobs and Miryam Nadkarni for their generous and kind editorial comments.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2010 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Kalayjian, A., Abdolian, L.F. (2010). Trauma and the Media: How Movies can Create and Relieve Trauma. In: Gregerson, M. (eds) The Cinematic Mirror for Psychology and Life Coaching. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1114-8_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1114-8_8
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-1113-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-1114-8
eBook Packages: Behavioral ScienceBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)