The Deer Hunter is about three friends going to fight in the Vietnam War and how its horrors change them. The film was particularly successful with illustrating the full impacts of the war, because the first hour was dedicated to detailing their normal lives, which showed the happiness and closeness of the three main characters: Steven, Nick, and Michael. The second act was the turning point, in which the men, along with other US soldiers, were captured and forced to play Russian roulette by the Vietcong. Although the main characters escaped, they were traumatized, which only got worse after Michael and Steven were separated from Nick. The third act was the most powerful and relevant to this class, because it demonstrated the changes in each character’s personality: Steven became legless and helpless; Nick thought the others were dead and became emotionally numb (illustrated by playing Russian roulette for money); and Michael returned home but could not establish his previous lifestyle due to his traumatic experience in the war.
The scene I want to concentrate on was when Michael tried to regain some normalcy by going hunting with his friends. However, he found he could not shoot a deer, which indicated his past would continue to haunt him. He returned to the cabin and walked in on one of his friends trying to act tough by pointing a seemingly unloaded gun at another friend for insulting him. Michael took the gun and shot it (showing it was loaded), and put one round in the chamber, spun and dry fired at the tough guy. That scene was powerful, because it demonstrated the changes to Michael’s personality, which became part of him despite his attempts to regain normalcy.
Originally, Michael’s self-pursuits were normal and healthy. His self-concept was made of self-schemas including a hard worker on the job, a devoted friend, an accomplished deer hunter, and (most importantly) a very organized and controlling planner to avoid surprises, which directed his behavior with feedback to push him toward his ideal self (a calm but outgoing figure). His self-concept also helped establish his identity within his initial life by appointing him the role as the leader among his friends. Michael’s agency was well-developed, shown in his stable self-functioning and autonomy, so his self-regulation was likely fixed with his current successful behaviors.
As far as the concepts of personality, Michael was very healthy. His strict self-management demonstrated his arousal, because he wasn’t a sensation seeker looking for risks, and he likely had sensitive affect intensity since he avoided such risks. It also demonstrated his perceived control, because he openly engaged in things with the expectancy that he could obtain the desired outcome (through hunting and interaction with his friends). He also had high desired control, because he was so carefully organized and serious, so he could anticipate future situations. Finally, he had healthy levels of happiness. He was an extroverted leader (indicating his positive emotion set point was good), and he had a calm presence lacking neuroticism (indicating his negative emotion set point was also in a good place).
Michael’s astound stability in his personality was likely what saved his life from the Vietcong later, because he was able to retain his positive qualities to use for an escape. For instance, he remained extroverted with little neuroticism by keeping his cool under pressure and devising a plan to escape. His perceived control must have also been holding up, because he was able to shift the outcome to his desired choice. Although Michael retained many of his previous qualities after getting captured, the after effects still stuck.
The specific scene I chose to focus on demonstrated the after effects by showing how Michael’s previous qualities had changed, beginning with his self-pursuits. The self-schemas of killer, disappointing friend, and failed leader were added to his self-concept, which created issues with his consistent self. His conflicting self-view deterred his rise to his ideal self (calm, outgoing leader), and actually dropped him toward his feared self (reckless, anxious, and afraid). This obviously affected his identity, since he felt he was no longer capable of fulfilling the role as leader, which contributed to his initial isolation from his friends that was out of character for the old Michael. His agency was messed up, because he couldn’t function efficiently anymore, which was fantastically demonstrated by the prior scene in which he could not kill the deer. Thus, his potential remained unfulfilled, and his autonomy needs were not met. Finally, his self-regulation wasn’t fixed anymore, because Michael was unsure of what to do to reestablish himself (avoid his friends, try to shoot deer, look for Nick).
The scene in the cabin was probably the best example of Michael’s affected personality. On top of coming back from a failed attempt to regain control of his life, Michael walked in to find one of his friends pointing a gun at another friend, which sent him over the edge. By playing Russian roulette with his friend, Michael showed his vast changes to arousal. Instead of being calm, he shot the gun off and put it to his friend’s head, which was a form of sensation seeking since it was quite a big risk. Although he was initially sensitive to arousal changes, Michael’s affect intensity became much more sensitive after the war, which was why he was unable to keep control of himself. This was also an example of cognitive dissonance by behaving differently than his beliefs (threatening instead of protecting his friends), which further showed issues with his identity since he could not manage his identity conforming behavior (it was acceptable in war with enemies, but not at home with friends). Getting back to personality, Michael also likely reacted so harshly because of deficits in perceived control. He may have felt he couldn’t protect his friends in the war, and it carried over to not being able to do so at home. Personally, I believe it had a lot to do with his uncontrollable environment in the prison cage. The book stated high controlling individuals tend to function better in controllable environments (Michael at the beginning), but their motivation gets disrupted worse than others in low controlling environments (the cage). That event of being unable to control the situation hurt Michael’s future situation at the cabin, which further sent him off the edge. Finally, his happiness was obviously not within healthy ranges anymore. His extroversion had suffered, because he avoided his friends more often at first, and remained unengaged when he was around them. His neuroticism also increased, as demonstrated by putting a loaded gun to his friend’s head and pulling the trigger. Overall, Michael was experiencing issues with his self-worth, because his actions were not matching his internal beliefs (stay calm and look out for friends).
Michael’s interaction with his friend indicated his emotions to the current situation, allowing his friends to see how his personality changed from the war by reacting in that particular way to the situation. The basic emotions demonstrated were fear and anger, which gave rise to his outburst. His feelings (made of subjective cognitions) were shown by Michael verbally saying “how do you feel now, big shot,” while sticking the gun to the man’s forehead (indicating he was sick of violence and didn’t want to be around it when he was supposed to be safe from it at home). His purpose was to direct the goal of extinguishing future violent outbursts from his friends, which was done by scaring them into acting peaceful and getting rid of the gun. It was, however, his self-expression that conveyed the message to both characters and audience the best. His face remained morose and fixed on the man until after he pulled the trigger, which he then turned and starred down his other friends as if to say “I will have this at home as well,” without actually speaking. His voice was yelling the entire time, and other forms of communication were ripping off his coat, ridiculing his friend, slamming the door, and throwing the revolver into the woods. All of this conveyed the message to his friends that he was internally unsettled from the war, he was trying to reestablish peace in his life, and violence brought out a monster in him. In the end, I believe he regains some peace, as shown with him engaging with his friends at Nick’s funeral as the leader once again.
I have seen this movie before, and it remains one of the most respected films in my opinion. I like how an hour is dedicated to detailing character development in the beginning, so when the conflict comes in the second act, it is all the more powerful. On a side note, my favorite thing about this movie is the foreshadowing in the beginning. Michael’s “one-shot kill,” Nick asking Mike not to leave him in Vietnam if anything happened, and especially the soldier in the bar at the wedding set the dark mood for the rest of the film. Furthermore, I was more disturbed by the after effect in the third act than the actual killing in the second act. It was almost as if the ones who died got off lucky, while the survivors had to live in mental anguish until they died.
The movie The Deer Hunter displays the lives of three friends before, during and after the Vietnam War of which they fought in. The first third of the movie gave background information of the three friends, Nick, Steve, and Michael and their friends. Even during this part of the movie, as it was the least dramatic out of the whole emotional plot exposed concepts from chapters 10-13. I thought the movie portrayed the friends all as being very extroverted men. During the wedding there was nonstop laughter and dancing. It was obvious that the men found rewards out of this stimulating environment. From the extroverted tendencies, a higher sense of happiness was felt. During the wedding, their friend that had a slight attitude throughout the movie went up and hit the woman that he was with because of her dancing with another man. Before hitting her, he had been sitting and watching everyone dance. It seemed to me as an avoidance technique, which then could label this man as being slightly neurotic. It didn’t seem as though someone who was emotionally stable would hit a woman for another man touching her butt.
It was also evident from the beginning that these men saw themselves as and the self-concept that they have placed upon themselves. During the wedding there were flags and pictures of the men on the walls and a sort of “support our troops” banner hung above in the reception area. These men saw themselves as becoming soldiers. It was what was they would soon totally become and it was obviously important to them. Another self-schema that was very important that built up going into the war was their strong sense of friendship between one another. It played a very large role once the men were forced to play Russian roulette against each other.
Another theme that was shown through the first third of the movie was the sensation seeking behaviors that the men expressed. The first major example of this was when they were driving to work and there was a big semi-truck that was driving in front of them, but they drove right against the wall and very quickly to pass him. It was a risk taking behavior, along with their excessive drinking that went on in the beginning of the movie. I also found sensation seeking behaviors in the beginning of the film when the men showed their common hobby of deer hunting. I would definitely put hunting under a category of “extreme sports”. The rush that hunters receive from hunting is very similar I am sure to one that a skydiver may have. Not only was the reckless driving, drinking, and hunting part of the sensation seeking. I also feel as though a person who signs up to be in the army may be doing it to serve his or her country, but there also is a sense of novelty of new experiences and risk involved that could be arousing for an individual.
After the men go to war, they are captured and forced to play Russian roulette against themselves. During this time the three friends are reunited. The perceived control of the situation for Michael, Nick and Steven are not very high. The Vietcong all had guns shoved in the three friends faces and yelled at them constantly. They were also outnumber by the Vietcong which took away any of the perceived control that they may have. Even though their perceived control might be low, Michael’s desire for control was very high. At the point when Steven had been put into their trap after shooting, Michael’s desire for control intensified, as did his perceived control. As he spoke with Nick before going back up to play Russian roulette, he already had a plan formulating to get them out of there safely. He was able to problem solve and persist in the difficult experience that they were going through. He did not give up, like his friends may have if he had not been there. To do this Michael had to take his highly arousing environment and situation and put himself back to a point of being moderately aroused so he could cope and perform better. This relates to the Yerkes-Dodson law or the inverted U table. If he stayed at his highly aroused state, he would not have been able to do anything problem solving or goal obtaining. He would only have been able to focus on the sounds of the yells, the look of terror on his friends face and the gun that he was being forced to shoot himself with. Not only did the desire of control come into play, but the perceived control as stated before, also changed. I could tell that the perceived power shifted when he felt that they were capable to retreat from their current location under the Vietcong.
This movie did an interesting job of portraying the emotions that were felt after the men came back from war (or didn’t). It is something that normally can’t be expressed that well through other war movies. Normally it would be something seen only if you have known someone in that position. One very interesting scene in the movie that I noticed was after Michael came home. He went to the hotel so that he did not have to face and talk to all of his friends. He had just gone through a very traumatic event and he thought he had lost a friend. After he went to the hotel, he paced back and forth and finally found himself against the wall in a squatting position, which I’m sure was something he was used to doing while in Vietnam. I felt as though he may have been doing this because he was under aroused. He had been pacing and he could not sleep. While he was at war he had been in constant battle, or at least constant fear of being killed. Now, back in America, he has to learn how to return back into a safe environment.
The Deer Hunter was a very emotional movie that depicted the horrible after effects of war on soldiers and their family and friends. It provided many examples of concepts learned in class and in our text.
Terms: emotional stability, extrovert, happiness, neurotic, self-concept, self-schema, sensation seeking, risk taking behaviors, arousal, new experience, perceived control, desire of control, Yerkes-Dodson Law, under aroused,
I had never seen The Deer Hunter before I watched it for this class. I found the movie to be way different than what I was expecting. I was expecting just another war movie that is placed in Vietnam. But what it wasn't just that. I found it to be very moving and very sad. The movie takes place in so many different places that it is almost hard to keep track of. They start at home, then go to Vietnam, then back home, and they finish it in Vietnam and have a short scene back home. It really is an emotional roller coaster movie where you see the highs of life(wedding scene) and the lows of life(funeral). I also did not expect so many actors that went on to have very successful acting careers. Robert De Niro was awesome in it and Christopher Walken has been very successful since and I had no idea that Meryl Streep was in it. I could see why the movie was nominateed for so many different awards that included Oscars.
The first thing I want to talk about is Robert De Niro's character, Michael. Michael was the main character in the movie and played an everyman's man. He lived in a coal mining town where he worked in what looked to be a coal mining factory. After he and his buddies would get done with work they would go to the local bar and have a good time by drinking and being with their friends. He liked to deer hunt, which he seemed to be very good at. About a third of the way through the movie he went to Vietnam to serve his country. There, he went through some stuff that nobody should have to go through. His character was easily the most interesting to me so thats why am I going to focus mainly on his character at first in this discussion.
First of all, I think that Michael liked to see his self as being a happy guy. His concept of his self could be described as being a hard worker, someone who would serve his country for the betterment of his country, a friend that his friends could turn to if they needed his help with anything. One scene that showed this was when they were leaving for the wedding and Michael had a talk to Nick about how they were best friends. They told each other that they would always be there for each other in each of their times need. You could also say that these things were part of Michael's identity. I think that Michael just wanted to be known as the guy who had great friends and who could be the life of the party as evidenced by some moments at the wedding and in the bar before they went to Vietnam.
Another part of The Deer Hunter that I found very interesting was personal strivings that Michael was trying to accomplish during the movie. I think that the personal striving that he worked hardest at and what he wanted more than anything in the movie was to be with Linda. This complex in the movie was very interesting. He really had an emotional connection to Linda and wanted to be with her more than anything. But the interesting thing is that Nick was also in love with her and she seemed to like him more even though she and Michael seemed to have a connection too. When she and Nick decided to get married you could tell that Michael was not the happiest man in the world especially by his facial expressions and really his whole bodily reactions that he expressed from his emotions that he was feeling at the time.
Michael had a different personality than everyone else in the movie. He seemed like a happy person for some of the movie, mainly the start, and the rest of the movie he seemed to be emotionally unstable and he was just an unhappy person. He really was a neurotic person for the second half of the movie. Obviously he suffered from many different things that happened. He was taken hostage, forced to play Russian Roulette with his best friend, and had to go to Nick's funeral at the end. Anybody that had this kind of life would be neurotic and would not be a happy person. He even had money during the second half of the movie but just like the book says, money doesn't buy happiness. He was a much happier person when he was working in god awful conditions and being able to hang with his friends at the local watering hole. Even though he had money, it didn't make him any happier.
Even though I would characterize most of Michael's friends as extraverts I would say that Michael is an introvert. He is very quiet throughout the movie and doesn't really like to be in the middle of the party even though this friends seem to be. For example, during the wedding he is standing in the bar when all of this friends are out on the dance floor. There is nothing wrong with this but I think that did influence his happiness levels. Another example of this is when he gets back home he doesn't go to the house when everyone is there setting up a party for him. He doesn't seem to like big groups but he likes to be in a small group of his friends. He doesn't seem to like any of the attention that he gets when he comes back home.
Sensation seeking seems to be very prevalent in The Deer Hunter. Sensation seeking is a personality characteristic that is related to arousal and reactivity. Some people don't like to seek sensation in the ways that could be dangerous. The type of sensation seeking that I want to focus on the most is the risk taking aspect of it. Risk taking is so important when discussing this movie. Obviously the most exciting parts in the movie was when they were forced to play Russian Roulette. The Vietnamese did this for fun when they have POWs. The soldiers obviously hated doing this because it risked their lives to the extreme. Nick was very much affected by the trauma of war and he suffered from what seemed to be a deep depression. He stayed in Vietnam and put himself in games of Russian Roulette to make money. At the end of the movie it was obvious that he didn't have to do it but he liked the risk. He seeked out these experiences of risking his life to satisfy some inner needs that he had. Even Michael had some times that he showed that he liked risk taking. He took a bullet and put it in a gun and pointed it at Stan and pulled the trigger. For Stan, I am sure that is was obviously very scary but for Michael I think he did it for himself. He needed to experience something like that because of what he went through.
I have never seen nor heard of the Deer Hunter before this class. This movie is more than a war movie and it is a very intense with a dark feeling that grows throughout the movie. I was expecting a sad war movie, but this one definately was moving and heartfelt. The actors and actresses did a really good job at portraying what it was like to go through a war, either in it or at home waiting for someone.
This movie had a lot of different aspects from the chapters that we've read that apply to the characters. I found that there was more focus on Michael and Nick, but during the middle of the movie, we learn more about Michael during the movie while Nick is missing. In the beginning of the movie, Michael seems to be a happy guy, however he seems more reserved and a bit different from his other friends. I believe that Michael is more introverted, but still happy. After Michael comes back from Vietnam, he is obviously a changed person. He is unhappy and seems like he would score high on a neurotic scale. Michael is very unstable in his emotions, and doesn't know how to handle his old friends, Linda and life without Nick. The war changed Michael and the people around him, even after he came into some money. Money doesn't equal happiness and when your world is rocked by a life changing event causing you to lose your best friend, nothing helps.
Michael has a high desire for control. This is seen throughout the movie. In the beginning Michael is more reserved as I stated, but one scene stands out that shows how he likes to be in control. It is before the boys are about to leave for Vietnam, and they are going on their last hunting trip. Stanley had forgotten his boots again and wanted to borrow Michael's extras. Michael wouldn't let him because he believed he needed to learn to be responsible. No matter what anyone said Michael did not give in. This shows the Michael doesnt really care what people say, and he was trying to control Stanley's future actions to be responsible by not helping him out this time. Throught the movie, Michael shows his need for control. When they are captured by the Vietcong and forced to play Russian Roulet with themselves and each other, Steven and Nick were very upset. Michael was able to not show his fear and help the others. His percieved control was high in this situation. Michael had to believe that he was capable of getting out of the situation and that there would be some predictable outcome. The outcome in this situation was no where near predictable but that was the risk that was needed to take. Michael exerted much concentration and effort to devise a plan to escape. When Nick wasn't sure about it, Micheal convinced him. Michael's desire for control and need to take action may have saved many of their lives. Michael needs to find Nick and goes back to find him dazed and that he lost his memory. Michael feels lost because he has lost control. Nick is gone and doesn't remember anything. Michael feels lost and confused because he lsot his control with is best friend.
Michael's self schema does change throughout the movie. Slef schemas are a collection that creates the self concept. In the beginning Michael thinks of himself as a good hunter, and overall a responsible person. I believe there is motivational tension in Michael's life when he comes home without Nick because Nick was apart of his schema for many things he did in his every day life. He had much dissonance until he could find Nikki, which he ends up dying in Russian Roulette. Our self is maintained by feedback. Michael was getting feedback but because ofNick being gone, he couldn't interact socially. he just drew deeper inside himself and his neuroticism grew.
This movie was extrememly emotional, and was a good one to see how life events can possibly change some people. Deer Hunter showed the lives of people who were in the war and who were waiting for their soilders to return. Overall, it was a good, but very sad and depressing movie.
The Deer Hunter was a shocking movie to say the least. I had never heard of it before this class and didn’t really know what to expect. Although I wasn’t a huge fan (because of the blood and gore) it did a nice job demonstrating concepts in chapters 10-13. Throughout this blog I will focus on the main character Michael and how he is connected to different concepts in the textbook.
First off, Mike shows many of the basic emotions extremely well. Fear is apparent when he is in Vietnam. Mike is desperately trying to stay in control and hide this emotion. However, the scene where they are under the hut in the water we are able to see vulnerability. He is forced to shoot a gun at his head not knowing whether the barrel has a bullet loaded or not. Fear motivates defense, and in this situation he devises a plan that allows him and his fellow soldier and friend escape from the Vietnamese men. Another basic emotion, anger, is seen when Mike comes home. He is angry to find out that his friend, Nick, was still in Vietnam engaging in the gun “game” that they had previously escaped from. He leaves America to return to Vietnam to retrieve Nick. When he finds Nick in that awful situation we see Mike unleash. He is angry with him because he had the chance to leave. The action that Nick is taking is interfering with their goal which was to get home alive, safe, and together. This anger comes from the source that Nicks reasoning for not completing their goal of coming home is illegitimate. There is no life for him in Vietnam so Mike is puzzled and angry. Sadness is obviously another significant emotion shown by Mike. He is most sad when he sees his friends struggle and in pain. First off, he watches Nick die; for a ridiculous reason at that. After Nick shoots himself in the game we see Mike cry for the first time. Sadness is often a result of a loss of a loved one, in this situation that is Mike’s loss of Nick. Secondly, we see Mike show sadness when he sees Steven for the first time after the war. Steven has lost his legs during his time in Vietnam. Mike shows concern and sadness for Steven through his facial expressions, not his words. His facial expressions are a result of the emotion (sadness) that he feels. In turn the facial expressions he makes only accelerate the emotion even more.
The emotions Mike felt were helping him cope with the difficult situations he encountered. Emotions are able to prepare us with automatic, quick and successful responses to life tasks. Emotions are also providers of social functions. They allow us to communicate our feelings toward others. Mike uses his emotions to show his friends how angry, and upset he is with Vietnam and the loss of friends and fellow soldiers. For example, his friend Stanley is giving him a hard time and points an unloaded gun at Mike. This triggers negative emotions in Mike and motivates him to point a loaded gun at Stanley. Mike shoots the gun and fortunately the gun shoots blank.
Appraisal is defined as an estimate of the personal significance of an event. Appraisal is shown throughout the entire movie The Deer Hunter. Mike demonstrates this by showing emotions. Emotions come from events that have meaning. If the events in the movie had no meaning to Mike we wouldn’t be able to see the various emotions I previously mentioned. Mike first appraises the situations in Vietnam as bad versus good. A feeling of disliking follows which then generates avoidance motivation. The point in the movie when the three friends are under the hut in the water then escape is an example of this. Mike does all he can to avoid more pain and killing. His actions save all three of the men and they float downstream together heading for safety to alleviate the negative feelings and physical destruction.
The last concept I want to cover is Control. We find out early in the movie that Mike has a high desire for control. There is a particular scene with Mike and Nick in which Nick tell Mike he is a control freak because he doesn’t want to go hunting with the other guys. A person with a high desire for control wants to have control over every event in their life. Mike loses some control in the beginning when he is going to soon be leaving for Vietnam. He knows it is no longer up to him to back out or change his mind. We see him running down the street stripping naked after the wedding. When he has finally stopped running he tells Nick everything is going so fast. Here he is demonstrating anxiety and distress; two typical aspects of a high control person losing control. Mike also demonstrates a high desire for control by persisting through his struggles in Vietnam. While he friends wanted to give up he was there to push them and ultimately being responsible for their survival as well as his own.
Terms: fear, anger, sadness, facial expressions, coping, social functions, appraisal, avoidance motivation, desire for control, loss of control
Deer Hunter Concepts Ch. 10-13
I was surprised to enjoy the movie the Deer Hunter; it was a very intense war movie and a lot different from my expectations. The three main parts to the film were all very different from one another. The first was mostly just an introduction of the characters, and the wedding. It was funny and seemed very typical of an older war film. Some drunken moments and a wedding.
I would say one of the first things I noticed about all three men is that they were all very much extroverted. They all seemed very boisterous and had a lot of confidence. They all talked a lot of crap about what they were each good at and no one seemed very shy. Michael after the wedding even ran down the street butt naked, not something an introvert would ever do. They all seemed generally happy, all at the beginning very low on neuroticism. There were a few moments I wondered if John was sort of introverted because of his lack of showing care when Linda was kissing or dancing with others at the wedding, but I think it was more drunkenness than introversion.
There are many scenes where Michael shows a high need for control. At the wedding he makes eye contact with Linda quite a few times and likes knowing the control he has over her and the other girl that thought he was looking at her. On the last hunting trip they went on when Stanley asks him to borrow his other pair of boots he says now just because he wants the control of Stan not having any boots. He sits on the car and remains calm the entire time that Stan is yelling and swearing at him. When Nick asks him what’s wrong he just shoots his gun, showing his control over the entire situation. Shortly after is when he gets the deer he was talking about earlier with just one shot.
From some of the scenes over in Vietnam, I would say that every single person over there fighting would have to have a low desire for control. They aren’t able to approach a situation by asking whether or not they can control what happens, but rather have no choice and have to do what will possibly save their life.
The game of Russian roulette was one of the most intense scenes I have ever seen in a movie. It was very difficult for me to watch as I had a friend who committed suicide by shooting himself in the head and I had to leave the room for this scene.
It would be impossible for one’s self schema not to change over time after going through something like this. No matter what someone’s self-schema of them was before going over to Vietnam, it would change dramatically from this past experience.
I could see one of each of the basic emotions in this film. There was plenty of fear during the game of Russian roulette. The fear that Steven had in playing the game was much stronger than what Michael had or at least showed. He had no idea if he was about to live or die and I can’t imagine how frightening of a feeling this would be. This is much more than a basic biological emotion of fear; this is a complex cognitive perspective. In the same scene during the game Michael shows a major emotion of anger. In the hospital when the supervisor is asking Nick what his parent’s birthdate is, he showed a lot of sadness. He was trying to hold in the emotion for a long time, but at this moment, he couldn’t any longer.
I think that anyone choosing to go to war during this time and looking forward to it is high on sensation seeking, also anyone who is a deer hunter. These are not things that a lot of people would look forward to and this personality characteristic is related to arousal and reactivity. These guys before they went were bored with their routine.
I think Nick had some major cognitive dissonance when he went in to again play Russian roulette. He was not seeing himself as competent, moral or reasonable.
The coming home party for Michael was very tough for Linda not seeing Nick come home. She had a lot of emotions going on and I have had 2 of my good friends go through this a couple of times when they couldn’t get a hold of their husbands who were in Afghanistan and Iraq. Michael’s self-concept and schema changes quite a bit throughout the film. During the homecoming he is not near as extroverted, his personality and happiness is diminished. He doesn’t want to go to the party, he waits til everyone is gone to go home. But he has to tell Linda that he doesn’t have Nick with him, something no one wants to do. Although, I think his desire for control is still high, regardless of the party, he still doesn’t go until he is ready.
This movie brought up a lot of emotions for me and I had a hard time concentrating. I had to leave the room a few different times was disgusted other times. I never thought I would have such a difficult time with a war movie but I did. It was good but I will never watch it again.
Terms used: self-schema, emotion, cognitive perspective, biological perspective, fear, anger, sensation seeking, extraversion, neuroticism, introversion, perceived control, desire for control.
The Deer Hunter was a good movie - it was my first time viewing it but I really enjoyed it (as long as it was). This movie depicts the lives of three friends, Stevie, Michael, and Nikki. We get an inside view of their lives in Pennsylvania before they ship off to fight in the Vietnam war, while they are in Vietnam, and what happens after the war as well. It was an extremely emotional movie filled with highs and lows. There were many examples of chapter 10-13 concepts.
Since there was so much going on in this movie I decided to focus on Michael for awhile since he was kind of the main character. Michael is the typical man, he works in a factory of some sort, coal mining perhaps? Anyways, he is a hard worker living simply who enjoys deer hunting and spending time with his friends, especially after work at the local bar. While Michael's friends are definitely extroverted, I think Michael is actually introverted. He is a happy introvert but he doesn't desire to be in the middle of everything all the time. For example, he stood at the bar for a good portion of the evening at Stevie's wedding reception. I also think Michael had a very strong self concept. He was a factory worker, an honest friend, a hunter, and soon to be a soldier. He was developing this self schema before he left - it was something he desired, to be a soldier.
Once Michael was in Vietnam his demeanor changed. It was noticeable in all three men. When they were taken hostage along the river and were forced to play Russian Roulette it affected them for life. Michael was very unstable emotionally after this. While in Vietnam it he was exposed to constant arousal because of the hostage situation, the killing, and trying to survive. This can be related to the Yerkes Dodson Law where high arousal decreases performance efficiency and affect. Michael had to control his emotion to survive and this clearly saved his friends a few times as well. For example, when all three of them are taken hostage they are awaiting their turn to play Russian Roulette against each other. Stevie can hear the blanks click each time a life is saved but he starts to lose it. Michael tries to calm him down but it only works for a little bit. When Nikki an Michael are forced to play against each other they have no perceived control. The Vietnamese are holding guns in their faces and are constantly yelling at them. There is no way that they can prevent undesirable outcomes here. That is until Michael comes up with a plan right before they play and they end up killing all of the enemy. Michael had the desire for control. He was motivated enough to save not only his own life but his best friend's lives as well. Having a desire to control that situation in turn gave them perceived control and they ended up living. This can also be another example of the inverted U curve - if Michael hadn't gained composure and controlled his arousal state, he would have never been able to focus on devising a plan to save their lives.
After Michael came back from Vietnam he was different. He didn't know how to interact with the friends he had left or with Linda, the woman he loves but doesn't say anything because she and Nikki were an item before they left for war. The scene that struck me the most at this point was when Michael was in the taxi driving home and saw the "Welcome Home Michael" signs. It all the sudden became too much for him and told the driver to take him to a hotel. This could be Michael and his introvert self but I think it was mostly because he didn't know how to handle the situation. He again didn't have control over it. It could also be that his arousal state was too low. This was very apparent when he was in the hotel - he couldn't stand still, he was pacing back and forth, almost panicking. He ends up squatting against a wall - maybe it was just what he was used to doing during the war. He just came from all this death and chaos and now was in a place that was pretty quiet and safe. He had to adjust his arousal state to feel comfortable again.
There was also the scene when Michael and his friends go deer hunting after he returns is way of getting back to the life he left and feeling normal once more. This situation is already different than the first deer hunting scene we see in the beginning of the movie because Nick is not with them. Michael told Nick that he is the reason he likes to hunt because he does it with his best friend. Michael goes out and sees a large buck, he gets right up to it and has more than one opportunity to shoot it but can't bring himself to do it. I am speculating that it is no longer a fun sport to kill anymore because of his experience at war. When he returns to the cabin Stan is threatening to shoot their other friend. This sets Michael off because Stan doesn't understand the magnitude of pointing a gun at someone. While Stan thinks the gun is empty it was actually loaded, Michael empties it all but one shot. He then plays Russian Roulette and luckily Stan won. Michael's affect intensity had drastically changed and he was emotionally unstable. He couldn't control himself anymore. Michael was always one who liked to control the situation and he felt as if that wasn't possible anymore and it affected his well being. Michael happiness was very low at this point while his neuroticism was increasing. He was unhappy because his 2 friends had not returned home yet and he was sensitive to issues surrounding the war. He was highly sensitive to punishment at this point.
Overall, the emotions that Michael experienced were extremely varied. Before the war he experienced joy, contempt, and interest. He was a normal guy just living his life. While in Vietnam he experienced surprise (and not in a good way), fear, anger,distress, and varying degrees of those emotions. The biological basics of emotion were there but he had to have felt so much more and that's where the cognitive aspect of emotion play in. Humans are complex creatures and he was probably feeling a whole lot of things then. When Michael returned home he couldn't go back to being his normal happy self. He was still fearful, on the edge of his seat waiting for the next awful surprise - which is probably another reason he didn't go straight home when getting back from war. Now that I think about it, surprises means he doesn't have control over the situation once more. Anyways, back to emotions, he had to relearn expression management and emotion management because he had to deal with things in Vietnam differently there than he had to at home.
Overall I thought it was a great movie and I can see why it received so many awards/Oscars/whatever they are called. It truly gave me a better sense of the impact of war of a person and their close friends and family without being a super gory war film. I liked that I got to see a more realistic emotional portrayal of characters.
I had never heard of The Deer Hunter before this class. It was not exactly my style of movie, but it was somewhat enjoyable. Stevie, Michael and Nikki are the three main friends in the movie. Before they are shipped off to Vietnam, the movie depicts how their everyday lives were in Pennsylvania. Then the movie shows how their lives changed while in Vietnam and what life was like after war for them. There were many ups and down in this movie which made it emotional to watch.
The first thing that was obvious to me was how extroverted all of the men were. They were very loud, boisterous, cocky, and they did not care who heard. They all seemed to have a high level of autonomy, competence, and happiness. Neuroticism was not a characteristic they seemed to portray in the beginning. Michael seems to have a higher need for control. There was a wedding scene in the movie that involved Michael making eye contact with Linda numerous times. This example of body language can be used in a controlling manner. By paying attention to her, he felt that he was gaining a sense of control over her and her potential actions. Nick may be considered more introverted compared to how extroverted the rest of the friends are. When Stan and Michael get in a yelling match, Nick is the one that attempts to be the voice of reason. By Nick asking what exactly was wrong, Michael just shot his gun in response to show control of the situation.
Even though Michael seemed to have control issues, he still considered himself to be a nice guy. He was willing to fight for his country, a hard worker, and a good friend that was always willing to listen and help. One scene that displayed Michael’s level of compassion for his friend was when he talked to Nick before the wedding. Michael explained to Nick that he was his best friend. They explained to each other how they would always be there for one another and help whenever it was needed. Friendship was very important to Michael.
One of the most dramatic scenes in the movie was when they were forced to play Russian roulette. Sensation seeking was a definite theme during this part of the movie. Sensation seeking occurs when an individual is in search of arousal and reactions. This may be considered dangerous to some people, but for others, it’s what they live off. When they were forced to play Russian roulette, the intensity of the movie heightened greatly. When the Vietnamese would capture POW’s, this was their form of entertainment. Nick and Michael were both affected by this experience. Putting their lives on the line was obviously terrifying, but more trilling than anything else they had experienced. Which I’m sure is something everyone can relate to. Nick decided to stay in Vietnam because he enjoyed the thrill that went along with the dangerous game. Once he felt the thrill of almost losing his life, he felt the need to continue with sensation seeking behaviors.
After the war, Michael’s affect intensity became much more sensitive. This led to him having trouble controlling his emotions and actions in the manner he did prior to the war. Michael’s changed personality also displayed cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance is defined as behaving differently than ones beliefs. Michael began threatening instead of protecting his friends. This could also relate back to Michael’s sense of control. Before the war he liked to have a high sense of control. After the war he feels as though his level of control has decreased which produces a certain amount of anxiety and anger for him. Michael’s level of happiness had been affected by the war. He began avoiding his friends, was disengaged, and lost a sense of self-worth.
This movie was very depressing, yet a great story of depicting the ups and downs of war.
Deer Hunter is a LONG movie that is made up of three hour long mini movies. The first portion is a bunch of buddies living in a small town in Pennsylvania. They are your typical manly men who work in a steel mill, drink beer, and go hunting on occasion. The three main dudes are Steven, Michael, and Nick who are followed throughout the movie. Steven celebrates his wedding just before all three of them head overseas to fight in Vietnam and this is where the second part of the movie picks up. They are all split up initially but are reconnected in a small village and are quickly captured by the Vietcong. The Vietcong don’t really want to hang on to their POWs and reap some kind of entertainment by forcing the POWs to play Russian roulette against each other. Fortunately all three of our guys are able to get away by upping the odds with 3 bullets in the chamber and turning the gun on the Vietcong, though all are left with the permanent scars, visible and invisible, from having to pull the trigger on themselves. The last third of the movie then follows our characters after they leave the battlefield. Michael returns home and tries to return to what he had left behind. Steven returns home but he has lost his legs and his new bride doesn’t cope well with that. Nick, however, has the worst turn of things. He ends up making a lot of money in Saigon by playing Russian roulette professionally. The movie ends with Nick dead, and Michael and Steven pushing on with their lives. I thought this was a ridiculously long movie but it had its good points. It really made me think of how our materials applied because there wasn’t anything that jumped out at me.
The individual I would like to follow throughout the movie is Nick because he has the starkest turn around in his behavior. To start this let us look at Nick back home before he had ever been to Vietnam. Before all that Nick is a very happy guy, the happiest. He is always starting the guys singing, picking up pretty gals at the wedding, and next to the center of attention. Because of Nick’s happiness he is always looking for the potential rewards in a situation. He hears wedding and he thinks free booze, music, and women; all rewards for him. He probably thought the same thing when he got drafted or enlisted. In this conflict he could become a hero, serve his country, and stop the spread of Communism. He had no idea just how much punishment he would endure over there. Back at home Nick’s identity within the community was everybody’s friend, the reliable guy, the comedian, and other highly desirable roles. He partook in a lot of identity-confirming behaviors as well such as, always dancing next to the bride and groom at the wedding and playing pranks on the drive to the hunting cabin. Through these behaviors he cemented in his own mind and in the mind of the community his role as just being a great all around guy.
As we follow Nick over to Vietnam initially we don’t see a whole lot of change. He is still incredibly friendly to those around him including Michael when he first meets up with him again in the small village. However, we only see this for a glimpse and then he is captured along with Michael and Steven and forced to play Russian roulette against each other. During these intense scenes Nick’s identity and self-concept have no real value. He has had all choice ripped away from him and now everything is left up to chance. During this time he would have been feeling some very intense emotions of fear, anger, and disgust. When he first has to put the gun to his head for the first time he exhibits fear and disgust by throwing the gun down and refusing to play. However, after more than a few slaps from the Vietcong guard he realizes he doesn’t really have a choice and exhibits sadness or hopelessness and pulls the trigger only to hear a click. Michael then turns the roulette gun on the guards to give them a chance to escape and once he did that Nick exhibited extreme anger by fighting off attackers, shooting many, and beating one to death with the butt of a gun. All of these were negative emotions that stuck with Nick for a long time, primarily sadness which causes us to withdraw and give up. I feel that it is this that really messed up Nick in the end.
As we know Nick goes A.W.O.L. and ends up playing Russian roulette for a living in Saigon. Even after watching the movie I’m still not sure what pushed Nick over the deep end but I’m trying to examine motivational reasons for it. First, I tried to examine why he might continue to participate in such behavior via his appraisal of the situation. First the life event of Russian roulette was introduced to Nick. Initially, he would have viewed this as a bad or harmful thing which would have caused him to not like the behavior, feeling fear or disgust, and in the future exhibiting avoidance behavior of similar events. However, this does not explain why he would participate in this behavior repeatedly. Another possibility is that Nick was no longer satisfied with normal levels of arousal anymore because he was shocked into it and normal life events did not satisfy him anymore. This would mean that he had developed high sensation seeking as a personality trait. In order to achieve a moderate level of arousal, which makes us happy and allows us to perform to the best of our ability. However, based on Nick’s previous personality I don’t think that this is accurate either. The theory that I think best describes what is taking place in Nick’s situation is that his identity and self-concept were completely shattered after seeing and participating in the things that he did. He used to be the good, reliable, funny guy back home. How could he go back to that after playing a game of death between himself and Michael? When we are faced with cognitive dissonant information or behavior we have a few ways of dealing with the dissonance. We can remove or reduce the dissonant belief or add a new consonant belief or increase the importance of the consonant belief. In Nick’s case he added a new consonant belief and adopted a new personality as well. Rather than being extroverted and happy Nick became extremely neurotic and didn’t see any possible rewards in his environment. When he began seeing the world this way he adopted a job, Russian roulette, which had the possibility of ending it all quick and painlessly with one shot. And that is exactly what happened, with his long time friend sitting across the table from him, trying to bring him back. Those are my busted and hypothetical theories about what happened to Nick after he was introduced to Russian roulette. I still feel as though I don’t completely understand why he did what he did but Motivation and Emotion terms and conditions certainly helped.
Terms: happiness, potential rewards, punishment, identity, role, identity confirming behavior, self-concept, fear, anger, disgust, negative emotions, life event, appraisal, emotion, approach v. withdrawal, motivational, arousal, moderate, sensation seeking, cognitive dissonance, ways to deal with dissonant beliefs, extroverted, neurotic
This movie told the story of three friends who had their lives turned upside down after serving in the Vietnam War. Even though the main character was Michael, I was very focused on the character of Nick. His character changed drastically throughout the movie in very interesting ways.
At the beginning of the movie, Nick is just a typical guy working a factory job. He appears to be very easy going and laid back. One thing he seems to be doing a lot is betting, but the bets are always between friends over small things that don’t really matter. For him, betting seems to be just a way to pass the time. He doesn’t seem to have the drive to do much of anything with his life. His lack of drive is shown when he is polishing his dress shoes right before Steve’s wedding. Michael asks Nick why he didn’t do it sooner and he says he just didn’t get around to it.
Nick is more or less just floating along life with his friends, enjoying the ride. He doesn’t seem to be passionate about anything. This was very apparent when Linda showed up with a bruise on her face, and Nick stays pretty calm. He asks her what happens and gets somewhat frustrated when she won’t tell him, but doesn’t let it bother him for long. He seems to be ok with the fact that his girlfriend was beat on recently and just lets it slide. Nick is very content with his simple little life in his simple little town. He even tells Michael that the life he has now is all he wants. Before they ship out, Nick tells Michael to bring him home, no matter what. Nick was very comfortable with his life, and was looking forward to coming back after the war.
While fighting in Vietnam, Nick changed into a different man. Life in the war zone is anything but simple like it was back home. Here, Nick is exposed to horrors and pain that he couldn’t have ever imagined. He goes from a repetitive factory job, to killing and hurting other humans. Nick is also put in danger very often. Being in danger means a rush and he becomes addicted to the rush. Nick begins to feel something that he never felt back in his small hometown. Between fighting to stay alive, and searching for risks, Nick’s internal drive becomes focused on seeking new sensations.
I think the difference in Nick is most apparent when you compare the first scene of Russian roulette, and the last game, during which Nick loses his life. The first “game” takes place while Nick and his two friends are being held captive by the locals. The people holding them make a game of betting on who will die during the game. Nick is forced to listen to the men around him play the game above him. The first time he is shown playing, he is very upset and flinches when the gun is put in his direction. The thought of taking that risk scares him and he doesn’t know how to handle it.
The last time Nick plays, he is a completely different person. He looks calm and even slightly relaxed. The fact that he could die within moments means nothing to him. He simply walks in, and sits down. Before the war, very simple things would give Nick a rush, but as he was exposed to more horrors, it became harder for him to feel alive. Once the war was over, he had no way to find the same rush ha had felt earlier. He then starts playing Russian roulette.
This movie showed just how much war can change a man and how hard it is to go back to a normal simple life after you have felt the sting of danger and the rush of survival every day.
The movie Deer Hunter is very intense and at many times was hard for me to watch. It did have a wide variety of examples of motivation and emotion terms that we have been learning. There are three main parts to the movie but the two I’m going to focus on are the wedding and the game of Russian roulette.
At the wedding there are many emotions of joy and happiness. Weddings are naturally something people usually feel happy about, but the emotions were evident in the movie. Basically every person at the wedding was smiling and seemed to be enjoying themselves. Most of the men seem to be extroverted because they are not afraid to speak their minds. The joy at the wedding showed that these men were capable of having healthy relationships and being happy in life. I was glad that this part was in the movie because most of the rest of the film was emotions dealing with anger, disgust, and fear.
The most terrifying scene and part of the movie is when they are playing Russian roulette. I can’t imagine playing this terrible game with friends or loved ones. I have no idea how I would react, all I know is that it wouldn’t be pretty and my self-schema would probably change forever. Everyone’s arousal states had to be really high because they were under a lot of stress not knowing if the next time they pulled the trigger they would be dead or have to watch someone else die. Michael seems to be the one with the most control in the group. He is able to save his friends a couple times and Michael is the one who comes up with the plan to kill the Vietnamese people who are holding guns to their heads. Of course Michael was freaking out but he re-gained composure and focus, which made is arousal state change and become more normal or moderate. That is a good example of the inverted U-curve because at first he had very high arousal but luckily that changed to moderate arousal so he could get them out of the mess.
Michael was my favorite character in this movie. Because I got to see a wide variety of emotions from him and to me he seemed like the hero out of the group. It was very sad for me to watch him come back and see a sign welcoming him home, but him telling the taxi driver to keep going to a hotel instead. War is a terrible thing and I wish no one had to experience it. Michael and the rest of the groups life is changed forever. I have a friend who went to Afghanistan two years ago and when he came back he was nowhere near the same person. It was hard for me to see his self-schemas change and how he wasn’t the same old happy-go-lucky guy I always knew.
Deer Hunter was a good movie displaying a wide range of emotions, starting with happiness at the wedding and going through arousal states at war, dealing with fear in war, and the feelings of anger and sadness once returning home. Overall I thought it was a good portrayal of what soldiers go through to keep me and my country safe.
The movie Deer Hunter was unexpectedly depressing. In the beginning life seemed to be as good as it gets (aside from getting hit by her father). They all seemed happy, and had a strong social group. However, Nicky, Steven and Michael were all sensation seekers. At the bar during the wedding, Michael tried to talk to the soldier that walked in, getting no response in return because of their ignorance. The Green Beret soldier came to have a drink by himself and clearly didn’t want to talk to anyone about his own experience at war. Yet Michael and Nicky emphasized that they wanted to be placed in the middle of it, guns blazing. They didn’t take into consideration that being at war was going to change their life entirely. They were more excited to leave, to seek new adventure and knowing that death was an option didn’t change their mind.
Chapter 10 mentions “the self” and six dimensions of well-being that can relate to anyone’s situation but were blatantly apparent in this movie. For instance, all three soldiers showed the problems of the self. They were trying to define themselves or figure out who they were. By joining the military they were able to relate themselves to society and their purpose in life as well as discovering their personal potential. Yet, when it came to the nitty gritty, Michael was the only one able to manage and regulate himself, despite the hardships they were continuously faced with. When considering the six dimensions of psychological well-being, Michael, Steven and Nicky scored high on self-acceptance, positive relations with others, autonomy, environmental mastery, purpose on life and personal growth. Conversely, after their experience at war, being captures and forced to play Russian roulette, Nicky scored low particularly in positive relations with others. He chose not to come home, even when Michael came to his rescue. For Nicky, playing Russian roulette daily was an easier alternative to going home and having to face his family and friends. Steven showed autonomous behavior when he was getting married and starting his life until he came home from war with no legs and felt incapable of leaving the VA hospital.
On the other hand, Michael mastered his environmental surroundings in every aspect. When they were forced to play Russian Roulette, Michael was still problem solving, trying to figure out a way to get out, instead of crying and telling himself he was going to die like Steven. This leads me to think that Michael has previously established a strong self-schema that he had to live up to. When thinking of the past (before they went to war) Michael was always the best hunter and he was always prepared. In addition to Michael’s reaction tendencies, it was interesting to focus on his facial musculature to identify his aspects of emotion. When considering he 6 basic emotions; fear, anger, disgust, sadness, joy and interest, I rarely noticed joy or interest in Michael throughout the movie, even during the wedding or while hunting. During Russian roulette, he showed anger, when he saw Nicky die he showed sadness.
Clearly, their hometown was rather boring and their lives fell into a routine. They would go to work together, get drinks after work and occasionally go hunting. It is clear that joining the military gave them all a sense of purpose and their current environment was under arousing causing them to be sensation seekers. Sensory deprivation is difficult to endure when there is an opportunity to change it. Unfortunately, they chose war as a way out of their routine, to stimulate their arousal. Although, war caused excessive stimulation, Michael seemed to function well under pressure. Being moderately aroused is associated with the best performance. With that in mind, it is interesting to watch the reaction Michael had toward Steven as he calmed him down and then screaming at them to pull the trigger because he knew there was no other way. Steven had the highest level of arousal which caused him to think and perform poorly, along with his injuries. Nicky seemed to have a low level of arousal, not sure how to react; whereas Michael performed logically and efficiently as he shot the enemies and brought Nicky and Steven to safety. Overall, this movie emphasized how three vary different personalities react to the same situation, based on their control, arousal and performance.
Terms: Sensation seekers, personal potential, defining self, relating self to society, self, self-acceptance, positive relations with others, autonomy, environmental mastery, purpose on life, personal growth, self-schema, choice, under arousal, sensory deprivation, level of arousal, excessive stimulation, control.
The Deer Hunter is a movie that I had not seen before, but a movie I have definitely heard of. The movie deals with the Vietnam War and lets us see it through the eyes of some average Americans who served in the war. These are three friends Michael, Nick and Steven. The movie is split up into three parts, which I thought was interesting, but that kind of made it easier to see exactly how the emotions of the characters changed throughout the movie. You could see them before the war, during the war as well as after the war. In the beginning of the movie at the wedding scene we can see how the men are all good friends and very close to each other. They all go to war together and that is where things turn for the worst. The men were all captured and had to play Roulette. I think that this traumatized the men. As the movie continues we can see their anguish and how they are never going to be the same people again when they return home, which is exactly what happens. The movie really depicts topics that we have learned about in these last three chapters, and how it can be portrayed throughout the entire movie.
In the beginning of the movie we can see a lot about the three friends. You can tell from the beginning that they are all very close and share a close bond. You can see the joy they have with each other. You can see the three men’s self schemas and their self concepts, and how they all differ even though they are very close to one another. Michael seems to be the most serious of them all, and throughout the movie you can see his self scheme as maybe being a leader of the men, because he is good at getting them through tough situations. Nick seems to be quiet and loves to be outside hunting, while Steve seems nice, compassionate and loving. As we can see the men are very different people, who show many different emotions, yet they can still be best friends. One thing that was interesting, is that even though these men show these characteristics throughout the beginning of the movie, they consistently change as we continue watching, and it seems to be that the men’s consistent self changes as they move into Vietnam, as well as the end of the movie.
I would say that really every part in this movie represented so many emotions, which is what we have really been learning about in the past couple of weeks. Fear, Anger, Disgust, Sadness, and Joy were all represented throughout the entire movie, by majority of all of the characters. First, I would say that in the middle of the movie when the men were taken in by the Russians is definitely one of the most critical parts of the movie, and this is really when we can start to see their emotions. I would say that out of all the men, Michael was the one who showed the most emotions (or that is what I caught on the most). I think we can see this during the Russian roulette game that the men were forced to play. I would say that this is definitely a significant life event, which is what the book says brings on certain emotions. In this scene I would say the main emotion would be fear. I think that Michael did the best in not showing his fear, even though I can assume he was terrified inside! I think that Michael was trying to stay together and have control over the situations, or at least was striving for some type of control and has a need for control.
I would say that Michaels arousal levels come into play as well, which relate to the inverted U Curve. You can see throughout the movie Michael’s arousal levels going back and forth, and I feel like you do not really see much of him at the moderate level of arousal, which is usually ideal. I think that especially in Vietnam and the end of the movie Michael has high levels of arousal which causes increasing disturbances and anxiety. I would have to say that when it comes to sensation seeking, in some parts of the movie, say in the beginning, Michael has low levels, yet when he actually shoots the gun I think this shows he is at a high sensation seeking level. There were other parts of the movie that showed sensation seeking levels as well, such as at the wedding and after the wedding when some crazy stuff went on. Also, their driving skills in the beginning of the movie also showed some of the characters high level of sensation seeking. Also, some of these characteristics would possibly be considered risk taking, which is something the men experienced in all three parts of the movie: the wedding scene (drinking), obviously going into a war, and coming back and trying to move on with your life. Michaels affect intensity also changed throughout the movie. During the war, and after he got back from the war his affected intensity changed dramatically. He was very emotionally unstable, depressed, and most likely suffering from PTSD, which is something very common!
After watching this movie, I would have to say that I think Michael is an introvert, and his two friends, Nick and Steve would be extraverts. I’m sure there are certain parts of the movie where we could vouch for the other side. I noticed this right in the beginning of the movie, which really depicted the characters. During the first part of the movie, the wedding scene, we can see Michael staying pretty reserved and quiet for the most part. Everyone else is dancing while he is sticking pretty close to the bar area. I would not say that Michael is an unhappy boring person, but he does have many introvert characteristics, yet it does not seem to relate to his level of happiness. Although we did see Michael comes out of his shell after the wedding, which did show some extraversion characteristics. Yet at the end of the movie we can see how Michaels like has totally changed. He is not happy, seems very depressed and his emotions are on the ride. I would say he is definitely a changed person. I don’t blame the guy from what we have seen him go through!
The Deer Hunter I would say was a very emotional movie, and honestly a movie that I did not really enjoy (only because I am not a fan of movies which such intense war/blood scenes). Although I was not a huge fan, this movie did relate a lot to motivation and emotion. It was interesting to see how the characters changed so much throughout the movie. At one point I would characterize one of the characters in a certain way, but then throughout the movie I would change my opinion of them. It just shows how people change, and how the events in our life change who we are.
The Deer Hunter is follows the lives of three ordinary men who endure extraordinary circumstances. It is broken up into three parts: their lives in small town America before the war, their life changing experience in the Vietnam War, and their lives following the war. All three men are traumatized by their experience of being POWs and being forced to play Russian roulette against each other for the amusement of their captures. This movie examines how people react to and deal with life after they have been pushed passed their limits and essentially psychologically “broken.” It is a very disturbing movie not only for the suffering they endure as POWs, but for how dramatically it changes all of their self-concepts and personalities forever.
I could not even imagine going through what these three men had to experience. I believe that is one of the central tenets of the movie. How do you deal with and respond to such extremely horrifying experiences? Can you ever regain any sense of normalcy? The three men all respond it varying ways. Mike (played by Robert De Niro), the group’s leader, fares the best. Steven, who broke first, is severely emotionally damaged, and slowly returns to a sense of normalcy years later at the end of the film. Nick (played by Christopher Walken), never regains his sanity and eventually kills himself playing Russian roulette for money.
I would like to describe the personalities of the three main characters before their POW experience, how that experience changed them, and how they ultimately responded and coped with the trauma. I believe Mike fared the best out of the three because he never completely broke or lost his sense of control during his time as a POW. Playing Russian roulette is the ultimate symbol of not having any sense of control. You hold a gun to your head and are forced to pull the trigger. You are either forced to pull the trigger and kill yourself or have nothing happen. If you do not play the game, you are put in a cage submerged in water and dead bodies and left for dead. Mike kept some semblance of perceived control by coming up with an escape plan, albeit a highly unlikely one. Steve was unable to point the gun at his head and at the last second pointed it away from his head when it when off, grazing his head. For this he was placed in the submerged cage. Nick was pushed beyond his breaking point by agreeing to go along with Mike’s escape plan. He pushes himself to play the game and is never the same again.
Before their time in Vietnam Mike it a normal everyday guy. Neither extremely introverted nor extroverted but very even keel. He is the strong silent type. He works hard and is well liked by others. He is the group’s humble leader. He takes pride in his one shot one kill approach to hunting deer. Since he is of such strong resolve and able to successfully appraise such a dire situation, he never completely breaks or loses his sense of identity. His innate intrinsic motivation to survive expressed through his agency allows him to imagine a possible self that survives this experience. After coming home, he tries to keep a low profile. But when he sees that his friends need him, he responds. He is no longer able to kill a deer while hunting. Instead he fires the gun into the air, sort of saying that he is done with idea the meaningless, random killing. He gets Steve to come back home from the hospital and attempts to bring back Nick from his insanity and Vietnam. He is of such strong character and agency that he is able to force himself play Russian roulette with Nick once last time in an attempt to bring his friend home and out of insanity.
Steve is the most outgoing of the three. He is the first to get married. He is the most outwardly affectionate. There is some sense that he is a bit softer than the others but given that there is no excessive stimulation in their lives this is not an issue. He is the first to break as a POW. He is not able to pull the trigger thus he does not push himself beyond his limits. He is still severely traumatized and later loses his legs. With the help of Mike, he is able to slowly attempt a return to a normal life.
Nick is the most quiet and introverted of the three. He enjoys hunting and being in nature makes him happy. He enjoys the simple life he has. He is pushed beyond what he sees as his limits in Vietnam. He sees no possible way out or possible self beyond the POW camp. He still goes along with the escape plan even though he doesn’t want to and thinks he is going to die. He forever loses his sense of self and his sanity. In a sense, who he was as a person died that day, only his body just kept on living. He is unable to cope with the overwhelming emotions of the experience. In his insanity afterwards, we see a strange example of cognitive dissonance. Before he had the idea that Russian roulette was dangerous and scary. Now he sees it as his job and does it for money. These two ideas to not go together at all and we see that he has lost all control and agency in this behavior. It is as if he is forever stuck in that moment of time playing Russian roulette. Maybe it is the only thing left in life that gives him any sense of arousal, explaining this extreme example of sensation seeking.
The Deer Hunter is ultimately more disturbing in the sense of what must have happened to these three men’s minds after being POWs and psychological torture over the experience itself. We see how each of them responds to, and are forever changed by these events. Their sense of self and personality changed in varying ways from Mike on the low end no longer able to be a deer hunter to Nick on the extreme high end with a complete loss of self and insanity.
The move Deer Hunter tells the story of three friends and their lives before, during, and after the Vietnam War. Within these three parts the men of the group were able to show examples of what was discussed in class and read in chapters 10-13. In the first third of the movie, which was devoted to Steven’s marriage to Angela, one can see that these three best friends along with their other friends steer towards being extraverts. Extraversion is generally the term used to describe a “happy” person and is a personality characteristic that that consists of three parts: sociability, assertiveness, and venturesomenss. Sociability is when a person enjoys spending time with others and spending time in certain social situations; assertiveness occurs when person works towards social dominance; and lastly there is venturesomenss, which is the tendency to seek out and enjoy exciting and engaging situations. This sense of happiness and extraversion can be seen in bar scene (a social situation) before Steve’s wedding when then men are all positively interacting and are pleased by the small things like hearing a familiar song showing that they are more sensitive to rewards like hearing laughter from their friends.
However, we see one of the characters, Steve, become more neurotic after he is captured and forced to listen and watch people die during Russian roulette, and then again when he is forced to play the game. One can see that Steve is experiencing a large amount of fear and distress by the way he is reacting in the situation. Fear is an emotional reaction that arises when a person feels like they are in danger or they could potentially have their well being harmed. Fears generally arise from when a person feels like they psychological or physical well being is being threatened. Steve is under threat and he is witnessing a harmful event, thus his emotional reaction of fear is normal. From experiencing that high amount of fear and stress one can see that Steve’s personality characteristic change from being and extravert to someone who with neuroticism. Neuroticism is a predisposition to experience negative affect and to feel chronically dissatisfied and unhappy, and is effected by the behavioral inhibition system (BIS); the BIS signals to a person about a potential punishment and the person will feel negative emotions which will hinder the likelihood that they will act or behave in a specific way. Steve’s neuroticism and overactive BIS can be seen when Michael calls him at the Veteran Hospital and when Michael forces Steve to leave the hospital and return home because he says he can’t handle home and the stress of life, thus he feels the need to remain in the hospital.
Lastly the concept of sensation seeking is clearly seen throughout the entirety of the film. Sensation seeking is the personality characteristic that relates to arousal and reactivity, and is defined as, “the seeking of varied, novel, complex, and intense sensations and experiences, and the willingness to take physical, social, legal, and financial risks for the sake of such experience.” Risk taking is associated with people who have a high sense of sensation seeking because it gives them a sense of excitement. Mike can be seen risk taking/sensation seeking early on in the film when he along with the rest of the guys are leaving work and Mike edges his car alongside a semi to get around it, then her whip around the car dangerously narrowly missing the semi. In that situation Mike clearly was taking a risk because everyone could have been severely harmed in that potential accident, and his car could have been hit by another car head-on as well. Then once the situation was over he appeared to look pleased with himself and his friend didn’t exactly discourage him from acting like that either.
Thus as one can see Dee Hunter had some great examples of what was discussed and read over the material from chapters 10-13. I only named a few of the examples, but there are many more throughout the entirety of the film. In conclusion I think that the movie helped me better understand some of the material discuss and read in class and gave allowed me to visualize the stresses and joys that a human being shows and goes through. However, I didn’t really care for the movie because I found it to be rather long and depressing.
After watching The Deer Hunter for the first time, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. Robert De Niro is one of my favorite actors and I found his character in this film, Michael, to be the most interesting out of the others.
Chapter ten talks about the self and how one strives to discover who they really are, which involves taking four steps to do so, and I think Michael displays a good example of doing this. Michael first makes it obvious that he has defined his self as being highly introverted for when he goes hunting him usually goes alone or takes only Nick with him. Throughout the movie he is quiet, but not shy, and shares his opinion when he thinks appropriate showing he is internally processing the things going on around him. Michael relates himself to society through his friends, but I think if he did not have Nick (which he eventually does not) his identity with society would not be as strong, which is seen at the end of the movie when he develops learned helplessness in this part of discovering himself to go find Nick and bring him back. In doing this, Michael expresses his agency of needing Nick back in his life to fill his need of affiliation and relatedness through their close friendship. When Michael goes to find Nick he realizes how much Nick has changed and is not himself due to stress from the war. He uses his self-regulation to try and trick Nick into playing him in Russian Roulette only to talk him into coming home. He knows Nick is going to play him due to his skills and can only hope he will cooperate on going home. Michael displays a strong self-concept of himself throughout the movie by being somewhat cocky and confident in his words and stands behind what he believes in, that is with Nick at his side. An example was when he became angry at their friend who had kept forgetting to bring correct hunting gear, and did not allow him to borrow his boots to ‘teach him a lesson on forgetting’. This is hindered when Michael and Nick go to war for he not only faces dangerous situations, but loses his best friend as well. His consistent self is destroyed and after the war he displays a good deal of selective interaction by avoiding his welcome back party because he does not see himself as a good soldier for the things he has done and that he lost his Nick. This results in him having a crisis self-verification by acting even more introverted due to his sadness of losing Nick, his fear of Nick finding out about him and his girlfriend (Meryl Streep’s character), and anger at the situations he was put in during war. These cause him to have a cognitive dissonance with himself and he eventually makes the choice to go and save nick with high effort justification as he displays interest and joy in getting his best friend back. This happiness and bravery causes him to lose his fear when facing the Russian Roulettes’. His emotions have energized and directed his behavior towards getting Nick back. After sleeping with Nick’s girlfriend, he faces guilt and shame in himself as a read out to stop what he’s doing and go back to what he knows, war and Nick. I like to think after all these uncontrollable outcome expectancies; Mike’s mood stays pretty much the same as before to the public eye. His appraisal with war and losing Nick does not seem to really hit him until he goes hunting. It was somewhat confusing to tell if he meant to not shoot the deer on purpose, or if while aiming he realized he could not aim steadily so became frustrated and shot anyways yelling “Okay! Okay.” This is indicating that he realizes he is not himself and that losing Nick is an important appraisal to him that he must act on. His primary appraisal is saving his self-esteem and recovering the well-being of a loved one. His secondary appraisal is keeping out of harm or threat when going to save his loved friend Nick. Through Mike’s guilt, he uses this attribution to explain why Nick is still gone by blaming himself. He feels it his responsibility as not only a soldier, but a friend to retrieve Nick from the war environment. Throughout the movie Mike and Nick use a great deal of emotional contagion to signal their next moves amongst their friends and whatnot, and especially when they go to play Russian Roulette to escape. Michael uses his past experience of this when trying to save Nick at the end of the movie, but since Nick’s mood has been altered so much by all his main emotions (fear, anger, disgust, sadness, and distress) it does not work and Nick ends up killing himself in his game against Mike. Throughout this whole film, Mike (as mentioned before) is most interesting to me because he is so introverted why the rest of his friends are all highly extraverted, including Nick himself. His friends are usually full of happiness and good spirit while Mike, who seems neurotic, is generally quiet. It is obvious this is due to being unhappy about Nick and the war in the second part of the film, but not at the beginning. Mike is the most risk taking and sensation seeking out of any of them for he is most interest and puts great effort into hunting. I think Mike’s affect intensity is very low considering he does not show a whole lot of emotion throughout the movie and it takes a favorable event to not be favorable to make him realize his situation. Overall, Mike may be highly introverted and suspicious, but I think it is due to his intelligence and his high level of control over any situation that takes place in his life.
The Deer Hunter is about 3 friends who are going to fight in the Vietnam War, and how the horrors of the war change them. The movie was successful with illustrating the full impacts of the war, because the first hour was dedicated to detailing their normal lives, which showed the happiness and closeness of the 3 main characters. The turning point of the movie was in the second act, in which the men, along with other soldiers, were captured and forced to play Russian roulette by the Vietcong Army. Although Steven, Nick, and Michael escaped, they were traumatized, which only became worse when Michael and Steven were separated from Nick. The third act of the movie was the most powerful and relevant to class material, because it demonstrated the changes in each character’s personality. Steven became legless and helpless. Nick thought his two friends were dead and became emotionally numb. Michael returned home, but could not establish his previous lifestyle due to his traumatic experience in the war.
The first thing I would like to talk about is Robert De Niro’s character, Michael. He was one of the main characters in the movie and played an everyman’s man. Michael lived in a coal mining town where he worked in what looked to be a coal mining factory. After Michael and his buddies would get done with work they would go to the local bar and relax from the day by drinking and hanging out with their friends. Michael enjoyed deer hunting, which he seemed to be quite skilled at. Michael was shipped off to Vietnam to serve his country during the war. While he was there, he went through some stuff that nobody should have to experience. Michael was one of the most interesting characters throughout the movie. The character of Michael liked to view himself as being a happy guy. His concept of his self could be described as being a hard worker, someone who would serve his country for the betterment of his country, and a friend that his friends could turn to if they needed his help with anything. This was shown in one scene when they were leaving for the wedding and Michael had a talk with Nick about how they were best friends. They told each other that they would always be there for each other in each of their times of need. To me, Michael just wanted to be known as the guy who had great friends, and who could be the life of the party as evidence by some moments at the wedding and in the bar before they went to Vietnam.
Michael had a different personality than everyone else in the movie. He seemed like a happy person at the start of the movie, but seemed to grow emotionally unstable and unhappy as the movie went on. Michael seemed to be quite neurotic for the second half of the movie. He suffered from many different things that happened to him while in Vietnam. He was taken hostage, forced to play Russian Roulette with his best friend, and had to go to Nick’s funeral in the end of the movie. I too would be a neurotic person if I had to experience the events and tragedies that Michael suffered throughout the movie. Although he had money during the second half of the move, money does not always buy happiness, and Michael seemed happier when he was working in the coal mine and being able to hang out with his friends at the local tavern.
Another concept I found while watching The Deer Hunter was sensation seeking. Sensation seeking is a personality characteristic that is related to arousal and reactivity. Some do not like to seek sensation in ways that could be dangerous but some people do. Risk taking is important when discussing this movie. The most exciting parts in the movie were when they were forced to play Russian Roulette. The Vietcong Army used this as entertainment when they had POW’s. The soldiers obviously hated this because it risked their lives for enemy entertainment. Nick was very much affected by the trauma of war and he suffered from what seemed to be a deep depression. Nick stayed in Vietnam and put himself in games of Russian Roulette in order to make some cash. Toward the end of the movie it was evident that Nick did not have to play, but he did because he enjoyed the risk. He seeked out these experiences of risking his life to satisfy inner needs that he had.
Deer Hunter displays many of the concepts we learned about in chapters 11 through 13. Working in the factory with all of the melted metal looks very intimidating to me. The men in the movie act like it is no big deal. They touched the red burning metal with gloves, when I wouldn’t even touch it with a ten foot pole. This is probably because their fear response to the burning fire has been conditioned out of them. The biological approach to emotions would say that evolution has distilled a fear of fire in humans because it has been around long enough in human history for it to be a genetically instilled trigger of fear. These men probably learned through social learning and watching others touch the metal that if they had the gloves nothing bad would happen to them. They would then start the behavior of touching the metal. Nothing happened to them, and they were one step closer to overcoming the fear. Next time, the affect intensity of fear would be less. The process would repeat itself and the affect intensity would again be lower the next time they were supposed to touch the metal. Cognitive approach supporters would say that the men would analyze the situation and realize that their gloves are insulated to protect them from the heat of the fire and burning metal. This would make them not experience fear.
The Russian roulette scene displayed a few interesting concepts. Firstly, Nick was overly aroused. He was distressed and possibly starting to cry. Matt seemed to not be quite as aroused as Nick. He was keeping focus and was able to come up with a plan to get them out of the predicament. He must have been at the right level because his shooting performance when he turned the gun on his captors was spot on. Matt probably was not as affected by the risky environment because he has some sensation seeking tendencies. Both Matt and Nick were influenced by perceived control however, Matt probably could see himself interacting with the environment in a way that would produce good outcomes to some degree. He probably had a feeling that he could have some control because he was not as distressed as Nick and he put a lot of effort into saving Nick. Nick seemed defeated and helpless. Matt was trying to get them out of the situation. Nick cognitively appraised the weapon as dangerous, and it produced a fearful response in him. He also had guns pointed at him at all times.
After watching this movie, “The Deer Hunter”, I was moved. I do not like movies about war ordinarily because they are nearly always horrific and sad, but this film kept the focus on the characters and their personalities and the changes they go through during the movie.
The three friends, and main characters of the film, were Mike, Steven, and Nick. These individuals were the ones from their group of acquaintances who enlist in the army and are sent off to fight in the Vietnam War. Also important in the movie were characters Linda, Stanley, and Axel.
At the beginning of the film, we see the close-knit bond between the five men and the carefree attitude they portray. As far as they are concerned, life in small-town Pennsylvania is just as it should be. They have all built their identities and self-schemas around being a carefree group of guys, busting their humps in shitty jobs at a steel mill, and hanging out at the local tavern after work each night. Life for them is simple and planned out; Steven is marrying his pregnant girlfriend against his mother’s wishes, which is one of many choices he makes during the film, Nick is happy in his relationship with Linda, and most likely is planning to marry her one day, and Linda is a caring young woman who is a people-pleaser, but finally makes the choice to get away from her abusive drunk father.
The three main characters have a part of their decided identities which will change them all forever, and that is to willingly go overseas and fight for their country. They see the war as an opportunity to “kick some ass” and want to shoot guns and be real men. They want their other friends, their families, and townspeople to see them as heroes. They are all striving personally to become brave soldiers who fought in the big war for their country. This determination to fight and become engaged fully in such a dangerous endeavor shows some sensation-seeking behavior for all three of the young men. At this point, they are not thinking of any repercussions of what war may entail, they are only thinking of the excitement.
The character I would like to go into greater detail on is Mike, played by Robert DeNiro. Mike seems to ooze confidence and leadership, as the others seem to look to him and up to him a bit. He possesses a strong desire for control. We see him always driving the car his group of friends rides in, seeming in control, and voicing his opinions whenever he feels them, without fear. As our book states, Mike’s character displays his need for control in a few ways; one being his over-prepared attitude. For example, when the group of friends goes on their deer hunting trip, Stanley tells the others he has forgotten his boots and Mike, who has brought two pair, refuses to loan them to Stanley. Mike has entered this situation in an overly prepared way, and he is displaying his controlling behavior by refusing to share with his friend to “teach him a lesson about remembering things next time”. This example also shows a strong desire for power on Mike’s part. I don’t believe that Mike is an introvert, by any means, because he exerts such power over others, but he isn’t the most sociable person either. So possibly he is an intro/extravert mix. He has the capability of being outwardly social and expressing his feelings, but simply chooses not to for the most part. A better example of an introvert and neurotic is Stanley. He seems to always worry about what others think, and has a poor outlook on life. On the flip side, a good example of an extravert is Axel- he always seems to have a smile on his face during the movie.
Mike can be classified as having a high DC or desire for control. When the three men get captured in Vietnam, Mike strive to take back control which he has temporarily lost when the captors are forcing them to play Russian Roulette and smacking them all around. He came up with a plan in his head, asked Nick to go along with it, and set forth on his goal to take power back and escape. Mike became highly engaged in his goal and eventually succeeded; killing all of their captors, and helping him and his friends get away. This instance makes me think that it may be true that those who take on more risky behavior and have nearly no fear, end up persevering. These type of people, like Mike, already believe they can achieve their outcome and somewhat have control over the situation; therefore they seem to fare better. Also, at the end of the traumatic events that took place during their time serving, Steven and Nick are completely changed. This may be because they both were physically and emotionally weaker than Mike. When Stevie wanted to give up completely after the loss of his legs, Mike pushed him to snap out of it and live again- to think positively.
I noticed that Mike displayed affect stable behavior as well. For the majority of the movie, Mike was able to completely control his emotions and feelings. The exception was when the three friends were held captive-Mike displayed rage when one of the captors continuously hit him, but was able to regain his composure rather quickly. It seemed that he was pretty calm, or maybe even solemn throughout the film. It was as if he thought he would lose control if he showed emotion, so he rarely smiled or gets excited. Mike kept it all together throughout the film, even at the end after the horrible sights and experiences the three men went through in Vietnam. It may be that Mike was internalizing his anger and fear and would someday snap completely, but for now- he’s got it under control.
TERMS: extravert, introvert, neurotic, control, DC (desire for control), power, risk-taking behavior, goal, plan, affect stable behavior, engagement, sensation-seeking, emotion
The movie Deer Hunter was about three men and their lives before and after the Vietnam War. Each of these men had different lives but they were all from Russian –American families and had a passion for hunting deer. The movie did a really well job in setting up the three men’s lives in the beginning. This helped us to see how each one lived their lives and to capture their personalities. This is important when we talk about motivation because as we know someone who is more extroverted is happier than someone who is more introverted. Nick was very extroverted and I think he enjoyed the social company more so than his roommate Michael. Michael was sort of extroverted and he shows this in both the wedding when he is off to the side watching Linda dance and when he hunts. I believe that his BIS was active when watching Linda because he was considering all the ways he could fail. Michael was also a solitary hunter. He would start out with the group but he would eventually go off on his own or ahead of the others. Nick at the wedding was very active and present in the moment. His BAS was activated and he was very receptive to the rewards of being extroverted like when he asked Linda to marry him. The topic I would like to focus on is the coping function of emotion on all three of the men. They each suffered a lot during their time in the war and having to adjust to post war life.
Michael was very loyal when he was in the war with his troupe. He tried to save them and make them less scared. When Michael was forced to play Russian roulette he was very scared but he acted strong for Nick. I believe that his fear made him think quickly on his feet and helped him and Nick and Steven escape. He was very quick because his fight or flight system was fully activated. Michael was also angry and this helped him be stronger so he could overtake the men.
Steven was very scared and this possibly saved his life. He was forced to pull the trigger on the gun but at the last moment his moved it away to only graze his head. This coping function saved him from a bullet through the head. Before the war Steven was scared to go to Vietnam but because he was so joyful about the woman he loved he was able to marry her and have some fun time before he left. He also found a lifelong mate.
Finally we have Nick who didn’t cope very successfully after the war. We know Nick, believing that all his friends were dead began to play Russian roulette for sport and didn’t seem to remember Michael when he came to stop him. Nick’s emotions were unable to help him cope with the potential loss of his friends. If he had been better able to cope he would have gone home and found they were all alive. Instead his played the game and ended up killing himself.
These examples are of how our emotions help us cope in certain situation and what can happen when we are unable to cope or we ignore the emotional behavior of those certain emotions.
Deer Hunter was a really intense movie and had many examples of motivation and emotion terms.
I was only able to watch the first half of the movie in class and one of the most common terms that I saw was happiness. Happiness is something that everyone has; people just have their own “set point” which is the balance between positive and negative events in one’s life. The main example of happiness that I saw was during the weeding and the wedding reception. At first during the wedding I wasn’t sure if everyone was happy for them but after the wedding and the reception everyone was having fun and celebrating the occasion. During the wedding there was also an example of joy. Joy is the emotional evidence that things are going well. You could tell that everything was going well because of their attitudes and how they were acting.
Another example of joy was at the beginning of the movie when the men were leaving work and passed the truck close to the wall. It was a joyful event because they were able to make it safely, but it was also an example of fear. Fear is an emotional reaction that arises from a person’s interpretation that the situation he or she faces is dangerous and a threat to one’s well-being. This situation can be an example of fear because their lives were at risk and one little miss step and they were into the wall and cold have been injured or killed.
Another term in Deer Hunter was arousal. Arousal represents a variety of processes that govern alertness, wakefulness, and activation. A good example of arousal was when they were talking about going hunting and looking for that “one shot”. Arousal is measured by an inverted-U curve, with, low arousal being represented in the lower left and increasing as you move to the lower right where high arousal is located. When you get a chance for that “one shot” your arousal stage will be in the middle and arousal would be at its highest point.
“The Deer Hunter” was a very powerful movie that gave people a glimpse into some of the lives shattered by war. This movie depicts many different personality characteristics in the begging of the movie. Before going to war, most of the group would be considered happy. They laughed a lot, fought a little, but overall seemed to enjoy life. Even Linda who was beaten by her father seemed fairly happy and smiled a lot. The fact that she was trying to move into Nick and Michael’s home when they left for war said that though she had some bad areas in her life she was looking to improve her life. Michael also appeared to be a very happy, extroverted guy before he left for Vietnam. He laughed a lot and looked out for his friends. The only friend who seemed to be an introvert was Stan. When everyone was celebrating at the going away party Stan stayed in his seat a lot of the time looking rather solemn. As an introvert, Stan is less sensitive to the rewards inherent in the social situation. This is most likely due to Stan having a weaker biological motivation system than the other people in his group. On the other hand, Michael, Nick, and Steven have a strong biological motivation system. This is seen in the way they are more sociable, assertive, and take adventures. This strong BAS system likely had some to do with why they were the ones who enlisted in the war and Stan did not. Though the movie never showed the moments before the three men made the decision to enlist in the war, the fact that they did enlist when their lives were going good at home sheds some insight. Nick tells Michael the night of the wedding that he loves living there in that small town and expresses his desire to come home after the war. It is likely that Michael, Nick, and Steven chose to go to war to make a difference, not to get away from their lives. This type of happiness they portray is eudaimonic well-being. They chose to engage in a meaningful pursuit because they felt it was worth fighting for their country.
Once the men got to Vietnam, everything changed. These men were put under horrendous situations that most could not endure through. Of the three individuals, Steven became mentally affected by the circumstances first. Once they were captured by the Vietcong, they were forced to play Russian roulette. After Steven shot at an angle and missed his head he was forced into a cage that was in the water. Between hearing the gun shots of the game, the screaming, and the hopelessness, Steven went into shock. The arousal level was far too high for him to cope with. He had no way to decrease the arousal levels either. The stress from the events going on was too much for him to take. The over stimulating environment caused Steven to have cognitive confusion and performance impairment. This was seen when Michael and Nick were able to escape and were having difficulties getting Steven to come with them. At that point Steven was incapacitated and unable to do really anything on his own. Arnold’s Appraisal Theory of Emotion was demonstrated by the way Steven and Nick handled the situation they were facing with the Vietcong. Stephen on one end, appraised the situation as harmful and emotionally disliked it, his action was withdrawal from the situation. This probably was because he had no hope and saw no way of getting out of there alive. Nick on the other hand dealt with the situation in an entirely different way. He still followed Arnold’s Appraisal Theory of Emotion, but the way he assessed the situation was different that Steven. Where Steven saw no hope, Nick saw a way out. He developed a plan to get them out of there alive. He still appraised the situation as harmful and felt dislike towards it; however Nick took action to change the situation. He still had hope in that seemingly hopeless situation.
Many emotions were seen throughout the movie. These different emotions demonstrated how they can be used to help us survive. Before leaving for Vietnam, Michael was a very happy person. The night before leaving for Vietnam, he went through a couple different emotions. He laughed a lot expressing happiness, quite possibly to cope with his fears of what was to come in the morning. He also expressed his love for his home to Michael in an attempt to hold on to what he was leaving behind. In Vietnam, he used his fear of death and anger for what was happening to him and his friends to overcome the Vietcong. It wasn’t until he seemed to have lost all emotion that he had no other tool to survive. Even after he saw Michael in the red light district of Vietnam, he had no hope and shot himself playing Russian roulette. Steven had many different emotions which helped him to survive as well. Before leaving for Vietnam, Steven had joy over marrying Angela. Once he got to Vietnam he had very different emotions compared to Nick that allowed for him to try and cope with and survive the situation. His fear of death caused him to shoot the gun at an angle on his head which allowed the bullet to just graze him. This fear enabled him to live through that event. His fear however helpful when playing Russian roulette left him helpless when he had the opportunity to escape. At the end of the movie all of the people’s lives were changed. They were sad over the loss of Nick. This functioned as a reunion for all of them and they toasted a drink to remember him by.
“The Deer Hunter” was an eye opening movie that allowed us to see not only how war has torn people’s lives apart, but also the different ways that people cope with war. It gave a more realistic application of emotions and how people use them to function.
The movie Deer Hunter was yet again one of those movies I had never heard of or seen before and seemed to have no end (Lord of the Rings). Not really my style, but never the less the movie had its ups and downs coving the lives of three friends who went through hell and back. An in depth movie showing the changing and lasting effects war has on an individual. The movie focuses on three friends Mike, Steve, and Nick who have all joined the fight in the Vietnam War and breaking it down into three main acts: the guy’s normal life before the war, their lives during the war as POW’s, and the end result, their lives after the war. I was unable to watch the whole movie but did manage to see the first half, and that is where I will be focusing on applying my knowledge from chapters 11-13.
My first area of focus is during the first half of the movie, mainly the scenes involving Mike. Mike comes off as a very happy and well liked guys laughing and kidding around with his extroverted friends. Mike himself looks to be an extrovert, having the sociability of partying it up with his buddies, the car and knowledge of hunting to show social dominance (assertiveness), and the tendency to seek out exciting situations such as hunting (venturesomeness). After a closer look, at the wedding you see Mike as more of an affect-stable introvert as he wonders off to the bar away from everyone else. He is more or less content with not being able to see an socially rewarding situations, showing a mild activation of the BAS. As the wedding goes on we see, through his drinking, Mike become angry (emotional disruption) when he tries to get an answer out of a green beret which then leads to his increased heart rate and muscle tone (physiological disruption) and finally not being able to think straight as he runs naked through town (cognitive disruption). Early the next day all the guys go out for one more hunting trip before they get shipped off and Stan forgets his boots again and asks to use Mike’s spares. To Stan’s surprise Mike says no, repeatedly, even when the other guys back Stan up and give him Mike’s boots. Mike continues to stand his ground and make a point to Stan to be more prepared. This was the first main scene showing Mike’s desire for control and high engagement to control the outcome. Though out the movie Mike shows his need for control though high perceived control by coming up with plans to get his friends and brothers in arms out of the Vietcong’s grip and from being forced to play Russian roulette. His perceived control helped influence his engagement, emotions, and coping abilities when he had to convince Nick and Steve that they were alright and would escape.
This brings me to my next scene of playing Russian roulette. In this scene the Mike and Nick are forced to play a game of Russian roulette by the Vietnamese who are putting bets down on who will either die or live. During this game for their lives, there is a lot of eye contact, facial movement, and slapping from the Vietnamese officer. In this situation Mike is forced to play the game by putting a gun to his head and pulling the trigger, in hopes it doesn’t go off stripping him of his control. More so, Mike is experiencing a threatening and harmful event causing him to feel disgusted and angry (feelings) with the slapping and lose of control. This in turn raised his heart rate, energized him, and allowed him to grip the gun tightly for his next action (bodily arousal). With the hitting of the table and charging the officer, yelling “You’re going to die…” and all the mixed facial expressions, some of which seemed to deceive the enemy, (social-expressive) Mike was able to take the action needed, shooting the officer in the head along with the others, (sense of purpose) to accomplish his goal and carry out his plan to save his friends.
The movie Deer Hunter is a film that lacks the quality of production, picture, and sound we are used to, but it makes up for that with powerful material. When three friends are plucked from the easy going way of life they are slapped in the face by the reality of what goes on to preserve that way of life. They have always worked hard and played hard, but they had no idea the sacrifice they would make to defend the freedom of their other friends. When they are plucked from homes and placed into the Vietnam War they are changed forever by the circumstances they find themselves in and the destruction they witness. The center theme is placed around the game of Russian Roulette, which they are introduced to by the Vietcong during their imprisonment as POWs. After their escape Nick, Mike, and Steve are separated and lose themselves cognitively, except for Mike.
Back home the guys had developed schemas to which they were all pretty well set it. They were lower middle class factory workers who drank beer after work, were close friends, and loved to go deer hunting together. After the war Mike tries to go deer hunting again to regain this schema he had lost as an airborne ranger. When he pulls up to shoot the deer he misfires and yells at the deer as a way of surrendering. He had given up trying to regain his old life. Although Mike did try to create a possible self. His friends thought he was the same as old, but he knew he wasn't and he tried to throw on a veil of his old self to respond to the social situations he faced. The war had changed his perspective and he had a new schema. Steve had also lost himself in the form of a bodily sense. the fall from the helicopter had crushed his legs and they had to be amputated. Even though he returned home he didn't want to see is friends because he was not able to fulfill his schema as a loyal friend. Nick had lost himself cognitively. When he called home and received no answer he felt like he was disconnected and turned towards the last thing he knew which was Russian Roulette. When Mike finds him in the end he has lost his own name and was completely out of it and ended up killing himself. It was obvious that the war had turned Nick into a autopilot drone that just went about testing the limits of life because he did not care to live it anymore.
Many emotions were presented in this film and all were powerful in their own way. Like after Nick died and they all felt shame and sadness. They were all looking at the ground and avoiding eye contact and leaving the room to get breakfast going. They showed great joy during the wedding and when Mike returned home. The most powerful of them all was the emotions during the Russian Roulette game when they were prisoners. Steve was bawling and not able to breath he was so overcome by fear. Nick was scared to death to pull the trigger because of their impending plan and his nervousness associated with it. Mike however, stayed calm throughout the entire film until the very end when Nick died abruptly. He was so overcome by torment, guilt, and anguish that he didn't know what to do, but cry and shake his head as if that would bring him back to life. All of these emotions were used as a way to cope with the extreme stress of the situations they were in and eventually it became to much for all of them. The James-Lange Theory says that we make an action first and then feel the emotion soon afterwards. This theory seemed to come true in the final standoff between Mike and Nick. Mike was clearly feeling fear and sadness when he was trying to get Nick to come home and leave the game, but he seemed to talk fairly calmly and collectively. It was only after he died that it was all let loose and he showed a lot of emotion. Many of the main characters also used attribution when they used the war as the reason for feeling how they did. PTSD and other symptoms felt by veterans are usually not explained by the person experiencing them and the only way they know how to cope is to attribute the feelings to what happened in the war and then try to suppress those memories.
Those men experienced many emotions and it had changed them greatly. Before the war it was fair to say they were all extroverted and experienced high levels of happiness. Even in a bad situation they still sought out the rewards and had positive attitudes. After the war they could not see happiness and they became highly introverted and neurotic. They felt like being happy was wrong and they punished themselves by pulling it back and sinking deeper into themselves. The one thing that drastically altered their state of being was their control. Before the war they had a great amount of perceived control. They worked and then played however they wanted to. During the war they were entirely dictated by the will of their captors and Steve was later held captive by his disability. They all had a large desire for self control and when that was denied from them it made it hard to live and the war had taken its toll on them forever.
Terms Used: Self-Schemas, possible self, emotions, James-Lange Theory, attribution, happiness, neuroticism, extrovert, introvert, perceived self control, and desired self control
I watched the first hour or so of the movie in class. (I saw it once before when it came out, a few years before I enlisted in the Army.) I think the early part of the film generally showcases the psychological/social need for relatedness: the main characters are a closely-knit group who appear to have lived in the same small factory town their whole lives, and share many of the same concerns and interests. They are shown spending all of their time together: at work, at the bar, out hunting, and as part of the wedding party at Steven’s wedding. They are a family.
Robert de Niro’s character (Mike) showed a strong need for competence and desire for control. It seemed as though, if he were a part of something, he wanted to be the best he could be at it. He preached the virtue of excellence as a hunter with his ‘one shot’ credo, and became a Long-Range Patrol in Viet Nam (which requires a high degree of skill and discipline, and carries with it a high level of autonomy). Nick (Christopher Walken) called Mike a ‘control freak’; he appeared to be methodical and meticulous, and a man of certain principles. When Nick makes Mike promise not to leave him ‘over there’ (in Viet Nam), you recognize that he is the kind of guy who would keep such a promise - whatever the cost to himself. He is the one who comes up with the plan to escape from the VC. Like Will Hunting, Mike is the smart one in his group of friends. He is closer to Nick than to the others; perhaps because of his attraction to Nick’s girlfriend, Linda (Meryl Streep).
Christoper Walken’s character seemed to show a strong perception of control and risk taking/sensation seeking behaviors. He would gamble on anything (for example, betting his truck on Mike’s race with the tractor-trailer). So his experience playing ‘professional’ Russian roulette may not be that surprising: the gambling drew him in, but the futility of trying to ‘control’ the game left him shattered.
Watching the ARVN soldiers being forced to play Russian roulette, John Savage’s character (Steven) displayed signs of panic: hyperventilating, sweating, gasping, choking, shouting, and shaking. It may be that he had a greater degree of affect intensity than the others, as they were more self-controlled.
The men all work in the foundry, which can be dangerous work. They seem to take the ‘work hard, play hard’ attitude. There may be an element of risk taking/sensation seeking in this: accustomed to the dangerous nature of their work (both at the foundry and in Viet Nam), they may require extra stimulation in other areas in order to feel engaged.
Terms: social need, relatedness, competence, risk taking, sensation seeking, perceived control, desire for control, psychological need, autonomy, engaged, panic, behaviors, affect intensity,self-controlled
I can honestly say that I have never heard of this movie before. Although I did enjoy The Deer Hunter, it was a very lengthy movie. This movie wasn't what I expected. I figured it was another war movie but instead it had some very different highs and lows and it was very touching. This movie was basically cut up into three section and they were all very different. I agree that this movie does a great job using concepts from chapters 10-13.
I want to start with talking about Michael and how happy he looked at the beginning. His self schema was very happy when he was working hard and going to the bar with his friends. During the movie, he was able to make more money than in the beginning but he had many different life events happen to him. I would have to say that Michael's personality changed throughout this movie from a happy person to basically a neurotic and unstable person. That is very understandable for what he had gone through (went to war, was held hostage, forced into Russian Roulette and attended his best friend's funeral). Anybody who goes through all that in a lifetime, respectfully, had the right to feel that way towards life.
I would say that at the beginning happiness played a big part in the movie because of the wedding and drinking going out. There was a good amount of drinking that went on and to me that shows that everyone was having a good time. There was some controlling going on in this movie as well. I thought Michael had a low sense of control toward the end of the movie but at the beginning of the movie I remember a guy got jealous that the girl he was with was dancing with another man and he hit her. To me, that could potentially be some controlling behavior.
One of the biggest ways I noticed the similarities from chapters 10-13 and the movie, The Deer Hunter was the concept of sensation seeking. Sensation seeking is related to arousal and reactivity. I believe to one of the biggest risks in life is being in a war and fighting for your country. That right their was a big connection to the movie. Also, I recall one scene when the guys were driving to work and a semi was in front of them and they decided to pass it going really fast and really close to a wall. That is some risk taking behavior that I wouldn't ever try myself.
Those were just a few examples of how chapters 10-13 and the movie has intertwining concepts.
I only got to watch the first hour of the movie in class but I feel like there was enough information in that first hour to go over nearly every aspect of the book so far. For my paper, I decided to focus on the character Nick because I have always been a Christopher Walken fan.
One of the first things that related to motivation and emotion in the movie was when Nick and his friends got off of work at the steel mill. In the locker room after a long exhausting day of work, Nick was laughing and goofing off with his coworkers. He seemed to really enjoy his job and the company that he kept.
This scene was one of the many examples of happiness in the movie. The main thing to remember about happiness is that it is a set point. Everybody has their own level of happiness regardless of socioeconomic status, relationships, financial stresses, or career. Nick had his own set point, as did the other characters in the movie.
The topic of extraversion directly relates to happiness. Extraverted people tend to be generally happier than introverts because they are more sensitive to the rewards in social situations. Extraverted people are sociable, assertive, and venturesome. Nick shows glimpses of his extraverted side in the beginning of the movie. He always seems to be laughing and joking around with his friends and never seems to stray away from social situations. As a result of Nick’s extraversion, he appears happier than his friends even though nothing big has happened in his life so far.
Another concept from the book that I saw present in the movie was arousal and sensation seeking. You couldn’t really tell by watching the first hour of the movie but the three main characters were excited to join the army. The cause may have been from their sense of patriotism but for the sake of writing this paper, I’m saying that the cause is their need for sensation seeking and arousal. These three friends need a continual supply of brain stimulation and are always searching for ways to increase their arousal. This is also seen in the bar scene when all of the guys are drinking, playing pool, and gambling. They could be at home preparing for the wedding the next day, but that lifestyle is not fast enough for them.
Another concept present but not seen is the inverted u curve. The inverted u curve states that with minimal or excessive stimulation, arousal decreases. This notion is seen at the wedding dance when the men head to the bar. Once again I am just assuming that they went there to avoid all of the noise and commotion and not just to get a drink. They were over stimulated and needed to go somewhere quiet where they could gather their emotions.
Social functions of emotions were seen throughout the movie but the one particular scene that caught my attention was when Linda came to Nick’s trailer crying because her father hit her. Nick instantly knew that she was sad because she was communicating her feelings through crying and the look on her face. Her strong emotions also urged Nick to ask what was the matter. Basically, her emotions were influencing how others interacted with her and invited social interaction.
Facial feedback is a concept from the movie that you would never really think about until reading the section in the book. Facial feedback is essentially seeing someone’s emotions in their eyes, nose, eyebrows, and other parts of the face. Everyone does it when communicating with others unconsciously. Throughout the movie, I was looking closely at the actor’s faces whenever they had an emotional scene. For example, at the wedding dance, Nick’s smile showed me that he was genuinely happy.
Deer Hunter was overall a good movie through the first hour and I believe that it showed a wide array of emotions. I only talked about a handful of examples but they were much more for everyone cast member in the movie.
Happiness, set point, extraversion, arousal, sensation seeking, inverted u curve, social functions of emotions, facial feedback
I only got to see the first part of this movie, but I definitely will want to see more. I didn't get a whole lot out of the first part, as they were just having a long wedding and some deer hunting.
Pre-deployment, the men were all very outspoken, extroverted people. Starting with Mike, he seemed to have a high control need and also very high self-efficacy. Judging by the way he looked at the maid of honor (I didn't catch many names), it was clear that he KNEW he'd get her to dance and he'd get her to have a drink with him. He kept drawing her back in and seemed to be amused by his ability to control her focus. He also showed similar behavior by refusing to allow his friend to borrow his hunting boots.
Nick (?) struck me as a sensation-seeker. He gambled quite a bit and out of nowhere asked that girl to marry him. I thought she was dating/married to the guy who abused her, but she said yes to the marriage. I thought that the spur-of-the-moment proposal seemed like sensation-seeking behavior because while it's not physically risky, a marriage proposal seems to me like a very emotionally risky behavior, especially if the woman is in a relationship with a different man and had just been dancing with/getting drinks with/being friendly with another friend of the man proposing. Unless that other man is her father? I really have no idea what was going on with that whole business.
The dark-haired friend showed neurotic tendencies. He overreacted to seeing another man grab his wife/girlfriend's butt and somehow decided to punch her, instead of him. Later, when he forgot his hunting boots, he was quick to get angry and upset when Mike wouldn't allow him to borrow the boots. He attacked Mike's attitude, showing that he is extremely sensitive to punishing situations, such as Mike's perceived crabbiness.
The husband character, Steven, didn't really strike me as having any personality until they were in Vietnam. He began showing signs of PTSD and panic attacks whever he would hear something similar to bombs or gunfire. While his other companions showed a high degree of self control and emotional stability, Steven had a high degree of affect intensity. His emotions rollercoastered all over for the bit of the scene I saw him in before class ended. It seems to be a sign of having far too high of stimulation and arousal for too long and his brain was wigging out from it.
Terms: risk, sensation seeking, control need, affect intensity, self control, self efficacy, neurotic, extroverted
The Deer Hunter initially builds with a vague scene of a couple getting married. The basic story line is about the “normal” lives and friendships of this group of people before the Vietnam War. The man story line picks up as the three main characters/friends are in Vietnam fighting the war together. The film is also about change. Steven, Nick and Michael, the three main characters, were happy and living a seemingly care free life during the first hour of the film that built until they left for war. In Vietnam, the boys were tortured by being force to live in a water pit, starved, dehydrated, and tormented with games like Russian Roulette. In the end, the men escaped, but they were severely damaged. This is shown through the final stage and resolution of the movie as it shows the change in all of the men’s personalities.
Helplessness was a personality or character change that Steven picked up as he lost his legs and self-worth. Nick seemed to lose all emotion or feeling. Finally, Michael couldn’t adjust to his life outside of the war and was unable to acclimate himself back to his old way of life.
Focusing on Michaels change in particular, there were many examples in the final hour of the movie. He tried to regain normalcy and be able to get along with this friends. He wanted to go deer hunting with them. I believe that the scene where he goes hunting is what gave the movie its title. While Michael is hunting he finds that he is unable to shoot the gun and kill something, even if it was just the deer. He also showed a clear emotional disturbance when he freaked out at a guy for pointing a gun at someone out of anger for being insulted. Clearly, having a gun pointed at someone, for whatever reason, had left a life-long, lasting impression of pain, fear, and lack of control that shook Michael internally such that he was unable to cope with life outside of war.
Originally the men seemed to have positive self-concepts. Their self-schemas were to work hard, be devoted to their friends, hunt, and with Michael, he would have defined himself as being good at thinking things out and planning. Throughout the movie all three of their self-concepts changed such that they seemed to view themselves as worthless, broken, lost/scared, or perhaps worst of all-abnormal. Michael was once the self-sufficient leader with a high level of competence and autonomy as well as an excellent ability to self-regulate, but he had been changed by war.
In terms of emotion, character, and personality, Michael was the easiest character to examine. I will focus on his character and personality changes.
I believe that it was Michael personality that kept him and his buddies alive while in Vietnam. Michaels was highly planned and organized which showed he had a high desired control. He was so organized so that he could anticipate surprises and be prepared for the unexpected. He seemed to avoid risks, yet he was clearly aroused as he reacted well to environmental changes. He didn’t seek sensation, but he was able to cope when it arose. He also had was seemed to be mostly positive emotions as he was a leader-indicating what seemed to be an elevated level of extroversion. His naturally calm nature on the other hand reflected that he had a low level of neuroticism. Because he had a low level of neuroticism and a higher level of extroversion, it seemed that Michaels positive and negative emotions were at a good average level.
The movie showed the general human instinct for the search for companionship. They fulfilled a social need. They were all really close friends that generally felt connected to each other. They worked together, played together and felt emotions together. Whether it was Steven's Wedding or hunting, they were sharing life with one and other.
Mike was a solid character who showed the need to be in control of his situations as well as what was going on around him. He presented a desire for control. Through war he gained an aspect of life that no one outside of the situation he was in would gain. He was dedicated and loyal. These were things he gained from trials he went through. Because of this, he came up with decisions for everyone involved and they respected it.
Steven was the exact opposite of Mike. He had a general persona of panic and self-doubt. He had very little self-control over any situation he was in and showed many signs of a nervous person (Shaking, Hyperventilating, etc).
The character Nick seemed to have a far less wary take on everything that happened to him. He had a sort of care-free outlook fronted behind solid decision making and risk management. It also showed a perception of control. The gambling he involved himself in displays this behavior of risk taking which separates him from the risks he shares with his friends..
It seems that because of the war they all had the general outlook on life that you have to enjoy it before it ends. It might have been the Vietnam war that affect this emotion but their professions in the foundry only furthered it. They were a family and they all sort of fed of each other in this aspect.
Terms: perception of control, risk taking, desire for control, social need, risk taking, panic, self-doubt, self-control, risk management
I only watched the first 75 minutes of Deer Hunter in class today so I did not get to see the characters fully develop. While flipping through the chapters the concept of self-schemas stood out (ch 10). Right away I could see that part of Michael's self-schema was being the leader of the group. He is always the one driving and seems to be the one everyone turns to. Although he is soft spoken in the beginning, his presence is always known and felt. I think he realizes that he sets an example for the other around him. Nick's self-schema seems to consist of being the right hand man to Michael. When Michael tells him he's the only one he would go hunting with you can see the pride and appreciation. I also saw the concept of possible selves in Michael and Nick. Although they tease about their buddy getting married, they both have eyes for the same girl. Nick sees his friends getting married and envisions that life for himself and Linda which is reflected when he proposes after she catches the bouquet. Michael expresses an undesirable possible self which can be seen by his hesitation to talk about the war.
One role that emotion played in the movie (ch 11) was when Linda decided to leave her drunk father. Emotion is often a motivational factor and helps energize and direct behavior. In Linda's circumstance, the emotion that elicited the action or behavior was fear. After her father hit her the role of the comprehensive biology-cognition model can be seen. The cognition or significant stimulus event was her father hitting her. This caused arousal and preparation for action and was also when she experienced fear. The fear itself was what elicited the action to ask Nick if she could use their place while they were away.
Another concept I felt was very obvious just from the beginning of the movie was the role of appraisals (ch 12). An appraisal determines the significance of an event in someones life. Appraisals were seen in the movie several times by Nick. The main one was the significance he attributed to the war. He knew the war was going to change things so he did his best to cope with that in the days leading up. Suddenly he didn't know whether or not they would all return so he proposed to Linda, enjoyed the hunt, had a serious conversation with Michael, and had his moment of silence at the bar while the piano played. These behaviors were reflections of the serious appraisal he placed on the war and his upcoming journey.
One of the very last scenes I saw was that of Michael trying to calm down and reassure a fellow soldier while they were POW's in Vietnam. Michael is a person with a high desire for control (ch 13) so he did his best to hold on to any control he had in that dire situation. Michael's personality and desire for control can be seen numerous times leading up to this point as well. Just the way he acts around his friends, always being the driver, and refusing to lend his boots to try and teach a lesson are perfect examples of this. At home, Michael had a high sense of perceived control but at war it was much lower. I am interested to see how his character develops and how he uses his desire for control throughout the rest of the movie.
Terms: self-schemas, possible self, emotion, biology-cognition model, appraisals, control, desire for control, perceived control
“The Deer Hunter” is an older movie that depicts three friends who go to war in Viet Nam and are captured and put into a prison camp where they are forced to play Russian roulette. The trauma that they experience while at war results in permanent changes to their personalities, and one friend (Nick) even kills himself because he is not able to escape the horrors that he had to face.
I was instantly drawn to the main character, Michael. In the beginning of the movie, he seems like a very extraverted and happy young man. Some examples of his outgoing and social behavior include the scene where he races around a semi-truck and when he runs down the streets naked after his friend’s wedding. Since Michael is a very extraverted person, his happiness set-point is likely high. The other thing we learn about Michael in the beginning of the book is that he does not like surprises and that he likes being in control of the situation. Nick even calls him a “control freak”. The other main component of Mike’s personality that we see prior to the war is his love for hunting. While his friends seem to enjoy hunting as well, you can tell that Mike has truly internalized being “a deer hunter” as part of his self-concept. For example, he gets very upset with Stanley when he forgets to bring his boots because it demonstrates that he is not taking it as seriously as Mike is. Being a hunter is a self-schema that Mike has incorporated into his self-concept.
When the three friends go to Viet Nam, we can see how the intense environment affects each individual in different ways. Steven becomes very sad and distraught, and Mike has to comfort him and supports him through the traumatic experience. Had it not been for Mike, I do not think Steven would have made it. Nick was very quiet during the experience. It seemed to me that he felt helpless because he felt he had no control over what was about to happen to him. While he did not respond with extreme emotion, you can tell that the situation was deeply disturbing. Michael on the other hand handled the situation very well. While the other two were over-aroused and were not able to cope with the situation, Michael was able to think coherently enough to formulate a plan and get the three of them out alive. I think that Michael’s personality enabled him to effectively cope with the situation because he was naturally extraverted and sensation-seeking. For Michael, taking a risk (like running down the street naked) did not seem quite as traumatic as it did for the other captives. Because Michael had a lower baseline level of arousal and reactivity, he was able to effectively cope with the stress of the situation instead of hyperventilating (like Steven) or giving-up (like Nick).
Another thing we notice about Michael during his time at Viet Nam and after he returns is that his level of affect intensity seems to be fairly low (or “affect-stable”). I say this because he is able to remain fairly calm throughout the entire situation and we only see him break down after Nick shoots himself in a game of Russian roulette.
After Michael returns to Pennsylvania, you can tell that he feels uncomfortable being back home. The war had changed his self-concept, and he was not sure what his identity was. Steven expressed the same thought when he fights Mike who is trying to bring him back to Pennsylvania. Steven lost his legs in the war and he seems to be having a hard time adjusting to new self-concept that included being handicapped. He tells Mike, “I don’t fit in.” Prior to leaving for war, Steven had gotten married to Angela who was pregnant with their son. Upon returning from the war, Steven had a difficult time resolving the dissonance he felt between his self-concept (of who he was prior to the war) and who he is now.
The most depressing scene of the movie is when Mike goes back to Viet Nam to find Nick who has continued playing Russian roulette. Mike finds Nick in an almost trance-like state. It seemed like Nick had created a new reality for himself. All that remained for him was the game. The gamble. The trauma that he had endured seemed to render him emotionless. I think that Nick had a very low perception of control. This relates to the self-confirming cycle of low engagement. Because Nick felt like he had little control, he did not try and find a way out of his situation, which caused him to be put in danger, which made his situation seem even more uncontrollable. Ultimately, Nick is killed and Mike was not able to save him.
All three of these men were permanently changed due to the horrible situations they were put through while in Viet Nam. Some personality characteristics (such as extraversion and a high need for control) seemed to help some of the men cope with the situation better than others. I think this movie does a great job illustrating the effects war can have on an individual (especially psychologically). After Mike returns, his friends say that they will go hunting again, “Just like old times.” But Mike is not able to shoot the deer. He is no longer “the deer hunter”. He seems to surrender to this and screams out loud “okay”. In his attempt to regain control of his life, he realized that he would never be the same person that he was prior to the war.
Over all, I enjoyed the movie. It was very realistic and had extensive character development, which are crucial to any classic. It displayed a whole range of human emotion, such as the joy felt at a wedding and the overwhelming sadness at a friend’s funeral. It felt very real. And very human.
Terms: extraversion, happiness, set-point, control, internalization, self-concept, self-schema, sad, helpless, control, over-aroused, sensation-seeking, baseline level of arousal, reactivity, affect intensity, affect-stable, identity, dissonance, perceived control, engagement, self-confirming cycles of engagement, personality characteristics, regaining control, emotion, joy
The movie Deer Hunter is split into three parts. The first is three friends and their normal lives, then their lives in Vietnam, and then their lives after. There is definitely a change in these characters through the progression of the movie. In the beginning of the movie it showed Steve’s wedding with his friends Michael and Nick. It was clear that Steve and Michael were high is extraversion and happiness. There was a lot of dancing and the festivities and was a celebratory time. The men were extroverts because they were loud and more social with everyone. This however did display that even though Michael appeared to be more introverted that he still was happy and could have fun. Extroverts just have the capacity to experience more positive emotion than introverts do, and tend to thrive in social situations.
Michael’s character also seemed to desire control in situations. He seemed to be more uptight than his friends. When his friend forgot his shoes hunting Michael wouldn’t let him borrow his shoes because he wanted to teach his friend responsibility. Michaels need for control ended up saving their lives when they were captured by the Vietcong. He perceived that he had control when in reality he really didn’t have much, but this motivated him to devise a plan to escape which was successful. Michael also stayed fairly composed during this time compared to his friends who were high in the inverted-U experiencing too much arousal, but Michael stayed more moderate which was very helpful.
The guys seem to have a high sensation seeking. Going to war is risky and is a job that requires a lot of arousal and risk taking. This also requires them to completely change their normal life and routine and go to an entirely different country in a wartime state. The scene where the men are with the Vietcong being forced to play Russian roulette shows a lot of sensation seeking as well as a high level of arousal to make it out alive, and to be able to react in a way to save their lives. This motivation in them really helped them in their situation.
The last aspect I looked at was the men’s self-concept. In the beginning of the movie the men seemed to all have pretty good self-concepts. After their traumatic experience being in Vietnam this changed for them. They began to see themselves as worthless, and did not think highly of themselves. This is unfortunate that their experience leads to their self-concepts deteriorating, but it shows the impact that war and trauma can have on an individual. This movie shows how much war can affect people and how different they can become and their motivations in life change.
Deer Hunter was packed with emotion. With this movie we got to see all the aspects of emotion including feelings, bodily arousal, sense of purpose and social-expression. All of these were shown many times, but the best example that sticks out in my mind was when the character Linda had just got hit by her father and was asking Nick if she could stay at his place while he was gone. She was clearly under distress feeling both fear and anxiety from the situation. Her bodily arousal was clear because she was almost crying and breathing fast. Her social-expression matched the distress pattern of her bodily arousal. This was shown by her worried facial expressions and also her stuttered speech when she was talking to Nick. Finally this emotion of fear and anxiety of her father and living with him gave her the sense of purpose to move out and ask Nick if she could rent his place. If this particular example were evaluated even further, we can see what caused Linda’s emotion and look at both the biological and cognitive perspective. Emotion stems from a significant situational event, which was clearly Linda getting hit/abused by her drunk father. From a biological perspective, fear is a basic emotion. It is natural that our body experiences fear as a result from being hit. It is a natural defense mechanism to want to protect ourselves and fear for our lives. After Linda was hit her first response was to huddle in the corner, this was a motivation driven by fear to protect herself. From a cognitive perspective, after the immediate danger had passed Linda could think about how she did not want to go back and the anxiety she felt motivated her to ask Nick to live at his place.
Another aspect to look at in this movie is happiness. In the book it stated that our level of happiness doesn’t really change over time. That we have a kind of set happiness point and even if someone goes through a traumatic event that is life-altering they will eventually be as happy as they were before. This was really hard for me to take in when I read it so I watched for it in the movie. Michael was the best candidate to watch for this example. First of all he was the leader of the group and exhibited all the signs of an extravert. This makes him prone to be happier anyway because extraversion is the personality characteristic associated with “happier people”. Also he was one of the guys that went off to war. This is the main reason why I picked to watch him because I would for sure think that war would change not only the person but also how they see the world and how happy they are. However, after watching him before the war and then after he got back I saw the book was right. Before he went off to war he liked to see his friends, shoot some pool, and drink. He was seen smiling a lot and singing along with music, which are all signs that a person is happy. After he got back he was eventually able to do all these things again. He joked and hung out with his buddies and was able to smile and laugh again. It took him some adjusting but inside he was still that happy extravert guy.
Arousal was another concept that could be seen in many places. However, the most interesting scene for me when looking for arousal was when Michael and Nick were captives in the war and they were being forced to play Russian roulette. According to the book people perform best under medium arousal situations. This is covered in the inverted-U hypothesis. On the other hand if they are over stimulated they get to anxious and can’t perform very well. This all being said in the scene of Russian roulette, it was a highly stressful situation where a gun was quite literally pointed to their heads and instead of taking deep calming breaths to cool themselves down they were psyching themselves up. Michael was continually yelling “just do it, just do it” for Nick and to psych himself up. His plan was to get out and shoot the guards if he could but it was almost like he needed to be over-aroused in an already very stressful situation.
Another explanation for this odd behavior could be the issue of control. Michael’s character was the ring leader of his group. He often decided what they would do and the group would follow his lead; for example when he took them hunting. The fact that Michael is the leader could be because he has a high desire for control. So when you put him in a highly uncontrollable environment such as being a captive, he does things that could be his way of trying to gain some control over the situation. For example in the Russian roulette seen he tells the guy to put three bullets in the gun. This could be him trying to cope with his fate if he dies, he dies, and if he doesn’t he was going to shoot the guards, which he did.
Terms: emotion, feelings, bodily arousal, sense of purpose, social-expression, significant situational event, biological perspective, basic emotion, fear, cognitive perspective, happiness, extraversion, arousal, over-arousal, inverted-U hypothesis, control, desire for control
Deer Hunter was an interesting but sad movie. It takes quite a while to get into the guts of the movie. However, that length is necessary to show us the characters and their relationships before this major life event occurs so that we can fully see how their personalities change. I chose to analyze the movie by going through the topics on the order of the text and see their applications in the movie. The movie contained significant amounts of material that was representative of the material we discussed in class. The way that I thought best to compare the two, was by looking at the material we read and finding one or two supporting examples from the movie that showed those points.
In the beginning of the movie, they each have psychological well-being. They have self-acceptance, positive interpersonal relationships, autonomy, purpose in life, environmental mastery and personal growth. The only area they may be lacking is in personal growth because, from what is visible, their lives have been consistent their entire lives. The men may be seeking to grow when they enlist in the military. In that case, their self-schemas are motivating them to change themselves into a desired self. Their identities are what I would describe as “hometown guys.” They grew up together, they know everyone in town, and they plan on always staying there. This is their identity because they fit into their social group of the town in that manner. The guys have intrinsic motivation to get involved in the war. This is evident because they have the option to stay home if they so choose. However, they realized they had the potential to do something more with their lives and they are acting on it. This is the aspect of the self called agency. They developed self-concordant goals of coming home war heroes to help them meet that ultimate self need of personal growth discussed at the beginning of this paragraph.
When we first see the men in Vietnam, we are seeing Michael watch a bunch of women and children get killed. After killing a Vietcong, Nick and Steven come over and are glad to have found Michael again. The Michael we viewed earlier in the movie would have rejoiced at seeing them also. However, Michael experienced a major life event of viewing all of those innocent people getting killed. This changed his mood which influenced, in this case, the behavior of getting Nick and Steven to stop rejoicing and get their heads back on straight. Later, when we meet Angela after the events of the war she has experienced the major life event of her husband coming back from the war a different man. This gave her negative emotions and caused her to do the abnormal behavior of not caring for her son. Both of these examples are significantly more extreme than what was discussed in class but they do represent the material well. In Angela’s case, Steven getting hurt is a decrease in the well-being of a loved one which is a factor of primary appraisal. In secondary appraisal, Angela coped with the event poorly and the two types of appraisal caused her negative emotions over Steven’s condition, according to Lazarus’s theory.
The last thing that I will look at are personality characteristics. In the beginning of the movie we can see that most of the rest of the guys in their group of friends are more extraverted. They go out and talk to people and interact with each other. Michael, however, lingers in the entryway at the wedding reception and says very few words, which is evidence of introversion. The text discussed that extraverts are typically more happy and this is shown in the movie. The other guys smile and laugh more than Michael and those are all evidence of happiness. After Vietnam, we can see that Steven has become neurotic. Neurotic people are emotionally unstable. In the Russian roulette game, Steven is yelling and shaking when they are in the cage below the game. Later, at the VA hospital he goes from happy to distraught and so forth. His emotions are all over the place. This is evidence that Steven has become neurotic.
During the original game of Russian roulette, Nick and Steven are upset and freaking out (highly aroused). Michael, however, has brought his level of arousal down so that he can perform more efficiently. The Inverted-U curve shows that at a moderate level of arousal, our performance is better. However, with high levels of arousal, performance is lower. Nick and Steven are at high levels of arousal. Michael’s moderate level of arousal made him more alert and he was able to think of a plan to help them get out of captivity.
In that same situation, Michael is desiring more control than he actually has. He perceives his control as being low (he is being forced to do play Russian roulette). However, Michael came up with a plan to make achieving his desired level of control possible. He knew in his head how things should go, thus making the events predictable. Michael had a higher desire for control than Nick and Steven because he was trying to take control of his life rather than waiting like the other two.
The last topic I would like to discuss is sensation seeking. Throughout the first half of the movie, we see evidence that supports my opinion that Michael, Steven, Nick and their group of friends are all sensation seekers. In the beginning of the movie, they decide to pass a truck on the inside to experience the adrenaline rush. They do this again on their way to deer hunt. They cover the eyes of the driver and he veers off of the side of the road. The way they hunt is a way of sensation seeking. There is sensation seeking in killing a deer. However, they take it a step further by actually chasing after the deer, trying to corner it, and so forth, rather than using a deer stand like most deer hunters do. Lastly, towards the end of the movie, when they go deer hunting, Stan actually chases the deer into the water and wrestles with it. That is certainly sensation seeking because that is not a normal way to deer hunt.
The Deer Hunter is about much more than the Vietnam War. I found this movie very heart wrenching. The characters Nick, Mike, and Steve, all were traumatized by the experience of war. In the beginning, their friend, Stan, showed examples of neuroticism during the wedding. He was getting upset that the girl he was with was dancing with another guy, so he complained and showed some avoidance. His very negative attitude was very neurotic. Also, when they go hunting and he forgets his boots, Mike didn’t let him barrow his extra pair. Mike was trying to teach Stan a lesson, but Stan got very angry and defensive.
Sensation seeking behaviors were displayed throughout the movie. Mike drives the car around the semi in a very dangerous way. It was a one-way, and he drove on the inside instead of the outside. Also, when Mike comes up with the idea to enhance the Russian Roulette by adding more bullets, he takes a big chance of killing himself here. I understand that the other bullets were to be used for killing the Vietnamese men, but he took the risk.
Emotion was expressed in weird ways, I feel. Mike seemed to have feelings for Linda, but Nike had proposed to her. She seemed to have mixed feelings. She flirted with Mike at the wedding as she kept an eye on Nike. When Nike came in by the bar, Linda kissed him and glared at Mike. When Mike came home Linda wanted to have them “comfort each other.” I feel she shows she has some feelings of interest toward mike, which is subjective aspect. The biological, would be her sexual feelings to sleep in the same bed. Her purposive seems to be to end up with him, or at least a one night stand. She expresses it through her facial expressions, and gestures, which would be the social aspect. They all display fear throughout the movie. Also, lots of anxiety of how to react was shown.
Overall I didn’t really like the movie because of the realisticness of the wounds and war.
Terms Used: neuroticism, avoidance, sensation seeking behaviors, risk, emotion, biological, subjective, purposive, social,
Deer hunter is a remarkable story following the journey of 3 best friends before and after they fight in the Vietnam War. The movie shows how each of the characters changes as a result of the wars everlasting impact on their lives. Michael, Nick and Steve are the main characters whose lives are portrayed. This is a very emotional movie with many up and downs .Many emotions can be felt throughout the film such as fear, anger, sadness, disgust and joy. The beginning of the movie starts off in the steel mill and transitions to a wedding where the three friends seem very happy and extroverted; they are all drinking and having a good time. The movie then shows the friends being captured and forced to play Russian roulette with the lives of others. The last transition of the movie is the coming home of the men after war.
While they are different from one another, the men are all very adventurous and thrill seeking in the beginning of the movie, they enjoy shooting guns and hunting for deer. All three of the friends all seem to be risk takers for even joining the army. Throughout the three transitions of the movie you can see the change in each characters self –concepts and self-schemas. The characters self-schemas change as a result of their experiences, after witnessing the horrific killings as prisoners of the Russians. Michael seems to be the glue that keeps his friends together, when they are forced to play Russian roulette he is able to take control over his emotions and put on a brave face, his affect-intensity seems to be low. He also showed his need for control earlier in the film when he refused to let his friend use his boots, so that he would learn a lesson. By the end of the film Michael has high levels of arousal; this makes it hard to live his life after the war. He experiences depression and anxiety. Michael has a high intrinsic motivation to survive, he wants to live. Once a man who took pride in killing a deer with one shot, Michael now realizes that killing an innocent animal is meaningless.
Steve is the most extroverted; you can tell he loves to have a good time. He jokes and dances at the wedding but after being a prisoner of war he does not have a consistent-self.
Steve who once an extrovert experiences a great amount of neuroticism, he is very unhappy with life. The entire trauma he experienced took a toll on his personality. Steve experienced so much fear, he desperately feared for his life. He felt negative emotions due to the Behavioral inhibition system. (BIS)
Nick is completely ruined by the war and by everything he has been forced to do as a prisoner. He ends up staying in Saigon playing Russian roulette professionally because he thinks his friends are dead. He is unable to cope with the entire trauma he has experienced. He is very unstable and needed to take risk to deal with everything that happened. He basically loses it and becomes depressed and crazy. He doesn’t even remember Michael when he comes back to try to save him, ultimately Nick ends up killing himself in a game of Russian roulette against Michael.
Environmental changes as well as experiences forever changed the lives and personalities of all three men. This was an incredibly sad movie but is demonstrative of how emotional and motivation work.
I did not like the movie Deer Hunter at all. I found it boring and uninteresting. I had a low level of arousal and felt underaroused while watching the movie, so I felt the need to talk in order to stay focused. I was motivated to turn the movie off because I disliked it and wanted to withdrawal from it. However, I was also motivated to continue watching the movie in order to finish my blog and get a desirable grade. Because this motivation was greater than my motivation to shut the movie off, I continued watching it.
I chose to talk about the Russian roulette aspect of the movie. It plays a key role in the character’s experiences and lives. Michael and Nick initially appraised their situation when being forced to play Russian roulette. They appraised it as harmful, and therefore felt the emotion of dislike. This lead them to want to withdrawal from the situation and not participate. However, they were forced to participate.
The sense of purpose Michael felt to get out of the prison camp motivated him to find a way to escape. Michael and Nick’s emotions at the prison camp tell us that they were not adapting well to the new setting. They both reacted negatively to being forced to play Russian roulette and were on the verge of tears. This event was significant to both of them because they had that emotion. If it were not significant, pointing a gun to their head and pulling the trigger would not have elicited that kind of emotion. The overstimulating, stressful environment increased their arousal. They were highly aroused, which caused increasing emotional disturbance and disruption (hence the crying and laughing) and anxiety over dying. If they did not pull the trigger, they would either be shot or be left out to drown. If they did pull the trigger, they would die. It was a no-win situation. In addition, they had cognitive disruption because they were pointing a gun at their head. They had physiological disruption because they were very aroused and scared.
Nick seemed to like the uncertainty of the game. He developed a sensation-seeking personality. He needed the dopamine release and began to crave it. He constantly felt approach tendencies to play the game. He was willing to risk his life in order to have the experience, and this eventually lead to his death.
I had never seen The Deer Hunter before and I was confused by the title when it was about some guys going off to the Vietnam war. But after watching it, it made sense. I had never really watched a war movie before and now I remember why. I dislike the shooting and the blood, but that is to be expected in war movies. I found myself cringing and being anxious when I thought somebody was going to die.
In the movie, Nick, Michael, Steve, and Linda experienced happiness. They were all happy at Steve and Angela's wedding. They were singing, socializing, dancing, laughing, smiling, and having fun, even though they knew that Nick and Michael were going off to Vietnam soon. Linda and the other friends felt happy when Michael came home from Vietnam. But Nick personality changed at the end to be more neurotic. He was emotionally unstable, irritable, and was under anxiety and fear.
Nick, Michael, and Steve felt aroused when they were in Vietnam. Not only they were aroused because they were in a war, but they were fighting for their lives. Nick, Michael, and Steve had to play Russian Roulette to stay alive when they were captured. In that case they were overaroused. Steve tried to decrease his arousal by not shooting himself in the head and Nick and Michael tried to decrease their arousal by escaping. In the end, Nick's arousal by playing Russian Roulette decreased and he was underaroused. Nick did not flinch or hesitate pulling the trigger when he played anymore. Nick and Michael were demonstrating risk taking behaviors. Michael was motivated to do it because he wanted Nick to remember him. Nick was motivated to do it because it was like gambling.
Nick had a perceived control over the Russian Roulette game. He believed that since he had not died from the game yet, that he never would. Michael had a desire for control. When they were captured in Vietnam, he made plans and goals so they could escape. He went back to Vietnam to find Nick to bring him home. He tried to control the situation by bribing people to get what he wanted. When the boys went hunting for the first time, Michael showed his control by shooting down a huge deer. But when they went hunting the second time, Michael could not kill the deer. He had every opportunity to, but he just could not. The war affected the way he thought of guns now.
The movie demonstrated all of the basic emotions. Steve, Nick, and Michael experienced fear when they were captured and when they were forced to play Russian Roulette. They all faced fear when they thought they were going to die. Nick was scared when he thought that Steve and Michael died. And Michael felt fear when Nick did not remember him. Michael was angry at his capturers for making them suffer and he was angry at Stan for waving a gun around and not knowing how to properly use it. Michael was disgusted with guns and what damage they could do that he could not even kill a deer with his. They were all sad when Nick died. Angela was sad when Steve got back and he would not come home and that he lost his legs and an arm. Steve felt sorry for himself because he lost his limbs. Nick cried when he thought Steve and Michael did not make it and he survived. Steve, Nick, Michael, Linda, and Angela felt joy at the wedding. Linda and the rest of the town felt happy with Michael came back. Michael was interested in deer hunting in the beginning of the movie. But by the end, he became disinterested with it.
TERMS: happiness, neurotic, arousal, risk taking behaviors, perceived control, desire for control, fear, anger, disgust, sadness, joy, interest,
The Deer Hunter was a very intense movie. Despite the movie being very old (hard to find too) and slow at times, I actually enjoyed it. The movie not only has a lot of different motivational and emotional examples but also does a great job at pointing out why people decide to pursue a degree in psychology.
The main character in the film is Michael and is played by Robert De Niro. The two other main characters and best friends of Michael are Steven and Nick. The three friends get dragged into the Vietnam War together and end up getting captured, making them prisoners of war. While imprisoned, the three experience terrible physical and mental torture. The Viet Cong forced the soldiers to play Russian roulette against each other which ultimately caused permanent psychological damage to all of them. Despite being against all odds and man power, the three friends escape. Michael thinks up a plan to escape and explains it to Nick. The plan works and all three make it back to safe territory.
Michael is really the only one who keeps all of his marbles during all of this and afterwards even. Nick goes AWOL while still in Vietnam and ends up getting tossed into a Russian roulette organization. Steven lost his legs and continues to suffer psychologically. Michael eventually makes it home, but feels terrible coming home without Nick or Steven and is unable to confront everyone at the welcome home party. Michael continues to feel detached from home even though he is home. After finding out Steven was back home, Michael goes to see Steven and discovers that Nick is still alive. The only way that Michael can find self-peace is by going and bringing Nick back home from Vietnam. Michael eventually locates Nick in the Russian roulette games and sees that Nick has totally lost his mind, emotionless and numb to all former memories. Michael buys into the game and competes against his best friend, Nick. Unable to curve Nicks desire to play the game, Michael watches him shoot himself right in front of him. Michael returns home with Nick’s body and gives him a proper funeral.
Besides all this other stuff going on, there is actually an internal conflict between Nick and Michael throughout the whole movie. This conflict involves Lynda. Lynda is Nick’s girlfriend but it turns out that Michael is in love with her too. While with Nick, Lynda displays behavior that shows she holds a connection with Michael as well. So, it’s obvious now without the return of Nick that Lynda and Michael will be together, which they do succeed in doing.
All three of the friends have somewhat “normal” self-schemas and have fairly good ideas of their self-concepts. Prior to going to war, they are all working men while in the pursuit of love. All of them have several friends and enjoy socially drinking themselves to sleep. Each of them can give a good definition of themselves and describe their position in the world. After the war, being captured more specifically, their self-schemas and self-concepts become permanently damaged. Nick has lost all contact with reality and prior memories. Nick has also lost the ability to feel emotion, not being bothered by putting a gun to his head at all. Steven has lost his legs and feels like he can no longer identify with society, he feels out of place and ashamed. Steven also loses his perception of his prior life. Michael has also lost his identity. Michael is the strongest during all of this, keeping it together the most. Nick completely fails to self-regulate himself. Steven begins to make steps in the positive direction towards the end of the movie and Michael has been doing a great job self-regulating the whole time.
Happiness is really only prevalent during the beginning of the movie. It makes sense too because all of the characters are fairly extraverted.
The most prevalent time to observe different motivations and emotions is definitely during the imprisonment period in Vietnam. This is where Nick and Steven begin to lose it but Michael keeps it together and develops a plan that gets the three of them out of there. During this time, all of them are showing signs of intense arousal. The mind is realizing that the body is in danger and begins to cope. The easiest way to observe this was by the increased breathing rate and facial expressions. Fear was made very obvious in the eyes of Nick and Steven when being forced to play Russian roulette. Michael remained somewhat fearless and coped by being extremely angry. The three soldiers had a very low perceived control. They were outnumbered and outgunned. Thus, their low perceived control gave them a great desire for control which eventually led to them getting rescued. Michael devised a plan to gain the upper hand and allow for them to escape. This was a success.
This movie was a great movie and did a superb job at displaying various emotions and motivations. Most importantly, the movie shows that the pains of war can be far more than just physical pain and continue to haunt the victims mentally even after they have returned home.
Terms: Self-schemas, Self-concept, Identity, Self-regulation, Arousal, Facial expression, Emotion, Fear, Anger, Happiness, Extraversion, Perceived control, and Desire for control
Please read the following link:http://www.psychologicalscience.com/kim_maclin/2010/01/i-learned-it-at-the-movies.html as well as the 3 resource links at the bottom of that article.This semester's movies:Teen DreamsCast…
The Deer Hunter is about three friends going to fight in the Vietnam War and how its horrors change them. The film was particularly successful with illustrating the full impacts of the war, because the first hour was dedicated to detailing their normal lives, which showed the happiness and closeness of the three main characters: Steven, Nick, and Michael. The second act was the turning point, in which the men, along with other US soldiers, were captured and forced to play Russian roulette by the Vietcong. Although the main characters escaped, they were traumatized, which only got worse after Michael and Steven were separated from Nick. The third act was the most powerful and relevant to this class, because it demonstrated the changes in each character’s personality: Steven became legless and helpless; Nick thought the others were dead and became emotionally numb (illustrated by playing Russian roulette for money); and Michael returned home but could not establish his previous lifestyle due to his traumatic experience in the war.
The scene I want to concentrate on was when Michael tried to regain some normalcy by going hunting with his friends. However, he found he could not shoot a deer, which indicated his past would continue to haunt him. He returned to the cabin and walked in on one of his friends trying to act tough by pointing a seemingly unloaded gun at another friend for insulting him. Michael took the gun and shot it (showing it was loaded), and put one round in the chamber, spun and dry fired at the tough guy. That scene was powerful, because it demonstrated the changes to Michael’s personality, which became part of him despite his attempts to regain normalcy.
Originally, Michael’s self-pursuits were normal and healthy. His self-concept was made of self-schemas including a hard worker on the job, a devoted friend, an accomplished deer hunter, and (most importantly) a very organized and controlling planner to avoid surprises, which directed his behavior with feedback to push him toward his ideal self (a calm but outgoing figure). His self-concept also helped establish his identity within his initial life by appointing him the role as the leader among his friends. Michael’s agency was well-developed, shown in his stable self-functioning and autonomy, so his self-regulation was likely fixed with his current successful behaviors.
As far as the concepts of personality, Michael was very healthy. His strict self-management demonstrated his arousal, because he wasn’t a sensation seeker looking for risks, and he likely had sensitive affect intensity since he avoided such risks. It also demonstrated his perceived control, because he openly engaged in things with the expectancy that he could obtain the desired outcome (through hunting and interaction with his friends). He also had high desired control, because he was so carefully organized and serious, so he could anticipate future situations. Finally, he had healthy levels of happiness. He was an extroverted leader (indicating his positive emotion set point was good), and he had a calm presence lacking neuroticism (indicating his negative emotion set point was also in a good place).
Michael’s astound stability in his personality was likely what saved his life from the Vietcong later, because he was able to retain his positive qualities to use for an escape. For instance, he remained extroverted with little neuroticism by keeping his cool under pressure and devising a plan to escape. His perceived control must have also been holding up, because he was able to shift the outcome to his desired choice. Although Michael retained many of his previous qualities after getting captured, the after effects still stuck.
The specific scene I chose to focus on demonstrated the after effects by showing how Michael’s previous qualities had changed, beginning with his self-pursuits. The self-schemas of killer, disappointing friend, and failed leader were added to his self-concept, which created issues with his consistent self. His conflicting self-view deterred his rise to his ideal self (calm, outgoing leader), and actually dropped him toward his feared self (reckless, anxious, and afraid). This obviously affected his identity, since he felt he was no longer capable of fulfilling the role as leader, which contributed to his initial isolation from his friends that was out of character for the old Michael. His agency was messed up, because he couldn’t function efficiently anymore, which was fantastically demonstrated by the prior scene in which he could not kill the deer. Thus, his potential remained unfulfilled, and his autonomy needs were not met. Finally, his self-regulation wasn’t fixed anymore, because Michael was unsure of what to do to reestablish himself (avoid his friends, try to shoot deer, look for Nick).
The scene in the cabin was probably the best example of Michael’s affected personality. On top of coming back from a failed attempt to regain control of his life, Michael walked in to find one of his friends pointing a gun at another friend, which sent him over the edge. By playing Russian roulette with his friend, Michael showed his vast changes to arousal. Instead of being calm, he shot the gun off and put it to his friend’s head, which was a form of sensation seeking since it was quite a big risk. Although he was initially sensitive to arousal changes, Michael’s affect intensity became much more sensitive after the war, which was why he was unable to keep control of himself. This was also an example of cognitive dissonance by behaving differently than his beliefs (threatening instead of protecting his friends), which further showed issues with his identity since he could not manage his identity conforming behavior (it was acceptable in war with enemies, but not at home with friends). Getting back to personality, Michael also likely reacted so harshly because of deficits in perceived control. He may have felt he couldn’t protect his friends in the war, and it carried over to not being able to do so at home. Personally, I believe it had a lot to do with his uncontrollable environment in the prison cage. The book stated high controlling individuals tend to function better in controllable environments (Michael at the beginning), but their motivation gets disrupted worse than others in low controlling environments (the cage). That event of being unable to control the situation hurt Michael’s future situation at the cabin, which further sent him off the edge. Finally, his happiness was obviously not within healthy ranges anymore. His extroversion had suffered, because he avoided his friends more often at first, and remained unengaged when he was around them. His neuroticism also increased, as demonstrated by putting a loaded gun to his friend’s head and pulling the trigger. Overall, Michael was experiencing issues with his self-worth, because his actions were not matching his internal beliefs (stay calm and look out for friends).
Michael’s interaction with his friend indicated his emotions to the current situation, allowing his friends to see how his personality changed from the war by reacting in that particular way to the situation. The basic emotions demonstrated were fear and anger, which gave rise to his outburst. His feelings (made of subjective cognitions) were shown by Michael verbally saying “how do you feel now, big shot,” while sticking the gun to the man’s forehead (indicating he was sick of violence and didn’t want to be around it when he was supposed to be safe from it at home). His purpose was to direct the goal of extinguishing future violent outbursts from his friends, which was done by scaring them into acting peaceful and getting rid of the gun. It was, however, his self-expression that conveyed the message to both characters and audience the best. His face remained morose and fixed on the man until after he pulled the trigger, which he then turned and starred down his other friends as if to say “I will have this at home as well,” without actually speaking. His voice was yelling the entire time, and other forms of communication were ripping off his coat, ridiculing his friend, slamming the door, and throwing the revolver into the woods. All of this conveyed the message to his friends that he was internally unsettled from the war, he was trying to reestablish peace in his life, and violence brought out a monster in him. In the end, I believe he regains some peace, as shown with him engaging with his friends at Nick’s funeral as the leader once again.
I have seen this movie before, and it remains one of the most respected films in my opinion. I like how an hour is dedicated to detailing character development in the beginning, so when the conflict comes in the second act, it is all the more powerful. On a side note, my favorite thing about this movie is the foreshadowing in the beginning. Michael’s “one-shot kill,” Nick asking Mike not to leave him in Vietnam if anything happened, and especially the soldier in the bar at the wedding set the dark mood for the rest of the film. Furthermore, I was more disturbed by the after effect in the third act than the actual killing in the second act. It was almost as if the ones who died got off lucky, while the survivors had to live in mental anguish until they died.
Terms: self-pursuit, self-concept, self-schema, feedback, ideal self, identity, role, agency, self-regulation, autonomy, arousal, sensation seeking, affect intensity, perceived control, desired control, happiness, extroversion, positive emotion, neuroticism, negative emotion, consistent self, self-view, feared self, personality, cognitive dissonance, identity-conforming behavior, self-worth, emotion, basic emotions, fear, anger, feelings, purpose, self-expression
The movie The Deer Hunter displays the lives of three friends before, during and after the Vietnam War of which they fought in. The first third of the movie gave background information of the three friends, Nick, Steve, and Michael and their friends. Even during this part of the movie, as it was the least dramatic out of the whole emotional plot exposed concepts from chapters 10-13. I thought the movie portrayed the friends all as being very extroverted men. During the wedding there was nonstop laughter and dancing. It was obvious that the men found rewards out of this stimulating environment. From the extroverted tendencies, a higher sense of happiness was felt. During the wedding, their friend that had a slight attitude throughout the movie went up and hit the woman that he was with because of her dancing with another man. Before hitting her, he had been sitting and watching everyone dance. It seemed to me as an avoidance technique, which then could label this man as being slightly neurotic. It didn’t seem as though someone who was emotionally stable would hit a woman for another man touching her butt.
It was also evident from the beginning that these men saw themselves as and the self-concept that they have placed upon themselves. During the wedding there were flags and pictures of the men on the walls and a sort of “support our troops” banner hung above in the reception area. These men saw themselves as becoming soldiers. It was what was they would soon totally become and it was obviously important to them. Another self-schema that was very important that built up going into the war was their strong sense of friendship between one another. It played a very large role once the men were forced to play Russian roulette against each other.
Another theme that was shown through the first third of the movie was the sensation seeking behaviors that the men expressed. The first major example of this was when they were driving to work and there was a big semi-truck that was driving in front of them, but they drove right against the wall and very quickly to pass him. It was a risk taking behavior, along with their excessive drinking that went on in the beginning of the movie. I also found sensation seeking behaviors in the beginning of the film when the men showed their common hobby of deer hunting. I would definitely put hunting under a category of “extreme sports”. The rush that hunters receive from hunting is very similar I am sure to one that a skydiver may have. Not only was the reckless driving, drinking, and hunting part of the sensation seeking. I also feel as though a person who signs up to be in the army may be doing it to serve his or her country, but there also is a sense of novelty of new experiences and risk involved that could be arousing for an individual.
After the men go to war, they are captured and forced to play Russian roulette against themselves. During this time the three friends are reunited. The perceived control of the situation for Michael, Nick and Steven are not very high. The Vietcong all had guns shoved in the three friends faces and yelled at them constantly. They were also outnumber by the Vietcong which took away any of the perceived control that they may have. Even though their perceived control might be low, Michael’s desire for control was very high. At the point when Steven had been put into their trap after shooting, Michael’s desire for control intensified, as did his perceived control. As he spoke with Nick before going back up to play Russian roulette, he already had a plan formulating to get them out of there safely. He was able to problem solve and persist in the difficult experience that they were going through. He did not give up, like his friends may have if he had not been there. To do this Michael had to take his highly arousing environment and situation and put himself back to a point of being moderately aroused so he could cope and perform better. This relates to the Yerkes-Dodson law or the inverted U table. If he stayed at his highly aroused state, he would not have been able to do anything problem solving or goal obtaining. He would only have been able to focus on the sounds of the yells, the look of terror on his friends face and the gun that he was being forced to shoot himself with. Not only did the desire of control come into play, but the perceived control as stated before, also changed. I could tell that the perceived power shifted when he felt that they were capable to retreat from their current location under the Vietcong.
This movie did an interesting job of portraying the emotions that were felt after the men came back from war (or didn’t). It is something that normally can’t be expressed that well through other war movies. Normally it would be something seen only if you have known someone in that position. One very interesting scene in the movie that I noticed was after Michael came home. He went to the hotel so that he did not have to face and talk to all of his friends. He had just gone through a very traumatic event and he thought he had lost a friend. After he went to the hotel, he paced back and forth and finally found himself against the wall in a squatting position, which I’m sure was something he was used to doing while in Vietnam. I felt as though he may have been doing this because he was under aroused. He had been pacing and he could not sleep. While he was at war he had been in constant battle, or at least constant fear of being killed. Now, back in America, he has to learn how to return back into a safe environment.
The Deer Hunter was a very emotional movie that depicted the horrible after effects of war on soldiers and their family and friends. It provided many examples of concepts learned in class and in our text.
Terms: emotional stability, extrovert, happiness, neurotic, self-concept, self-schema, sensation seeking, risk taking behaviors, arousal, new experience, perceived control, desire of control, Yerkes-Dodson Law, under aroused,
I had never seen The Deer Hunter before I watched it for this class. I found the movie to be way different than what I was expecting. I was expecting just another war movie that is placed in Vietnam. But what it wasn't just that. I found it to be very moving and very sad. The movie takes place in so many different places that it is almost hard to keep track of. They start at home, then go to Vietnam, then back home, and they finish it in Vietnam and have a short scene back home. It really is an emotional roller coaster movie where you see the highs of life(wedding scene) and the lows of life(funeral). I also did not expect so many actors that went on to have very successful acting careers. Robert De Niro was awesome in it and Christopher Walken has been very successful since and I had no idea that Meryl Streep was in it. I could see why the movie was nominateed for so many different awards that included Oscars.
The first thing I want to talk about is Robert De Niro's character, Michael. Michael was the main character in the movie and played an everyman's man. He lived in a coal mining town where he worked in what looked to be a coal mining factory. After he and his buddies would get done with work they would go to the local bar and have a good time by drinking and being with their friends. He liked to deer hunt, which he seemed to be very good at. About a third of the way through the movie he went to Vietnam to serve his country. There, he went through some stuff that nobody should have to go through. His character was easily the most interesting to me so thats why am I going to focus mainly on his character at first in this discussion.
First of all, I think that Michael liked to see his self as being a happy guy. His concept of his self could be described as being a hard worker, someone who would serve his country for the betterment of his country, a friend that his friends could turn to if they needed his help with anything. One scene that showed this was when they were leaving for the wedding and Michael had a talk to Nick about how they were best friends. They told each other that they would always be there for each other in each of their times need. You could also say that these things were part of Michael's identity. I think that Michael just wanted to be known as the guy who had great friends and who could be the life of the party as evidenced by some moments at the wedding and in the bar before they went to Vietnam.
Another part of The Deer Hunter that I found very interesting was personal strivings that Michael was trying to accomplish during the movie. I think that the personal striving that he worked hardest at and what he wanted more than anything in the movie was to be with Linda. This complex in the movie was very interesting. He really had an emotional connection to Linda and wanted to be with her more than anything. But the interesting thing is that Nick was also in love with her and she seemed to like him more even though she and Michael seemed to have a connection too. When she and Nick decided to get married you could tell that Michael was not the happiest man in the world especially by his facial expressions and really his whole bodily reactions that he expressed from his emotions that he was feeling at the time.
Michael had a different personality than everyone else in the movie. He seemed like a happy person for some of the movie, mainly the start, and the rest of the movie he seemed to be emotionally unstable and he was just an unhappy person. He really was a neurotic person for the second half of the movie. Obviously he suffered from many different things that happened. He was taken hostage, forced to play Russian Roulette with his best friend, and had to go to Nick's funeral at the end. Anybody that had this kind of life would be neurotic and would not be a happy person. He even had money during the second half of the movie but just like the book says, money doesn't buy happiness. He was a much happier person when he was working in god awful conditions and being able to hang with his friends at the local watering hole. Even though he had money, it didn't make him any happier.
Even though I would characterize most of Michael's friends as extraverts I would say that Michael is an introvert. He is very quiet throughout the movie and doesn't really like to be in the middle of the party even though this friends seem to be. For example, during the wedding he is standing in the bar when all of this friends are out on the dance floor. There is nothing wrong with this but I think that did influence his happiness levels. Another example of this is when he gets back home he doesn't go to the house when everyone is there setting up a party for him. He doesn't seem to like big groups but he likes to be in a small group of his friends. He doesn't seem to like any of the attention that he gets when he comes back home.
Sensation seeking seems to be very prevalent in The Deer Hunter. Sensation seeking is a personality characteristic that is related to arousal and reactivity. Some people don't like to seek sensation in the ways that could be dangerous. The type of sensation seeking that I want to focus on the most is the risk taking aspect of it. Risk taking is so important when discussing this movie. Obviously the most exciting parts in the movie was when they were forced to play Russian Roulette. The Vietnamese did this for fun when they have POWs. The soldiers obviously hated doing this because it risked their lives to the extreme. Nick was very much affected by the trauma of war and he suffered from what seemed to be a deep depression. He stayed in Vietnam and put himself in games of Russian Roulette to make money. At the end of the movie it was obvious that he didn't have to do it but he liked the risk. He seeked out these experiences of risking his life to satisfy some inner needs that he had. Even Michael had some times that he showed that he liked risk taking. He took a bullet and put it in a gun and pointed it at Stan and pulled the trigger. For Stan, I am sure that is was obviously very scary but for Michael I think he did it for himself. He needed to experience something like that because of what he went through.
Terms: Self, Self-schema, Risk Taking, Sensation Seeking, Emotion, Neuroticism, Extraversion, Happiness, Arousal, Identity, Roles, Facial Expressive
I have never seen nor heard of the Deer Hunter before this class. This movie is more than a war movie and it is a very intense with a dark feeling that grows throughout the movie. I was expecting a sad war movie, but this one definately was moving and heartfelt. The actors and actresses did a really good job at portraying what it was like to go through a war, either in it or at home waiting for someone.
This movie had a lot of different aspects from the chapters that we've read that apply to the characters. I found that there was more focus on Michael and Nick, but during the middle of the movie, we learn more about Michael during the movie while Nick is missing. In the beginning of the movie, Michael seems to be a happy guy, however he seems more reserved and a bit different from his other friends. I believe that Michael is more introverted, but still happy. After Michael comes back from Vietnam, he is obviously a changed person. He is unhappy and seems like he would score high on a neurotic scale. Michael is very unstable in his emotions, and doesn't know how to handle his old friends, Linda and life without Nick. The war changed Michael and the people around him, even after he came into some money. Money doesn't equal happiness and when your world is rocked by a life changing event causing you to lose your best friend, nothing helps.
Michael has a high desire for control. This is seen throughout the movie. In the beginning Michael is more reserved as I stated, but one scene stands out that shows how he likes to be in control. It is before the boys are about to leave for Vietnam, and they are going on their last hunting trip. Stanley had forgotten his boots again and wanted to borrow Michael's extras. Michael wouldn't let him because he believed he needed to learn to be responsible. No matter what anyone said Michael did not give in. This shows the Michael doesnt really care what people say, and he was trying to control Stanley's future actions to be responsible by not helping him out this time. Throught the movie, Michael shows his need for control. When they are captured by the Vietcong and forced to play Russian Roulet with themselves and each other, Steven and Nick were very upset. Michael was able to not show his fear and help the others. His percieved control was high in this situation. Michael had to believe that he was capable of getting out of the situation and that there would be some predictable outcome. The outcome in this situation was no where near predictable but that was the risk that was needed to take. Michael exerted much concentration and effort to devise a plan to escape. When Nick wasn't sure about it, Micheal convinced him. Michael's desire for control and need to take action may have saved many of their lives. Michael needs to find Nick and goes back to find him dazed and that he lost his memory. Michael feels lost because he has lost control. Nick is gone and doesn't remember anything. Michael feels lost and confused because he lsot his control with is best friend.
Michael's self schema does change throughout the movie. Slef schemas are a collection that creates the self concept. In the beginning Michael thinks of himself as a good hunter, and overall a responsible person. I believe there is motivational tension in Michael's life when he comes home without Nick because Nick was apart of his schema for many things he did in his every day life. He had much dissonance until he could find Nikki, which he ends up dying in Russian Roulette. Our self is maintained by feedback. Michael was getting feedback but because ofNick being gone, he couldn't interact socially. he just drew deeper inside himself and his neuroticism grew.
This movie was extrememly emotional, and was a good one to see how life events can possibly change some people. Deer Hunter showed the lives of people who were in the war and who were waiting for their soilders to return. Overall, it was a good, but very sad and depressing movie.
Terms:happiness, introvert, neuroticism, desire for control, percieved control, self schema, dissonance, motivational tension
The Deer Hunter was a shocking movie to say the least. I had never heard of it before this class and didn’t really know what to expect. Although I wasn’t a huge fan (because of the blood and gore) it did a nice job demonstrating concepts in chapters 10-13. Throughout this blog I will focus on the main character Michael and how he is connected to different concepts in the textbook.
First off, Mike shows many of the basic emotions extremely well. Fear is apparent when he is in Vietnam. Mike is desperately trying to stay in control and hide this emotion. However, the scene where they are under the hut in the water we are able to see vulnerability. He is forced to shoot a gun at his head not knowing whether the barrel has a bullet loaded or not. Fear motivates defense, and in this situation he devises a plan that allows him and his fellow soldier and friend escape from the Vietnamese men. Another basic emotion, anger, is seen when Mike comes home. He is angry to find out that his friend, Nick, was still in Vietnam engaging in the gun “game” that they had previously escaped from. He leaves America to return to Vietnam to retrieve Nick. When he finds Nick in that awful situation we see Mike unleash. He is angry with him because he had the chance to leave. The action that Nick is taking is interfering with their goal which was to get home alive, safe, and together. This anger comes from the source that Nicks reasoning for not completing their goal of coming home is illegitimate. There is no life for him in Vietnam so Mike is puzzled and angry. Sadness is obviously another significant emotion shown by Mike. He is most sad when he sees his friends struggle and in pain. First off, he watches Nick die; for a ridiculous reason at that. After Nick shoots himself in the game we see Mike cry for the first time. Sadness is often a result of a loss of a loved one, in this situation that is Mike’s loss of Nick. Secondly, we see Mike show sadness when he sees Steven for the first time after the war. Steven has lost his legs during his time in Vietnam. Mike shows concern and sadness for Steven through his facial expressions, not his words. His facial expressions are a result of the emotion (sadness) that he feels. In turn the facial expressions he makes only accelerate the emotion even more.
The emotions Mike felt were helping him cope with the difficult situations he encountered. Emotions are able to prepare us with automatic, quick and successful responses to life tasks. Emotions are also providers of social functions. They allow us to communicate our feelings toward others. Mike uses his emotions to show his friends how angry, and upset he is with Vietnam and the loss of friends and fellow soldiers. For example, his friend Stanley is giving him a hard time and points an unloaded gun at Mike. This triggers negative emotions in Mike and motivates him to point a loaded gun at Stanley. Mike shoots the gun and fortunately the gun shoots blank.
Appraisal is defined as an estimate of the personal significance of an event. Appraisal is shown throughout the entire movie The Deer Hunter. Mike demonstrates this by showing emotions. Emotions come from events that have meaning. If the events in the movie had no meaning to Mike we wouldn’t be able to see the various emotions I previously mentioned. Mike first appraises the situations in Vietnam as bad versus good. A feeling of disliking follows which then generates avoidance motivation. The point in the movie when the three friends are under the hut in the water then escape is an example of this. Mike does all he can to avoid more pain and killing. His actions save all three of the men and they float downstream together heading for safety to alleviate the negative feelings and physical destruction.
The last concept I want to cover is Control. We find out early in the movie that Mike has a high desire for control. There is a particular scene with Mike and Nick in which Nick tell Mike he is a control freak because he doesn’t want to go hunting with the other guys. A person with a high desire for control wants to have control over every event in their life. Mike loses some control in the beginning when he is going to soon be leaving for Vietnam. He knows it is no longer up to him to back out or change his mind. We see him running down the street stripping naked after the wedding. When he has finally stopped running he tells Nick everything is going so fast. Here he is demonstrating anxiety and distress; two typical aspects of a high control person losing control. Mike also demonstrates a high desire for control by persisting through his struggles in Vietnam. While he friends wanted to give up he was there to push them and ultimately being responsible for their survival as well as his own.
Terms: fear, anger, sadness, facial expressions, coping, social functions, appraisal, avoidance motivation, desire for control, loss of control
Deer Hunter Concepts Ch. 10-13
I was surprised to enjoy the movie the Deer Hunter; it was a very intense war movie and a lot different from my expectations. The three main parts to the film were all very different from one another. The first was mostly just an introduction of the characters, and the wedding. It was funny and seemed very typical of an older war film. Some drunken moments and a wedding.
I would say one of the first things I noticed about all three men is that they were all very much extroverted. They all seemed very boisterous and had a lot of confidence. They all talked a lot of crap about what they were each good at and no one seemed very shy. Michael after the wedding even ran down the street butt naked, not something an introvert would ever do. They all seemed generally happy, all at the beginning very low on neuroticism. There were a few moments I wondered if John was sort of introverted because of his lack of showing care when Linda was kissing or dancing with others at the wedding, but I think it was more drunkenness than introversion.
There are many scenes where Michael shows a high need for control. At the wedding he makes eye contact with Linda quite a few times and likes knowing the control he has over her and the other girl that thought he was looking at her. On the last hunting trip they went on when Stanley asks him to borrow his other pair of boots he says now just because he wants the control of Stan not having any boots. He sits on the car and remains calm the entire time that Stan is yelling and swearing at him. When Nick asks him what’s wrong he just shoots his gun, showing his control over the entire situation. Shortly after is when he gets the deer he was talking about earlier with just one shot.
From some of the scenes over in Vietnam, I would say that every single person over there fighting would have to have a low desire for control. They aren’t able to approach a situation by asking whether or not they can control what happens, but rather have no choice and have to do what will possibly save their life.
The game of Russian roulette was one of the most intense scenes I have ever seen in a movie. It was very difficult for me to watch as I had a friend who committed suicide by shooting himself in the head and I had to leave the room for this scene.
It would be impossible for one’s self schema not to change over time after going through something like this. No matter what someone’s self-schema of them was before going over to Vietnam, it would change dramatically from this past experience.
I could see one of each of the basic emotions in this film. There was plenty of fear during the game of Russian roulette. The fear that Steven had in playing the game was much stronger than what Michael had or at least showed. He had no idea if he was about to live or die and I can’t imagine how frightening of a feeling this would be. This is much more than a basic biological emotion of fear; this is a complex cognitive perspective. In the same scene during the game Michael shows a major emotion of anger. In the hospital when the supervisor is asking Nick what his parent’s birthdate is, he showed a lot of sadness. He was trying to hold in the emotion for a long time, but at this moment, he couldn’t any longer.
I think that anyone choosing to go to war during this time and looking forward to it is high on sensation seeking, also anyone who is a deer hunter. These are not things that a lot of people would look forward to and this personality characteristic is related to arousal and reactivity. These guys before they went were bored with their routine.
I think Nick had some major cognitive dissonance when he went in to again play Russian roulette. He was not seeing himself as competent, moral or reasonable.
The coming home party for Michael was very tough for Linda not seeing Nick come home. She had a lot of emotions going on and I have had 2 of my good friends go through this a couple of times when they couldn’t get a hold of their husbands who were in Afghanistan and Iraq. Michael’s self-concept and schema changes quite a bit throughout the film. During the homecoming he is not near as extroverted, his personality and happiness is diminished. He doesn’t want to go to the party, he waits til everyone is gone to go home. But he has to tell Linda that he doesn’t have Nick with him, something no one wants to do. Although, I think his desire for control is still high, regardless of the party, he still doesn’t go until he is ready.
This movie brought up a lot of emotions for me and I had a hard time concentrating. I had to leave the room a few different times was disgusted other times. I never thought I would have such a difficult time with a war movie but I did. It was good but I will never watch it again.
Terms used: self-schema, emotion, cognitive perspective, biological perspective, fear, anger, sensation seeking, extraversion, neuroticism, introversion, perceived control, desire for control.
The Deer Hunter was a good movie - it was my first time viewing it but I really enjoyed it (as long as it was). This movie depicts the lives of three friends, Stevie, Michael, and Nikki. We get an inside view of their lives in Pennsylvania before they ship off to fight in the Vietnam war, while they are in Vietnam, and what happens after the war as well. It was an extremely emotional movie filled with highs and lows. There were many examples of chapter 10-13 concepts.
Since there was so much going on in this movie I decided to focus on Michael for awhile since he was kind of the main character. Michael is the typical man, he works in a factory of some sort, coal mining perhaps? Anyways, he is a hard worker living simply who enjoys deer hunting and spending time with his friends, especially after work at the local bar. While Michael's friends are definitely extroverted, I think Michael is actually introverted. He is a happy introvert but he doesn't desire to be in the middle of everything all the time. For example, he stood at the bar for a good portion of the evening at Stevie's wedding reception. I also think Michael had a very strong self concept. He was a factory worker, an honest friend, a hunter, and soon to be a soldier. He was developing this self schema before he left - it was something he desired, to be a soldier.
Once Michael was in Vietnam his demeanor changed. It was noticeable in all three men. When they were taken hostage along the river and were forced to play Russian Roulette it affected them for life. Michael was very unstable emotionally after this. While in Vietnam it he was exposed to constant arousal because of the hostage situation, the killing, and trying to survive. This can be related to the Yerkes Dodson Law where high arousal decreases performance efficiency and affect. Michael had to control his emotion to survive and this clearly saved his friends a few times as well. For example, when all three of them are taken hostage they are awaiting their turn to play Russian Roulette against each other. Stevie can hear the blanks click each time a life is saved but he starts to lose it. Michael tries to calm him down but it only works for a little bit. When Nikki an Michael are forced to play against each other they have no perceived control. The Vietnamese are holding guns in their faces and are constantly yelling at them. There is no way that they can prevent undesirable outcomes here. That is until Michael comes up with a plan right before they play and they end up killing all of the enemy. Michael had the desire for control. He was motivated enough to save not only his own life but his best friend's lives as well. Having a desire to control that situation in turn gave them perceived control and they ended up living. This can also be another example of the inverted U curve - if Michael hadn't gained composure and controlled his arousal state, he would have never been able to focus on devising a plan to save their lives.
After Michael came back from Vietnam he was different. He didn't know how to interact with the friends he had left or with Linda, the woman he loves but doesn't say anything because she and Nikki were an item before they left for war. The scene that struck me the most at this point was when Michael was in the taxi driving home and saw the "Welcome Home Michael" signs. It all the sudden became too much for him and told the driver to take him to a hotel. This could be Michael and his introvert self but I think it was mostly because he didn't know how to handle the situation. He again didn't have control over it. It could also be that his arousal state was too low. This was very apparent when he was in the hotel - he couldn't stand still, he was pacing back and forth, almost panicking. He ends up squatting against a wall - maybe it was just what he was used to doing during the war. He just came from all this death and chaos and now was in a place that was pretty quiet and safe. He had to adjust his arousal state to feel comfortable again.
There was also the scene when Michael and his friends go deer hunting after he returns is way of getting back to the life he left and feeling normal once more. This situation is already different than the first deer hunting scene we see in the beginning of the movie because Nick is not with them. Michael told Nick that he is the reason he likes to hunt because he does it with his best friend. Michael goes out and sees a large buck, he gets right up to it and has more than one opportunity to shoot it but can't bring himself to do it. I am speculating that it is no longer a fun sport to kill anymore because of his experience at war. When he returns to the cabin Stan is threatening to shoot their other friend. This sets Michael off because Stan doesn't understand the magnitude of pointing a gun at someone. While Stan thinks the gun is empty it was actually loaded, Michael empties it all but one shot. He then plays Russian Roulette and luckily Stan won. Michael's affect intensity had drastically changed and he was emotionally unstable. He couldn't control himself anymore. Michael was always one who liked to control the situation and he felt as if that wasn't possible anymore and it affected his well being. Michael happiness was very low at this point while his neuroticism was increasing. He was unhappy because his 2 friends had not returned home yet and he was sensitive to issues surrounding the war. He was highly sensitive to punishment at this point.
Overall, the emotions that Michael experienced were extremely varied. Before the war he experienced joy, contempt, and interest. He was a normal guy just living his life. While in Vietnam he experienced surprise (and not in a good way), fear, anger,distress, and varying degrees of those emotions. The biological basics of emotion were there but he had to have felt so much more and that's where the cognitive aspect of emotion play in. Humans are complex creatures and he was probably feeling a whole lot of things then. When Michael returned home he couldn't go back to being his normal happy self. He was still fearful, on the edge of his seat waiting for the next awful surprise - which is probably another reason he didn't go straight home when getting back from war. Now that I think about it, surprises means he doesn't have control over the situation once more. Anyways, back to emotions, he had to relearn expression management and emotion management because he had to deal with things in Vietnam differently there than he had to at home.
Overall I thought it was a great movie and I can see why it received so many awards/Oscars/whatever they are called. It truly gave me a better sense of the impact of war of a person and their close friends and family without being a super gory war film. I liked that I got to see a more realistic emotional portrayal of characters.
TERMS: happiness, extroverted, introverted, self concept, self schema, Yerkes Dodson Law, perceived control, desire for control, emotional stability, neurotic, affect intensity, emotion management, expression management, fear, joy, interest, distress, surprise, and contempt
I had never heard of The Deer Hunter before this class. It was not exactly my style of movie, but it was somewhat enjoyable. Stevie, Michael and Nikki are the three main friends in the movie. Before they are shipped off to Vietnam, the movie depicts how their everyday lives were in Pennsylvania. Then the movie shows how their lives changed while in Vietnam and what life was like after war for them. There were many ups and down in this movie which made it emotional to watch.
The first thing that was obvious to me was how extroverted all of the men were. They were very loud, boisterous, cocky, and they did not care who heard. They all seemed to have a high level of autonomy, competence, and happiness. Neuroticism was not a characteristic they seemed to portray in the beginning. Michael seems to have a higher need for control. There was a wedding scene in the movie that involved Michael making eye contact with Linda numerous times. This example of body language can be used in a controlling manner. By paying attention to her, he felt that he was gaining a sense of control over her and her potential actions. Nick may be considered more introverted compared to how extroverted the rest of the friends are. When Stan and Michael get in a yelling match, Nick is the one that attempts to be the voice of reason. By Nick asking what exactly was wrong, Michael just shot his gun in response to show control of the situation.
Even though Michael seemed to have control issues, he still considered himself to be a nice guy. He was willing to fight for his country, a hard worker, and a good friend that was always willing to listen and help. One scene that displayed Michael’s level of compassion for his friend was when he talked to Nick before the wedding. Michael explained to Nick that he was his best friend. They explained to each other how they would always be there for one another and help whenever it was needed. Friendship was very important to Michael.
One of the most dramatic scenes in the movie was when they were forced to play Russian roulette. Sensation seeking was a definite theme during this part of the movie. Sensation seeking occurs when an individual is in search of arousal and reactions. This may be considered dangerous to some people, but for others, it’s what they live off. When they were forced to play Russian roulette, the intensity of the movie heightened greatly. When the Vietnamese would capture POW’s, this was their form of entertainment. Nick and Michael were both affected by this experience. Putting their lives on the line was obviously terrifying, but more trilling than anything else they had experienced. Which I’m sure is something everyone can relate to. Nick decided to stay in Vietnam because he enjoyed the thrill that went along with the dangerous game. Once he felt the thrill of almost losing his life, he felt the need to continue with sensation seeking behaviors.
After the war, Michael’s affect intensity became much more sensitive. This led to him having trouble controlling his emotions and actions in the manner he did prior to the war. Michael’s changed personality also displayed cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance is defined as behaving differently than ones beliefs. Michael began threatening instead of protecting his friends. This could also relate back to Michael’s sense of control. Before the war he liked to have a high sense of control. After the war he feels as though his level of control has decreased which produces a certain amount of anxiety and anger for him. Michael’s level of happiness had been affected by the war. He began avoiding his friends, was disengaged, and lost a sense of self-worth.
This movie was very depressing, yet a great story of depicting the ups and downs of war.
Terms: emotional, extroverted, autonomy, competence, happiness, neuroticism, control, introverted, sensation seeking, arousal, reactions, behaviors, affect intensity, cognitive dissonance, anxiety, self-worth
Deer Hunter is a LONG movie that is made up of three hour long mini movies. The first portion is a bunch of buddies living in a small town in Pennsylvania. They are your typical manly men who work in a steel mill, drink beer, and go hunting on occasion. The three main dudes are Steven, Michael, and Nick who are followed throughout the movie. Steven celebrates his wedding just before all three of them head overseas to fight in Vietnam and this is where the second part of the movie picks up. They are all split up initially but are reconnected in a small village and are quickly captured by the Vietcong. The Vietcong don’t really want to hang on to their POWs and reap some kind of entertainment by forcing the POWs to play Russian roulette against each other. Fortunately all three of our guys are able to get away by upping the odds with 3 bullets in the chamber and turning the gun on the Vietcong, though all are left with the permanent scars, visible and invisible, from having to pull the trigger on themselves. The last third of the movie then follows our characters after they leave the battlefield. Michael returns home and tries to return to what he had left behind. Steven returns home but he has lost his legs and his new bride doesn’t cope well with that. Nick, however, has the worst turn of things. He ends up making a lot of money in Saigon by playing Russian roulette professionally. The movie ends with Nick dead, and Michael and Steven pushing on with their lives. I thought this was a ridiculously long movie but it had its good points. It really made me think of how our materials applied because there wasn’t anything that jumped out at me.
The individual I would like to follow throughout the movie is Nick because he has the starkest turn around in his behavior. To start this let us look at Nick back home before he had ever been to Vietnam. Before all that Nick is a very happy guy, the happiest. He is always starting the guys singing, picking up pretty gals at the wedding, and next to the center of attention. Because of Nick’s happiness he is always looking for the potential rewards in a situation. He hears wedding and he thinks free booze, music, and women; all rewards for him. He probably thought the same thing when he got drafted or enlisted. In this conflict he could become a hero, serve his country, and stop the spread of Communism. He had no idea just how much punishment he would endure over there. Back at home Nick’s identity within the community was everybody’s friend, the reliable guy, the comedian, and other highly desirable roles. He partook in a lot of identity-confirming behaviors as well such as, always dancing next to the bride and groom at the wedding and playing pranks on the drive to the hunting cabin. Through these behaviors he cemented in his own mind and in the mind of the community his role as just being a great all around guy.
As we follow Nick over to Vietnam initially we don’t see a whole lot of change. He is still incredibly friendly to those around him including Michael when he first meets up with him again in the small village. However, we only see this for a glimpse and then he is captured along with Michael and Steven and forced to play Russian roulette against each other. During these intense scenes Nick’s identity and self-concept have no real value. He has had all choice ripped away from him and now everything is left up to chance. During this time he would have been feeling some very intense emotions of fear, anger, and disgust. When he first has to put the gun to his head for the first time he exhibits fear and disgust by throwing the gun down and refusing to play. However, after more than a few slaps from the Vietcong guard he realizes he doesn’t really have a choice and exhibits sadness or hopelessness and pulls the trigger only to hear a click. Michael then turns the roulette gun on the guards to give them a chance to escape and once he did that Nick exhibited extreme anger by fighting off attackers, shooting many, and beating one to death with the butt of a gun. All of these were negative emotions that stuck with Nick for a long time, primarily sadness which causes us to withdraw and give up. I feel that it is this that really messed up Nick in the end.
As we know Nick goes A.W.O.L. and ends up playing Russian roulette for a living in Saigon. Even after watching the movie I’m still not sure what pushed Nick over the deep end but I’m trying to examine motivational reasons for it. First, I tried to examine why he might continue to participate in such behavior via his appraisal of the situation. First the life event of Russian roulette was introduced to Nick. Initially, he would have viewed this as a bad or harmful thing which would have caused him to not like the behavior, feeling fear or disgust, and in the future exhibiting avoidance behavior of similar events. However, this does not explain why he would participate in this behavior repeatedly. Another possibility is that Nick was no longer satisfied with normal levels of arousal anymore because he was shocked into it and normal life events did not satisfy him anymore. This would mean that he had developed high sensation seeking as a personality trait. In order to achieve a moderate level of arousal, which makes us happy and allows us to perform to the best of our ability. However, based on Nick’s previous personality I don’t think that this is accurate either. The theory that I think best describes what is taking place in Nick’s situation is that his identity and self-concept were completely shattered after seeing and participating in the things that he did. He used to be the good, reliable, funny guy back home. How could he go back to that after playing a game of death between himself and Michael? When we are faced with cognitive dissonant information or behavior we have a few ways of dealing with the dissonance. We can remove or reduce the dissonant belief or add a new consonant belief or increase the importance of the consonant belief. In Nick’s case he added a new consonant belief and adopted a new personality as well. Rather than being extroverted and happy Nick became extremely neurotic and didn’t see any possible rewards in his environment. When he began seeing the world this way he adopted a job, Russian roulette, which had the possibility of ending it all quick and painlessly with one shot. And that is exactly what happened, with his long time friend sitting across the table from him, trying to bring him back. Those are my busted and hypothetical theories about what happened to Nick after he was introduced to Russian roulette. I still feel as though I don’t completely understand why he did what he did but Motivation and Emotion terms and conditions certainly helped.
Terms: happiness, potential rewards, punishment, identity, role, identity confirming behavior, self-concept, fear, anger, disgust, negative emotions, life event, appraisal, emotion, approach v. withdrawal, motivational, arousal, moderate, sensation seeking, cognitive dissonance, ways to deal with dissonant beliefs, extroverted, neurotic
This movie told the story of three friends who had their lives turned upside down after serving in the Vietnam War. Even though the main character was Michael, I was very focused on the character of Nick. His character changed drastically throughout the movie in very interesting ways.
At the beginning of the movie, Nick is just a typical guy working a factory job. He appears to be very easy going and laid back. One thing he seems to be doing a lot is betting, but the bets are always between friends over small things that don’t really matter. For him, betting seems to be just a way to pass the time. He doesn’t seem to have the drive to do much of anything with his life. His lack of drive is shown when he is polishing his dress shoes right before Steve’s wedding. Michael asks Nick why he didn’t do it sooner and he says he just didn’t get around to it.
Nick is more or less just floating along life with his friends, enjoying the ride. He doesn’t seem to be passionate about anything. This was very apparent when Linda showed up with a bruise on her face, and Nick stays pretty calm. He asks her what happens and gets somewhat frustrated when she won’t tell him, but doesn’t let it bother him for long. He seems to be ok with the fact that his girlfriend was beat on recently and just lets it slide. Nick is very content with his simple little life in his simple little town. He even tells Michael that the life he has now is all he wants. Before they ship out, Nick tells Michael to bring him home, no matter what. Nick was very comfortable with his life, and was looking forward to coming back after the war.
While fighting in Vietnam, Nick changed into a different man. Life in the war zone is anything but simple like it was back home. Here, Nick is exposed to horrors and pain that he couldn’t have ever imagined. He goes from a repetitive factory job, to killing and hurting other humans. Nick is also put in danger very often. Being in danger means a rush and he becomes addicted to the rush. Nick begins to feel something that he never felt back in his small hometown. Between fighting to stay alive, and searching for risks, Nick’s internal drive becomes focused on seeking new sensations.
I think the difference in Nick is most apparent when you compare the first scene of Russian roulette, and the last game, during which Nick loses his life. The first “game” takes place while Nick and his two friends are being held captive by the locals. The people holding them make a game of betting on who will die during the game. Nick is forced to listen to the men around him play the game above him. The first time he is shown playing, he is very upset and flinches when the gun is put in his direction. The thought of taking that risk scares him and he doesn’t know how to handle it.
The last time Nick plays, he is a completely different person. He looks calm and even slightly relaxed. The fact that he could die within moments means nothing to him. He simply walks in, and sits down. Before the war, very simple things would give Nick a rush, but as he was exposed to more horrors, it became harder for him to feel alive. Once the war was over, he had no way to find the same rush ha had felt earlier. He then starts playing Russian roulette.
This movie showed just how much war can change a man and how hard it is to go back to a normal simple life after you have felt the sting of danger and the rush of survival every day.
The movie Deer Hunter is very intense and at many times was hard for me to watch. It did have a wide variety of examples of motivation and emotion terms that we have been learning. There are three main parts to the movie but the two I’m going to focus on are the wedding and the game of Russian roulette.
At the wedding there are many emotions of joy and happiness. Weddings are naturally something people usually feel happy about, but the emotions were evident in the movie. Basically every person at the wedding was smiling and seemed to be enjoying themselves. Most of the men seem to be extroverted because they are not afraid to speak their minds. The joy at the wedding showed that these men were capable of having healthy relationships and being happy in life. I was glad that this part was in the movie because most of the rest of the film was emotions dealing with anger, disgust, and fear.
The most terrifying scene and part of the movie is when they are playing Russian roulette. I can’t imagine playing this terrible game with friends or loved ones. I have no idea how I would react, all I know is that it wouldn’t be pretty and my self-schema would probably change forever. Everyone’s arousal states had to be really high because they were under a lot of stress not knowing if the next time they pulled the trigger they would be dead or have to watch someone else die. Michael seems to be the one with the most control in the group. He is able to save his friends a couple times and Michael is the one who comes up with the plan to kill the Vietnamese people who are holding guns to their heads. Of course Michael was freaking out but he re-gained composure and focus, which made is arousal state change and become more normal or moderate. That is a good example of the inverted U-curve because at first he had very high arousal but luckily that changed to moderate arousal so he could get them out of the mess.
Michael was my favorite character in this movie. Because I got to see a wide variety of emotions from him and to me he seemed like the hero out of the group. It was very sad for me to watch him come back and see a sign welcoming him home, but him telling the taxi driver to keep going to a hotel instead. War is a terrible thing and I wish no one had to experience it. Michael and the rest of the groups life is changed forever. I have a friend who went to Afghanistan two years ago and when he came back he was nowhere near the same person. It was hard for me to see his self-schemas change and how he wasn’t the same old happy-go-lucky guy I always knew.
Deer Hunter was a good movie displaying a wide range of emotions, starting with happiness at the wedding and going through arousal states at war, dealing with fear in war, and the feelings of anger and sadness once returning home. Overall I thought it was a good portrayal of what soldiers go through to keep me and my country safe.
Terms: motivation, emotion, joy, happiness, extrovert, anger, fear, self-schema, arousal, inverted U-curve, control, arousal state
The movie Deer Hunter was unexpectedly depressing. In the beginning life seemed to be as good as it gets (aside from getting hit by her father). They all seemed happy, and had a strong social group. However, Nicky, Steven and Michael were all sensation seekers. At the bar during the wedding, Michael tried to talk to the soldier that walked in, getting no response in return because of their ignorance. The Green Beret soldier came to have a drink by himself and clearly didn’t want to talk to anyone about his own experience at war. Yet Michael and Nicky emphasized that they wanted to be placed in the middle of it, guns blazing. They didn’t take into consideration that being at war was going to change their life entirely. They were more excited to leave, to seek new adventure and knowing that death was an option didn’t change their mind.
Chapter 10 mentions “the self” and six dimensions of well-being that can relate to anyone’s situation but were blatantly apparent in this movie. For instance, all three soldiers showed the problems of the self. They were trying to define themselves or figure out who they were. By joining the military they were able to relate themselves to society and their purpose in life as well as discovering their personal potential. Yet, when it came to the nitty gritty, Michael was the only one able to manage and regulate himself, despite the hardships they were continuously faced with. When considering the six dimensions of psychological well-being, Michael, Steven and Nicky scored high on self-acceptance, positive relations with others, autonomy, environmental mastery, purpose on life and personal growth. Conversely, after their experience at war, being captures and forced to play Russian roulette, Nicky scored low particularly in positive relations with others. He chose not to come home, even when Michael came to his rescue. For Nicky, playing Russian roulette daily was an easier alternative to going home and having to face his family and friends. Steven showed autonomous behavior when he was getting married and starting his life until he came home from war with no legs and felt incapable of leaving the VA hospital.
On the other hand, Michael mastered his environmental surroundings in every aspect. When they were forced to play Russian Roulette, Michael was still problem solving, trying to figure out a way to get out, instead of crying and telling himself he was going to die like Steven. This leads me to think that Michael has previously established a strong self-schema that he had to live up to. When thinking of the past (before they went to war) Michael was always the best hunter and he was always prepared. In addition to Michael’s reaction tendencies, it was interesting to focus on his facial musculature to identify his aspects of emotion. When considering he 6 basic emotions; fear, anger, disgust, sadness, joy and interest, I rarely noticed joy or interest in Michael throughout the movie, even during the wedding or while hunting. During Russian roulette, he showed anger, when he saw Nicky die he showed sadness.
Clearly, their hometown was rather boring and their lives fell into a routine. They would go to work together, get drinks after work and occasionally go hunting. It is clear that joining the military gave them all a sense of purpose and their current environment was under arousing causing them to be sensation seekers. Sensory deprivation is difficult to endure when there is an opportunity to change it. Unfortunately, they chose war as a way out of their routine, to stimulate their arousal. Although, war caused excessive stimulation, Michael seemed to function well under pressure. Being moderately aroused is associated with the best performance. With that in mind, it is interesting to watch the reaction Michael had toward Steven as he calmed him down and then screaming at them to pull the trigger because he knew there was no other way. Steven had the highest level of arousal which caused him to think and perform poorly, along with his injuries. Nicky seemed to have a low level of arousal, not sure how to react; whereas Michael performed logically and efficiently as he shot the enemies and brought Nicky and Steven to safety. Overall, this movie emphasized how three vary different personalities react to the same situation, based on their control, arousal and performance.
Terms: Sensation seekers, personal potential, defining self, relating self to society, self, self-acceptance, positive relations with others, autonomy, environmental mastery, purpose on life, personal growth, self-schema, choice, under arousal, sensory deprivation, level of arousal, excessive stimulation, control.
The Deer Hunter is a movie that I had not seen before, but a movie I have definitely heard of. The movie deals with the Vietnam War and lets us see it through the eyes of some average Americans who served in the war. These are three friends Michael, Nick and Steven. The movie is split up into three parts, which I thought was interesting, but that kind of made it easier to see exactly how the emotions of the characters changed throughout the movie. You could see them before the war, during the war as well as after the war. In the beginning of the movie at the wedding scene we can see how the men are all good friends and very close to each other. They all go to war together and that is where things turn for the worst. The men were all captured and had to play Roulette. I think that this traumatized the men. As the movie continues we can see their anguish and how they are never going to be the same people again when they return home, which is exactly what happens. The movie really depicts topics that we have learned about in these last three chapters, and how it can be portrayed throughout the entire movie.
In the beginning of the movie we can see a lot about the three friends. You can tell from the beginning that they are all very close and share a close bond. You can see the joy they have with each other. You can see the three men’s self schemas and their self concepts, and how they all differ even though they are very close to one another. Michael seems to be the most serious of them all, and throughout the movie you can see his self scheme as maybe being a leader of the men, because he is good at getting them through tough situations. Nick seems to be quiet and loves to be outside hunting, while Steve seems nice, compassionate and loving. As we can see the men are very different people, who show many different emotions, yet they can still be best friends. One thing that was interesting, is that even though these men show these characteristics throughout the beginning of the movie, they consistently change as we continue watching, and it seems to be that the men’s consistent self changes as they move into Vietnam, as well as the end of the movie.
I would say that really every part in this movie represented so many emotions, which is what we have really been learning about in the past couple of weeks. Fear, Anger, Disgust, Sadness, and Joy were all represented throughout the entire movie, by majority of all of the characters. First, I would say that in the middle of the movie when the men were taken in by the Russians is definitely one of the most critical parts of the movie, and this is really when we can start to see their emotions. I would say that out of all the men, Michael was the one who showed the most emotions (or that is what I caught on the most). I think we can see this during the Russian roulette game that the men were forced to play. I would say that this is definitely a significant life event, which is what the book says brings on certain emotions. In this scene I would say the main emotion would be fear. I think that Michael did the best in not showing his fear, even though I can assume he was terrified inside! I think that Michael was trying to stay together and have control over the situations, or at least was striving for some type of control and has a need for control.
I would say that Michaels arousal levels come into play as well, which relate to the inverted U Curve. You can see throughout the movie Michael’s arousal levels going back and forth, and I feel like you do not really see much of him at the moderate level of arousal, which is usually ideal. I think that especially in Vietnam and the end of the movie Michael has high levels of arousal which causes increasing disturbances and anxiety. I would have to say that when it comes to sensation seeking, in some parts of the movie, say in the beginning, Michael has low levels, yet when he actually shoots the gun I think this shows he is at a high sensation seeking level. There were other parts of the movie that showed sensation seeking levels as well, such as at the wedding and after the wedding when some crazy stuff went on. Also, their driving skills in the beginning of the movie also showed some of the characters high level of sensation seeking. Also, some of these characteristics would possibly be considered risk taking, which is something the men experienced in all three parts of the movie: the wedding scene (drinking), obviously going into a war, and coming back and trying to move on with your life. Michaels affect intensity also changed throughout the movie. During the war, and after he got back from the war his affected intensity changed dramatically. He was very emotionally unstable, depressed, and most likely suffering from PTSD, which is something very common!
After watching this movie, I would have to say that I think Michael is an introvert, and his two friends, Nick and Steve would be extraverts. I’m sure there are certain parts of the movie where we could vouch for the other side. I noticed this right in the beginning of the movie, which really depicted the characters. During the first part of the movie, the wedding scene, we can see Michael staying pretty reserved and quiet for the most part. Everyone else is dancing while he is sticking pretty close to the bar area. I would not say that Michael is an unhappy boring person, but he does have many introvert characteristics, yet it does not seem to relate to his level of happiness. Although we did see Michael comes out of his shell after the wedding, which did show some extraversion characteristics. Yet at the end of the movie we can see how Michaels like has totally changed. He is not happy, seems very depressed and his emotions are on the ride. I would say he is definitely a changed person. I don’t blame the guy from what we have seen him go through!
The Deer Hunter I would say was a very emotional movie, and honestly a movie that I did not really enjoy (only because I am not a fan of movies which such intense war/blood scenes). Although I was not a huge fan, this movie did relate a lot to motivation and emotion. It was interesting to see how the characters changed so much throughout the movie. At one point I would characterize one of the characters in a certain way, but then throughout the movie I would change my opinion of them. It just shows how people change, and how the events in our life change who we are.
TERMS: emotion, self schemas, self concept, consistent self, fear, anger, disgust, sadness, joy, striving, control, need, introvert, extravert, happiness, inverted U curve, arousal, anxiety, high sensation seeking, low sensation seeking, affect intensity, motivation, anxiety.
The Deer Hunter is follows the lives of three ordinary men who endure extraordinary circumstances. It is broken up into three parts: their lives in small town America before the war, their life changing experience in the Vietnam War, and their lives following the war. All three men are traumatized by their experience of being POWs and being forced to play Russian roulette against each other for the amusement of their captures. This movie examines how people react to and deal with life after they have been pushed passed their limits and essentially psychologically “broken.” It is a very disturbing movie not only for the suffering they endure as POWs, but for how dramatically it changes all of their self-concepts and personalities forever.
I could not even imagine going through what these three men had to experience. I believe that is one of the central tenets of the movie. How do you deal with and respond to such extremely horrifying experiences? Can you ever regain any sense of normalcy? The three men all respond it varying ways. Mike (played by Robert De Niro), the group’s leader, fares the best. Steven, who broke first, is severely emotionally damaged, and slowly returns to a sense of normalcy years later at the end of the film. Nick (played by Christopher Walken), never regains his sanity and eventually kills himself playing Russian roulette for money.
I would like to describe the personalities of the three main characters before their POW experience, how that experience changed them, and how they ultimately responded and coped with the trauma. I believe Mike fared the best out of the three because he never completely broke or lost his sense of control during his time as a POW. Playing Russian roulette is the ultimate symbol of not having any sense of control. You hold a gun to your head and are forced to pull the trigger. You are either forced to pull the trigger and kill yourself or have nothing happen. If you do not play the game, you are put in a cage submerged in water and dead bodies and left for dead. Mike kept some semblance of perceived control by coming up with an escape plan, albeit a highly unlikely one. Steve was unable to point the gun at his head and at the last second pointed it away from his head when it when off, grazing his head. For this he was placed in the submerged cage. Nick was pushed beyond his breaking point by agreeing to go along with Mike’s escape plan. He pushes himself to play the game and is never the same again.
Before their time in Vietnam Mike it a normal everyday guy. Neither extremely introverted nor extroverted but very even keel. He is the strong silent type. He works hard and is well liked by others. He is the group’s humble leader. He takes pride in his one shot one kill approach to hunting deer. Since he is of such strong resolve and able to successfully appraise such a dire situation, he never completely breaks or loses his sense of identity. His innate intrinsic motivation to survive expressed through his agency allows him to imagine a possible self that survives this experience. After coming home, he tries to keep a low profile. But when he sees that his friends need him, he responds. He is no longer able to kill a deer while hunting. Instead he fires the gun into the air, sort of saying that he is done with idea the meaningless, random killing. He gets Steve to come back home from the hospital and attempts to bring back Nick from his insanity and Vietnam. He is of such strong character and agency that he is able to force himself play Russian roulette with Nick once last time in an attempt to bring his friend home and out of insanity.
Steve is the most outgoing of the three. He is the first to get married. He is the most outwardly affectionate. There is some sense that he is a bit softer than the others but given that there is no excessive stimulation in their lives this is not an issue. He is the first to break as a POW. He is not able to pull the trigger thus he does not push himself beyond his limits. He is still severely traumatized and later loses his legs. With the help of Mike, he is able to slowly attempt a return to a normal life.
Nick is the most quiet and introverted of the three. He enjoys hunting and being in nature makes him happy. He enjoys the simple life he has. He is pushed beyond what he sees as his limits in Vietnam. He sees no possible way out or possible self beyond the POW camp. He still goes along with the escape plan even though he doesn’t want to and thinks he is going to die. He forever loses his sense of self and his sanity. In a sense, who he was as a person died that day, only his body just kept on living. He is unable to cope with the overwhelming emotions of the experience. In his insanity afterwards, we see a strange example of cognitive dissonance. Before he had the idea that Russian roulette was dangerous and scary. Now he sees it as his job and does it for money. These two ideas to not go together at all and we see that he has lost all control and agency in this behavior. It is as if he is forever stuck in that moment of time playing Russian roulette. Maybe it is the only thing left in life that gives him any sense of arousal, explaining this extreme example of sensation seeking.
The Deer Hunter is ultimately more disturbing in the sense of what must have happened to these three men’s minds after being POWs and psychological torture over the experience itself. We see how each of them responds to, and are forever changed by these events. Their sense of self and personality changed in varying ways from Mike on the low end no longer able to be a deer hunter to Nick on the extreme high end with a complete loss of self and insanity.
Terms: Self-concept, Control, Perceived Control, Appraisal, Identity, Agency, Possible Self, Intrinsic Motivation, Cognitive Dissonance, Arousal, Sensation Seeking
Deer Hunter
The move Deer Hunter tells the story of three friends and their lives before, during, and after the Vietnam War. Within these three parts the men of the group were able to show examples of what was discussed in class and read in chapters 10-13. In the first third of the movie, which was devoted to Steven’s marriage to Angela, one can see that these three best friends along with their other friends steer towards being extraverts. Extraversion is generally the term used to describe a “happy” person and is a personality characteristic that that consists of three parts: sociability, assertiveness, and venturesomenss. Sociability is when a person enjoys spending time with others and spending time in certain social situations; assertiveness occurs when person works towards social dominance; and lastly there is venturesomenss, which is the tendency to seek out and enjoy exciting and engaging situations. This sense of happiness and extraversion can be seen in bar scene (a social situation) before Steve’s wedding when then men are all positively interacting and are pleased by the small things like hearing a familiar song showing that they are more sensitive to rewards like hearing laughter from their friends.
However, we see one of the characters, Steve, become more neurotic after he is captured and forced to listen and watch people die during Russian roulette, and then again when he is forced to play the game. One can see that Steve is experiencing a large amount of fear and distress by the way he is reacting in the situation. Fear is an emotional reaction that arises when a person feels like they are in danger or they could potentially have their well being harmed. Fears generally arise from when a person feels like they psychological or physical well being is being threatened. Steve is under threat and he is witnessing a harmful event, thus his emotional reaction of fear is normal. From experiencing that high amount of fear and stress one can see that Steve’s personality characteristic change from being and extravert to someone who with neuroticism. Neuroticism is a predisposition to experience negative affect and to feel chronically dissatisfied and unhappy, and is effected by the behavioral inhibition system (BIS); the BIS signals to a person about a potential punishment and the person will feel negative emotions which will hinder the likelihood that they will act or behave in a specific way. Steve’s neuroticism and overactive BIS can be seen when Michael calls him at the Veteran Hospital and when Michael forces Steve to leave the hospital and return home because he says he can’t handle home and the stress of life, thus he feels the need to remain in the hospital.
Lastly the concept of sensation seeking is clearly seen throughout the entirety of the film. Sensation seeking is the personality characteristic that relates to arousal and reactivity, and is defined as, “the seeking of varied, novel, complex, and intense sensations and experiences, and the willingness to take physical, social, legal, and financial risks for the sake of such experience.” Risk taking is associated with people who have a high sense of sensation seeking because it gives them a sense of excitement. Mike can be seen risk taking/sensation seeking early on in the film when he along with the rest of the guys are leaving work and Mike edges his car alongside a semi to get around it, then her whip around the car dangerously narrowly missing the semi. In that situation Mike clearly was taking a risk because everyone could have been severely harmed in that potential accident, and his car could have been hit by another car head-on as well. Then once the situation was over he appeared to look pleased with himself and his friend didn’t exactly discourage him from acting like that either.
Thus as one can see Dee Hunter had some great examples of what was discussed and read over the material from chapters 10-13. I only named a few of the examples, but there are many more throughout the entirety of the film. In conclusion I think that the movie helped me better understand some of the material discuss and read in class and gave allowed me to visualize the stresses and joys that a human being shows and goes through. However, I didn’t really care for the movie because I found it to be rather long and depressing.
Terms used: extraversion, happy/happiness, personality characteristic, sociability, assertiveness, venturesomenss, fear, distress, neuroticism, behavioral inhibition system (BIS), unhappy, sensation seeking, risk taking,
After watching The Deer Hunter for the first time, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. Robert De Niro is one of my favorite actors and I found his character in this film, Michael, to be the most interesting out of the others.
Chapter ten talks about the self and how one strives to discover who they really are, which involves taking four steps to do so, and I think Michael displays a good example of doing this. Michael first makes it obvious that he has defined his self as being highly introverted for when he goes hunting him usually goes alone or takes only Nick with him. Throughout the movie he is quiet, but not shy, and shares his opinion when he thinks appropriate showing he is internally processing the things going on around him. Michael relates himself to society through his friends, but I think if he did not have Nick (which he eventually does not) his identity with society would not be as strong, which is seen at the end of the movie when he develops learned helplessness in this part of discovering himself to go find Nick and bring him back. In doing this, Michael expresses his agency of needing Nick back in his life to fill his need of affiliation and relatedness through their close friendship. When Michael goes to find Nick he realizes how much Nick has changed and is not himself due to stress from the war. He uses his self-regulation to try and trick Nick into playing him in Russian Roulette only to talk him into coming home. He knows Nick is going to play him due to his skills and can only hope he will cooperate on going home. Michael displays a strong self-concept of himself throughout the movie by being somewhat cocky and confident in his words and stands behind what he believes in, that is with Nick at his side. An example was when he became angry at their friend who had kept forgetting to bring correct hunting gear, and did not allow him to borrow his boots to ‘teach him a lesson on forgetting’. This is hindered when Michael and Nick go to war for he not only faces dangerous situations, but loses his best friend as well. His consistent self is destroyed and after the war he displays a good deal of selective interaction by avoiding his welcome back party because he does not see himself as a good soldier for the things he has done and that he lost his Nick. This results in him having a crisis self-verification by acting even more introverted due to his sadness of losing Nick, his fear of Nick finding out about him and his girlfriend (Meryl Streep’s character), and anger at the situations he was put in during war. These cause him to have a cognitive dissonance with himself and he eventually makes the choice to go and save nick with high effort justification as he displays interest and joy in getting his best friend back. This happiness and bravery causes him to lose his fear when facing the Russian Roulettes’. His emotions have energized and directed his behavior towards getting Nick back. After sleeping with Nick’s girlfriend, he faces guilt and shame in himself as a read out to stop what he’s doing and go back to what he knows, war and Nick. I like to think after all these uncontrollable outcome expectancies; Mike’s mood stays pretty much the same as before to the public eye. His appraisal with war and losing Nick does not seem to really hit him until he goes hunting. It was somewhat confusing to tell if he meant to not shoot the deer on purpose, or if while aiming he realized he could not aim steadily so became frustrated and shot anyways yelling “Okay! Okay.” This is indicating that he realizes he is not himself and that losing Nick is an important appraisal to him that he must act on. His primary appraisal is saving his self-esteem and recovering the well-being of a loved one. His secondary appraisal is keeping out of harm or threat when going to save his loved friend Nick. Through Mike’s guilt, he uses this attribution to explain why Nick is still gone by blaming himself. He feels it his responsibility as not only a soldier, but a friend to retrieve Nick from the war environment. Throughout the movie Mike and Nick use a great deal of emotional contagion to signal their next moves amongst their friends and whatnot, and especially when they go to play Russian Roulette to escape. Michael uses his past experience of this when trying to save Nick at the end of the movie, but since Nick’s mood has been altered so much by all his main emotions (fear, anger, disgust, sadness, and distress) it does not work and Nick ends up killing himself in his game against Mike. Throughout this whole film, Mike (as mentioned before) is most interesting to me because he is so introverted why the rest of his friends are all highly extraverted, including Nick himself. His friends are usually full of happiness and good spirit while Mike, who seems neurotic, is generally quiet. It is obvious this is due to being unhappy about Nick and the war in the second part of the film, but not at the beginning. Mike is the most risk taking and sensation seeking out of any of them for he is most interest and puts great effort into hunting. I think Mike’s affect intensity is very low considering he does not show a whole lot of emotion throughout the movie and it takes a favorable event to not be favorable to make him realize his situation. Overall, Mike may be highly introverted and suspicious, but I think it is due to his intelligence and his high level of control over any situation that takes place in his life.
Terms: self, introvert, extravert, identity, agency, affiliation, relatedness, self-regulation, crisis self-verification, selective interactions, consistent self, self-concept, guilt, shame, anger, fear, anxiety, sadness, disgust, distress, choice, cognitive dissonance, joy, interest, effort, primary appraisal, secondary appraisal, attribution, emotional contagion, mood, happiness, neurotic, risk taking, sensation seeking
The Deer Hunter is about 3 friends who are going to fight in the Vietnam War, and how the horrors of the war change them. The movie was successful with illustrating the full impacts of the war, because the first hour was dedicated to detailing their normal lives, which showed the happiness and closeness of the 3 main characters. The turning point of the movie was in the second act, in which the men, along with other soldiers, were captured and forced to play Russian roulette by the Vietcong Army. Although Steven, Nick, and Michael escaped, they were traumatized, which only became worse when Michael and Steven were separated from Nick. The third act of the movie was the most powerful and relevant to class material, because it demonstrated the changes in each character’s personality. Steven became legless and helpless. Nick thought his two friends were dead and became emotionally numb. Michael returned home, but could not establish his previous lifestyle due to his traumatic experience in the war.
The first thing I would like to talk about is Robert De Niro’s character, Michael. He was one of the main characters in the movie and played an everyman’s man. Michael lived in a coal mining town where he worked in what looked to be a coal mining factory. After Michael and his buddies would get done with work they would go to the local bar and relax from the day by drinking and hanging out with their friends. Michael enjoyed deer hunting, which he seemed to be quite skilled at. Michael was shipped off to Vietnam to serve his country during the war. While he was there, he went through some stuff that nobody should have to experience. Michael was one of the most interesting characters throughout the movie. The character of Michael liked to view himself as being a happy guy. His concept of his self could be described as being a hard worker, someone who would serve his country for the betterment of his country, and a friend that his friends could turn to if they needed his help with anything. This was shown in one scene when they were leaving for the wedding and Michael had a talk with Nick about how they were best friends. They told each other that they would always be there for each other in each of their times of need. To me, Michael just wanted to be known as the guy who had great friends, and who could be the life of the party as evidence by some moments at the wedding and in the bar before they went to Vietnam.
Michael had a different personality than everyone else in the movie. He seemed like a happy person at the start of the movie, but seemed to grow emotionally unstable and unhappy as the movie went on. Michael seemed to be quite neurotic for the second half of the movie. He suffered from many different things that happened to him while in Vietnam. He was taken hostage, forced to play Russian Roulette with his best friend, and had to go to Nick’s funeral in the end of the movie. I too would be a neurotic person if I had to experience the events and tragedies that Michael suffered throughout the movie. Although he had money during the second half of the move, money does not always buy happiness, and Michael seemed happier when he was working in the coal mine and being able to hang out with his friends at the local tavern.
Another concept I found while watching The Deer Hunter was sensation seeking. Sensation seeking is a personality characteristic that is related to arousal and reactivity. Some do not like to seek sensation in ways that could be dangerous but some people do. Risk taking is important when discussing this movie. The most exciting parts in the movie were when they were forced to play Russian Roulette. The Vietcong Army used this as entertainment when they had POW’s. The soldiers obviously hated this because it risked their lives for enemy entertainment. Nick was very much affected by the trauma of war and he suffered from what seemed to be a deep depression. Nick stayed in Vietnam and put himself in games of Russian Roulette in order to make some cash. Toward the end of the movie it was evident that Nick did not have to play, but he did because he enjoyed the risk. He seeked out these experiences of risking his life to satisfy inner needs that he had.
TERMS: Self; Sensation Seeking; Risk Taking; Emotion; Neuroticism; Happiness
Deer Hunter displays many of the concepts we learned about in chapters 11 through 13. Working in the factory with all of the melted metal looks very intimidating to me. The men in the movie act like it is no big deal. They touched the red burning metal with gloves, when I wouldn’t even touch it with a ten foot pole. This is probably because their fear response to the burning fire has been conditioned out of them. The biological approach to emotions would say that evolution has distilled a fear of fire in humans because it has been around long enough in human history for it to be a genetically instilled trigger of fear. These men probably learned through social learning and watching others touch the metal that if they had the gloves nothing bad would happen to them. They would then start the behavior of touching the metal. Nothing happened to them, and they were one step closer to overcoming the fear. Next time, the affect intensity of fear would be less. The process would repeat itself and the affect intensity would again be lower the next time they were supposed to touch the metal. Cognitive approach supporters would say that the men would analyze the situation and realize that their gloves are insulated to protect them from the heat of the fire and burning metal. This would make them not experience fear.
The Russian roulette scene displayed a few interesting concepts. Firstly, Nick was overly aroused. He was distressed and possibly starting to cry. Matt seemed to not be quite as aroused as Nick. He was keeping focus and was able to come up with a plan to get them out of the predicament. He must have been at the right level because his shooting performance when he turned the gun on his captors was spot on. Matt probably was not as affected by the risky environment because he has some sensation seeking tendencies. Both Matt and Nick were influenced by perceived control however, Matt probably could see himself interacting with the environment in a way that would produce good outcomes to some degree. He probably had a feeling that he could have some control because he was not as distressed as Nick and he put a lot of effort into saving Nick. Nick seemed defeated and helpless. Matt was trying to get them out of the situation. Nick cognitively appraised the weapon as dangerous, and it produced a fearful response in him. He also had guns pointed at him at all times.
Terms: Fear, Conditioning, Biological approach, emotional trigger, social learning, modeling, affect intensity, cognitive approach, arousal, sensation seeking, perceived control, helplessness
After watching this movie, “The Deer Hunter”, I was moved. I do not like movies about war ordinarily because they are nearly always horrific and sad, but this film kept the focus on the characters and their personalities and the changes they go through during the movie.
The three friends, and main characters of the film, were Mike, Steven, and Nick. These individuals were the ones from their group of acquaintances who enlist in the army and are sent off to fight in the Vietnam War. Also important in the movie were characters Linda, Stanley, and Axel.
At the beginning of the film, we see the close-knit bond between the five men and the carefree attitude they portray. As far as they are concerned, life in small-town Pennsylvania is just as it should be. They have all built their identities and self-schemas around being a carefree group of guys, busting their humps in shitty jobs at a steel mill, and hanging out at the local tavern after work each night. Life for them is simple and planned out; Steven is marrying his pregnant girlfriend against his mother’s wishes, which is one of many choices he makes during the film, Nick is happy in his relationship with Linda, and most likely is planning to marry her one day, and Linda is a caring young woman who is a people-pleaser, but finally makes the choice to get away from her abusive drunk father.
The three main characters have a part of their decided identities which will change them all forever, and that is to willingly go overseas and fight for their country. They see the war as an opportunity to “kick some ass” and want to shoot guns and be real men. They want their other friends, their families, and townspeople to see them as heroes. They are all striving personally to become brave soldiers who fought in the big war for their country. This determination to fight and become engaged fully in such a dangerous endeavor shows some sensation-seeking behavior for all three of the young men. At this point, they are not thinking of any repercussions of what war may entail, they are only thinking of the excitement.
The character I would like to go into greater detail on is Mike, played by Robert DeNiro. Mike seems to ooze confidence and leadership, as the others seem to look to him and up to him a bit. He possesses a strong desire for control. We see him always driving the car his group of friends rides in, seeming in control, and voicing his opinions whenever he feels them, without fear. As our book states, Mike’s character displays his need for control in a few ways; one being his over-prepared attitude. For example, when the group of friends goes on their deer hunting trip, Stanley tells the others he has forgotten his boots and Mike, who has brought two pair, refuses to loan them to Stanley. Mike has entered this situation in an overly prepared way, and he is displaying his controlling behavior by refusing to share with his friend to “teach him a lesson about remembering things next time”. This example also shows a strong desire for power on Mike’s part. I don’t believe that Mike is an introvert, by any means, because he exerts such power over others, but he isn’t the most sociable person either. So possibly he is an intro/extravert mix. He has the capability of being outwardly social and expressing his feelings, but simply chooses not to for the most part. A better example of an introvert and neurotic is Stanley. He seems to always worry about what others think, and has a poor outlook on life. On the flip side, a good example of an extravert is Axel- he always seems to have a smile on his face during the movie.
Mike can be classified as having a high DC or desire for control. When the three men get captured in Vietnam, Mike strive to take back control which he has temporarily lost when the captors are forcing them to play Russian Roulette and smacking them all around. He came up with a plan in his head, asked Nick to go along with it, and set forth on his goal to take power back and escape. Mike became highly engaged in his goal and eventually succeeded; killing all of their captors, and helping him and his friends get away. This instance makes me think that it may be true that those who take on more risky behavior and have nearly no fear, end up persevering. These type of people, like Mike, already believe they can achieve their outcome and somewhat have control over the situation; therefore they seem to fare better. Also, at the end of the traumatic events that took place during their time serving, Steven and Nick are completely changed. This may be because they both were physically and emotionally weaker than Mike. When Stevie wanted to give up completely after the loss of his legs, Mike pushed him to snap out of it and live again- to think positively.
I noticed that Mike displayed affect stable behavior as well. For the majority of the movie, Mike was able to completely control his emotions and feelings. The exception was when the three friends were held captive-Mike displayed rage when one of the captors continuously hit him, but was able to regain his composure rather quickly. It seemed that he was pretty calm, or maybe even solemn throughout the film. It was as if he thought he would lose control if he showed emotion, so he rarely smiled or gets excited. Mike kept it all together throughout the film, even at the end after the horrible sights and experiences the three men went through in Vietnam. It may be that Mike was internalizing his anger and fear and would someday snap completely, but for now- he’s got it under control.
TERMS: extravert, introvert, neurotic, control, DC (desire for control), power, risk-taking behavior, goal, plan, affect stable behavior, engagement, sensation-seeking, emotion
The movie Deer Hunter was about three men and their lives before and after the Vietnam War. Each of these men had different lives but they were all from Russian –American families and had a passion for hunting deer. The movie did a really well job in setting up the three men’s lives in the beginning. This helped us to see how each one lived their lives and to capture their personalities. This is important when we talk about motivation because as we know someone who is more extroverted is happier than someone who is more introverted. Nick was very extroverted and I think he enjoyed the social company more so than his roommate Michael. Michael was sort of extroverted and he shows this in both the wedding when he is off to the side watching Linda dance and when he hunts. I believe that his BIS was active when watching Linda because he was considering all the ways he could fail. Michael was also a solitary hunter. He would start out with the group but he would eventually go off on his own or ahead of the others. Nick at the wedding was very active and present in the moment. His BAS was activated and he was very receptive to the rewards of being extroverted like when he asked Linda to marry him. The topic I would like to focus on is the coping function of emotion on all three of the men. They each suffered a lot during their time in the war and having to adjust to post war life.
Michael was very loyal when he was in the war with his troupe. He tried to save them and make them less scared. When Michael was forced to play Russian roulette he was very scared but he acted strong for Nick. I believe that his fear made him think quickly on his feet and helped him and Nick and Steven escape. He was very quick because his fight or flight system was fully activated. Michael was also angry and this helped him be stronger so he could overtake the men.
Steven was very scared and this possibly saved his life. He was forced to pull the trigger on the gun but at the last moment his moved it away to only graze his head. This coping function saved him from a bullet through the head. Before the war Steven was scared to go to Vietnam but because he was so joyful about the woman he loved he was able to marry her and have some fun time before he left. He also found a lifelong mate.
Finally we have Nick who didn’t cope very successfully after the war. We know Nick, believing that all his friends were dead began to play Russian roulette for sport and didn’t seem to remember Michael when he came to stop him. Nick’s emotions were unable to help him cope with the potential loss of his friends. If he had been better able to cope he would have gone home and found they were all alive. Instead his played the game and ended up killing himself.
These examples are of how our emotions help us cope in certain situation and what can happen when we are unable to cope or we ignore the emotional behavior of those certain emotions.
Terms: coping Functions, BIS, BAS, Fear, anger, joy, sadness, extroversion, introversion, emotions.
Deer Hunter was a really intense movie and had many examples of motivation and emotion terms.
I was only able to watch the first half of the movie in class and one of the most common terms that I saw was happiness. Happiness is something that everyone has; people just have their own “set point” which is the balance between positive and negative events in one’s life. The main example of happiness that I saw was during the weeding and the wedding reception. At first during the wedding I wasn’t sure if everyone was happy for them but after the wedding and the reception everyone was having fun and celebrating the occasion. During the wedding there was also an example of joy. Joy is the emotional evidence that things are going well. You could tell that everything was going well because of their attitudes and how they were acting.
Another example of joy was at the beginning of the movie when the men were leaving work and passed the truck close to the wall. It was a joyful event because they were able to make it safely, but it was also an example of fear. Fear is an emotional reaction that arises from a person’s interpretation that the situation he or she faces is dangerous and a threat to one’s well-being. This situation can be an example of fear because their lives were at risk and one little miss step and they were into the wall and cold have been injured or killed.
Another term in Deer Hunter was arousal. Arousal represents a variety of processes that govern alertness, wakefulness, and activation. A good example of arousal was when they were talking about going hunting and looking for that “one shot”. Arousal is measured by an inverted-U curve, with, low arousal being represented in the lower left and increasing as you move to the lower right where high arousal is located. When you get a chance for that “one shot” your arousal stage will be in the middle and arousal would be at its highest point.
Terms used: arousal, inverted-U curve, joy, fear, happiness,
“The Deer Hunter” was a very powerful movie that gave people a glimpse into some of the lives shattered by war. This movie depicts many different personality characteristics in the begging of the movie. Before going to war, most of the group would be considered happy. They laughed a lot, fought a little, but overall seemed to enjoy life. Even Linda who was beaten by her father seemed fairly happy and smiled a lot. The fact that she was trying to move into Nick and Michael’s home when they left for war said that though she had some bad areas in her life she was looking to improve her life. Michael also appeared to be a very happy, extroverted guy before he left for Vietnam. He laughed a lot and looked out for his friends. The only friend who seemed to be an introvert was Stan. When everyone was celebrating at the going away party Stan stayed in his seat a lot of the time looking rather solemn. As an introvert, Stan is less sensitive to the rewards inherent in the social situation. This is most likely due to Stan having a weaker biological motivation system than the other people in his group. On the other hand, Michael, Nick, and Steven have a strong biological motivation system. This is seen in the way they are more sociable, assertive, and take adventures. This strong BAS system likely had some to do with why they were the ones who enlisted in the war and Stan did not. Though the movie never showed the moments before the three men made the decision to enlist in the war, the fact that they did enlist when their lives were going good at home sheds some insight. Nick tells Michael the night of the wedding that he loves living there in that small town and expresses his desire to come home after the war. It is likely that Michael, Nick, and Steven chose to go to war to make a difference, not to get away from their lives. This type of happiness they portray is eudaimonic well-being. They chose to engage in a meaningful pursuit because they felt it was worth fighting for their country.
Once the men got to Vietnam, everything changed. These men were put under horrendous situations that most could not endure through. Of the three individuals, Steven became mentally affected by the circumstances first. Once they were captured by the Vietcong, they were forced to play Russian roulette. After Steven shot at an angle and missed his head he was forced into a cage that was in the water. Between hearing the gun shots of the game, the screaming, and the hopelessness, Steven went into shock. The arousal level was far too high for him to cope with. He had no way to decrease the arousal levels either. The stress from the events going on was too much for him to take. The over stimulating environment caused Steven to have cognitive confusion and performance impairment. This was seen when Michael and Nick were able to escape and were having difficulties getting Steven to come with them. At that point Steven was incapacitated and unable to do really anything on his own. Arnold’s Appraisal Theory of Emotion was demonstrated by the way Steven and Nick handled the situation they were facing with the Vietcong. Stephen on one end, appraised the situation as harmful and emotionally disliked it, his action was withdrawal from the situation. This probably was because he had no hope and saw no way of getting out of there alive. Nick on the other hand dealt with the situation in an entirely different way. He still followed Arnold’s Appraisal Theory of Emotion, but the way he assessed the situation was different that Steven. Where Steven saw no hope, Nick saw a way out. He developed a plan to get them out of there alive. He still appraised the situation as harmful and felt dislike towards it; however Nick took action to change the situation. He still had hope in that seemingly hopeless situation.
Many emotions were seen throughout the movie. These different emotions demonstrated how they can be used to help us survive. Before leaving for Vietnam, Michael was a very happy person. The night before leaving for Vietnam, he went through a couple different emotions. He laughed a lot expressing happiness, quite possibly to cope with his fears of what was to come in the morning. He also expressed his love for his home to Michael in an attempt to hold on to what he was leaving behind. In Vietnam, he used his fear of death and anger for what was happening to him and his friends to overcome the Vietcong. It wasn’t until he seemed to have lost all emotion that he had no other tool to survive. Even after he saw Michael in the red light district of Vietnam, he had no hope and shot himself playing Russian roulette. Steven had many different emotions which helped him to survive as well. Before leaving for Vietnam, Steven had joy over marrying Angela. Once he got to Vietnam he had very different emotions compared to Nick that allowed for him to try and cope with and survive the situation. His fear of death caused him to shoot the gun at an angle on his head which allowed the bullet to just graze him. This fear enabled him to live through that event. His fear however helpful when playing Russian roulette left him helpless when he had the opportunity to escape. At the end of the movie all of the people’s lives were changed. They were sad over the loss of Nick. This functioned as a reunion for all of them and they toasted a drink to remember him by.
“The Deer Hunter” was an eye opening movie that allowed us to see not only how war has torn people’s lives apart, but also the different ways that people cope with war. It gave a more realistic application of emotions and how people use them to function.
Terms: Happiness, extraversion, introvert, rewards, biological motivation system, sociable, assertiveness, venturesome, eudaimonic, arousal, cognitive confusion, performance impairment, Arnold’s Appraisal Theory of Emotion, appraisal, emotion, action, withdrawal, fear, anger, cope, survive
The movie Deer Hunter was yet again one of those movies I had never heard of or seen before and seemed to have no end (Lord of the Rings). Not really my style, but never the less the movie had its ups and downs coving the lives of three friends who went through hell and back. An in depth movie showing the changing and lasting effects war has on an individual. The movie focuses on three friends Mike, Steve, and Nick who have all joined the fight in the Vietnam War and breaking it down into three main acts: the guy’s normal life before the war, their lives during the war as POW’s, and the end result, their lives after the war. I was unable to watch the whole movie but did manage to see the first half, and that is where I will be focusing on applying my knowledge from chapters 11-13.
My first area of focus is during the first half of the movie, mainly the scenes involving Mike. Mike comes off as a very happy and well liked guys laughing and kidding around with his extroverted friends. Mike himself looks to be an extrovert, having the sociability of partying it up with his buddies, the car and knowledge of hunting to show social dominance (assertiveness), and the tendency to seek out exciting situations such as hunting (venturesomeness). After a closer look, at the wedding you see Mike as more of an affect-stable introvert as he wonders off to the bar away from everyone else. He is more or less content with not being able to see an socially rewarding situations, showing a mild activation of the BAS. As the wedding goes on we see, through his drinking, Mike become angry (emotional disruption) when he tries to get an answer out of a green beret which then leads to his increased heart rate and muscle tone (physiological disruption) and finally not being able to think straight as he runs naked through town (cognitive disruption). Early the next day all the guys go out for one more hunting trip before they get shipped off and Stan forgets his boots again and asks to use Mike’s spares. To Stan’s surprise Mike says no, repeatedly, even when the other guys back Stan up and give him Mike’s boots. Mike continues to stand his ground and make a point to Stan to be more prepared. This was the first main scene showing Mike’s desire for control and high engagement to control the outcome. Though out the movie Mike shows his need for control though high perceived control by coming up with plans to get his friends and brothers in arms out of the Vietcong’s grip and from being forced to play Russian roulette. His perceived control helped influence his engagement, emotions, and coping abilities when he had to convince Nick and Steve that they were alright and would escape.
This brings me to my next scene of playing Russian roulette. In this scene the Mike and Nick are forced to play a game of Russian roulette by the Vietnamese who are putting bets down on who will either die or live. During this game for their lives, there is a lot of eye contact, facial movement, and slapping from the Vietnamese officer. In this situation Mike is forced to play the game by putting a gun to his head and pulling the trigger, in hopes it doesn’t go off stripping him of his control. More so, Mike is experiencing a threatening and harmful event causing him to feel disgusted and angry (feelings) with the slapping and lose of control. This in turn raised his heart rate, energized him, and allowed him to grip the gun tightly for his next action (bodily arousal). With the hitting of the table and charging the officer, yelling “You’re going to die…” and all the mixed facial expressions, some of which seemed to deceive the enemy, (social-expressive) Mike was able to take the action needed, shooting the officer in the head along with the others, (sense of purpose) to accomplish his goal and carry out his plan to save his friends.
Terms: sociability, extroverted, assertiveness, venturesomeness, affect-stable, introvert,
BAS, emotional disruption, physiological disruption, cognitive disruption, control, high engagement, perceived control, engagement, emotions, coping abilities, threats, harm, feelings, bodily arousal, disgusted, anger, sense of purpose, social-expressive
The movie Deer Hunter is a film that lacks the quality of production, picture, and sound we are used to, but it makes up for that with powerful material. When three friends are plucked from the easy going way of life they are slapped in the face by the reality of what goes on to preserve that way of life. They have always worked hard and played hard, but they had no idea the sacrifice they would make to defend the freedom of their other friends. When they are plucked from homes and placed into the Vietnam War they are changed forever by the circumstances they find themselves in and the destruction they witness. The center theme is placed around the game of Russian Roulette, which they are introduced to by the Vietcong during their imprisonment as POWs. After their escape Nick, Mike, and Steve are separated and lose themselves cognitively, except for Mike.
Back home the guys had developed schemas to which they were all pretty well set it. They were lower middle class factory workers who drank beer after work, were close friends, and loved to go deer hunting together. After the war Mike tries to go deer hunting again to regain this schema he had lost as an airborne ranger. When he pulls up to shoot the deer he misfires and yells at the deer as a way of surrendering. He had given up trying to regain his old life. Although Mike did try to create a possible self. His friends thought he was the same as old, but he knew he wasn't and he tried to throw on a veil of his old self to respond to the social situations he faced. The war had changed his perspective and he had a new schema. Steve had also lost himself in the form of a bodily sense. the fall from the helicopter had crushed his legs and they had to be amputated. Even though he returned home he didn't want to see is friends because he was not able to fulfill his schema as a loyal friend. Nick had lost himself cognitively. When he called home and received no answer he felt like he was disconnected and turned towards the last thing he knew which was Russian Roulette. When Mike finds him in the end he has lost his own name and was completely out of it and ended up killing himself. It was obvious that the war had turned Nick into a autopilot drone that just went about testing the limits of life because he did not care to live it anymore.
Many emotions were presented in this film and all were powerful in their own way. Like after Nick died and they all felt shame and sadness. They were all looking at the ground and avoiding eye contact and leaving the room to get breakfast going. They showed great joy during the wedding and when Mike returned home. The most powerful of them all was the emotions during the Russian Roulette game when they were prisoners. Steve was bawling and not able to breath he was so overcome by fear. Nick was scared to death to pull the trigger because of their impending plan and his nervousness associated with it. Mike however, stayed calm throughout the entire film until the very end when Nick died abruptly. He was so overcome by torment, guilt, and anguish that he didn't know what to do, but cry and shake his head as if that would bring him back to life. All of these emotions were used as a way to cope with the extreme stress of the situations they were in and eventually it became to much for all of them. The James-Lange Theory says that we make an action first and then feel the emotion soon afterwards. This theory seemed to come true in the final standoff between Mike and Nick. Mike was clearly feeling fear and sadness when he was trying to get Nick to come home and leave the game, but he seemed to talk fairly calmly and collectively. It was only after he died that it was all let loose and he showed a lot of emotion. Many of the main characters also used attribution when they used the war as the reason for feeling how they did. PTSD and other symptoms felt by veterans are usually not explained by the person experiencing them and the only way they know how to cope is to attribute the feelings to what happened in the war and then try to suppress those memories.
Those men experienced many emotions and it had changed them greatly. Before the war it was fair to say they were all extroverted and experienced high levels of happiness. Even in a bad situation they still sought out the rewards and had positive attitudes. After the war they could not see happiness and they became highly introverted and neurotic. They felt like being happy was wrong and they punished themselves by pulling it back and sinking deeper into themselves. The one thing that drastically altered their state of being was their control. Before the war they had a great amount of perceived control. They worked and then played however they wanted to. During the war they were entirely dictated by the will of their captors and Steve was later held captive by his disability. They all had a large desire for self control and when that was denied from them it made it hard to live and the war had taken its toll on them forever.
Terms Used: Self-Schemas, possible self, emotions, James-Lange Theory, attribution, happiness, neuroticism, extrovert, introvert, perceived self control, and desired self control
The Deer Hunter
I watched the first hour or so of the movie in class. (I saw it once before when it came out, a few years before I enlisted in the Army.) I think the early part of the film generally showcases the psychological/social need for relatedness: the main characters are a closely-knit group who appear to have lived in the same small factory town their whole lives, and share many of the same concerns and interests. They are shown spending all of their time together: at work, at the bar, out hunting, and as part of the wedding party at Steven’s wedding. They are a family.
Robert de Niro’s character (Mike) showed a strong need for competence and desire for control. It seemed as though, if he were a part of something, he wanted to be the best he could be at it. He preached the virtue of excellence as a hunter with his ‘one shot’ credo, and became a Long-Range Patrol in Viet Nam (which requires a high degree of skill and discipline, and carries with it a high level of autonomy). Nick (Christopher Walken) called Mike a ‘control freak’; he appeared to be methodical and meticulous, and a man of certain principles. When Nick makes Mike promise not to leave him ‘over there’ (in Viet Nam), you recognize that he is the kind of guy who would keep such a promise - whatever the cost to himself. He is the one who comes up with the plan to escape from the VC. Like Will Hunting, Mike is the smart one in his group of friends. He is closer to Nick than to the others; perhaps because of his attraction to Nick’s girlfriend, Linda (Meryl Streep).
Christoper Walken’s character seemed to show a strong perception of control and risk taking/sensation seeking behaviors. He would gamble on anything (for example, betting his truck on Mike’s race with the tractor-trailer). So his experience playing ‘professional’ Russian roulette may not be that surprising: the gambling drew him in, but the futility of trying to ‘control’ the game left him shattered.
Watching the ARVN soldiers being forced to play Russian roulette, John Savage’s character (Steven) displayed signs of panic: hyperventilating, sweating, gasping, choking, shouting, and shaking. It may be that he had a greater degree of affect intensity than the others, as they were more self-controlled.
The men all work in the foundry, which can be dangerous work. They seem to take the ‘work hard, play hard’ attitude. There may be an element of risk taking/sensation seeking in this: accustomed to the dangerous nature of their work (both at the foundry and in Viet Nam), they may require extra stimulation in other areas in order to feel engaged.
Terms: social need, relatedness, competence, risk taking, sensation seeking, perceived control, desire for control, psychological need, autonomy, engaged, panic, behaviors, affect intensity,self-controlled
I can honestly say that I have never heard of this movie before. Although I did enjoy The Deer Hunter, it was a very lengthy movie. This movie wasn't what I expected. I figured it was another war movie but instead it had some very different highs and lows and it was very touching. This movie was basically cut up into three section and they were all very different. I agree that this movie does a great job using concepts from chapters 10-13.
I want to start with talking about Michael and how happy he looked at the beginning. His self schema was very happy when he was working hard and going to the bar with his friends. During the movie, he was able to make more money than in the beginning but he had many different life events happen to him. I would have to say that Michael's personality changed throughout this movie from a happy person to basically a neurotic and unstable person. That is very understandable for what he had gone through (went to war, was held hostage, forced into Russian Roulette and attended his best friend's funeral). Anybody who goes through all that in a lifetime, respectfully, had the right to feel that way towards life.
I would say that at the beginning happiness played a big part in the movie because of the wedding and drinking going out. There was a good amount of drinking that went on and to me that shows that everyone was having a good time. There was some controlling going on in this movie as well. I thought Michael had a low sense of control toward the end of the movie but at the beginning of the movie I remember a guy got jealous that the girl he was with was dancing with another man and he hit her. To me, that could potentially be some controlling behavior.
One of the biggest ways I noticed the similarities from chapters 10-13 and the movie, The Deer Hunter was the concept of sensation seeking. Sensation seeking is related to arousal and reactivity. I believe to one of the biggest risks in life is being in a war and fighting for your country. That right their was a big connection to the movie. Also, I recall one scene when the guys were driving to work and a semi was in front of them and they decided to pass it going really fast and really close to a wall. That is some risk taking behavior that I wouldn't ever try myself.
Those were just a few examples of how chapters 10-13 and the movie has intertwining concepts.
Terms: control, happiness, sensation seeking, self schema, neurotic
I only got to watch the first hour of the movie in class but I feel like there was enough information in that first hour to go over nearly every aspect of the book so far. For my paper, I decided to focus on the character Nick because I have always been a Christopher Walken fan.
One of the first things that related to motivation and emotion in the movie was when Nick and his friends got off of work at the steel mill. In the locker room after a long exhausting day of work, Nick was laughing and goofing off with his coworkers. He seemed to really enjoy his job and the company that he kept.
This scene was one of the many examples of happiness in the movie. The main thing to remember about happiness is that it is a set point. Everybody has their own level of happiness regardless of socioeconomic status, relationships, financial stresses, or career. Nick had his own set point, as did the other characters in the movie.
The topic of extraversion directly relates to happiness. Extraverted people tend to be generally happier than introverts because they are more sensitive to the rewards in social situations. Extraverted people are sociable, assertive, and venturesome. Nick shows glimpses of his extraverted side in the beginning of the movie. He always seems to be laughing and joking around with his friends and never seems to stray away from social situations. As a result of Nick’s extraversion, he appears happier than his friends even though nothing big has happened in his life so far.
Another concept from the book that I saw present in the movie was arousal and sensation seeking. You couldn’t really tell by watching the first hour of the movie but the three main characters were excited to join the army. The cause may have been from their sense of patriotism but for the sake of writing this paper, I’m saying that the cause is their need for sensation seeking and arousal. These three friends need a continual supply of brain stimulation and are always searching for ways to increase their arousal. This is also seen in the bar scene when all of the guys are drinking, playing pool, and gambling. They could be at home preparing for the wedding the next day, but that lifestyle is not fast enough for them.
Another concept present but not seen is the inverted u curve. The inverted u curve states that with minimal or excessive stimulation, arousal decreases. This notion is seen at the wedding dance when the men head to the bar. Once again I am just assuming that they went there to avoid all of the noise and commotion and not just to get a drink. They were over stimulated and needed to go somewhere quiet where they could gather their emotions.
Social functions of emotions were seen throughout the movie but the one particular scene that caught my attention was when Linda came to Nick’s trailer crying because her father hit her. Nick instantly knew that she was sad because she was communicating her feelings through crying and the look on her face. Her strong emotions also urged Nick to ask what was the matter. Basically, her emotions were influencing how others interacted with her and invited social interaction.
Facial feedback is a concept from the movie that you would never really think about until reading the section in the book. Facial feedback is essentially seeing someone’s emotions in their eyes, nose, eyebrows, and other parts of the face. Everyone does it when communicating with others unconsciously. Throughout the movie, I was looking closely at the actor’s faces whenever they had an emotional scene. For example, at the wedding dance, Nick’s smile showed me that he was genuinely happy.
Deer Hunter was overall a good movie through the first hour and I believe that it showed a wide array of emotions. I only talked about a handful of examples but they were much more for everyone cast member in the movie.
Happiness, set point, extraversion, arousal, sensation seeking, inverted u curve, social functions of emotions, facial feedback
I only got to see the first part of this movie, but I definitely will want to see more. I didn't get a whole lot out of the first part, as they were just having a long wedding and some deer hunting.
Pre-deployment, the men were all very outspoken, extroverted people. Starting with Mike, he seemed to have a high control need and also very high self-efficacy. Judging by the way he looked at the maid of honor (I didn't catch many names), it was clear that he KNEW he'd get her to dance and he'd get her to have a drink with him. He kept drawing her back in and seemed to be amused by his ability to control her focus. He also showed similar behavior by refusing to allow his friend to borrow his hunting boots.
Nick (?) struck me as a sensation-seeker. He gambled quite a bit and out of nowhere asked that girl to marry him. I thought she was dating/married to the guy who abused her, but she said yes to the marriage. I thought that the spur-of-the-moment proposal seemed like sensation-seeking behavior because while it's not physically risky, a marriage proposal seems to me like a very emotionally risky behavior, especially if the woman is in a relationship with a different man and had just been dancing with/getting drinks with/being friendly with another friend of the man proposing. Unless that other man is her father? I really have no idea what was going on with that whole business.
The dark-haired friend showed neurotic tendencies. He overreacted to seeing another man grab his wife/girlfriend's butt and somehow decided to punch her, instead of him. Later, when he forgot his hunting boots, he was quick to get angry and upset when Mike wouldn't allow him to borrow the boots. He attacked Mike's attitude, showing that he is extremely sensitive to punishing situations, such as Mike's perceived crabbiness.
The husband character, Steven, didn't really strike me as having any personality until they were in Vietnam. He began showing signs of PTSD and panic attacks whever he would hear something similar to bombs or gunfire. While his other companions showed a high degree of self control and emotional stability, Steven had a high degree of affect intensity. His emotions rollercoastered all over for the bit of the scene I saw him in before class ended. It seems to be a sign of having far too high of stimulation and arousal for too long and his brain was wigging out from it.
Terms: risk, sensation seeking, control need, affect intensity, self control, self efficacy, neurotic, extroverted
The Deer Hunter initially builds with a vague scene of a couple getting married. The basic story line is about the “normal” lives and friendships of this group of people before the Vietnam War. The man story line picks up as the three main characters/friends are in Vietnam fighting the war together. The film is also about change. Steven, Nick and Michael, the three main characters, were happy and living a seemingly care free life during the first hour of the film that built until they left for war. In Vietnam, the boys were tortured by being force to live in a water pit, starved, dehydrated, and tormented with games like Russian Roulette. In the end, the men escaped, but they were severely damaged. This is shown through the final stage and resolution of the movie as it shows the change in all of the men’s personalities.
Helplessness was a personality or character change that Steven picked up as he lost his legs and self-worth. Nick seemed to lose all emotion or feeling. Finally, Michael couldn’t adjust to his life outside of the war and was unable to acclimate himself back to his old way of life.
Focusing on Michaels change in particular, there were many examples in the final hour of the movie. He tried to regain normalcy and be able to get along with this friends. He wanted to go deer hunting with them. I believe that the scene where he goes hunting is what gave the movie its title. While Michael is hunting he finds that he is unable to shoot the gun and kill something, even if it was just the deer. He also showed a clear emotional disturbance when he freaked out at a guy for pointing a gun at someone out of anger for being insulted. Clearly, having a gun pointed at someone, for whatever reason, had left a life-long, lasting impression of pain, fear, and lack of control that shook Michael internally such that he was unable to cope with life outside of war.
Originally the men seemed to have positive self-concepts. Their self-schemas were to work hard, be devoted to their friends, hunt, and with Michael, he would have defined himself as being good at thinking things out and planning. Throughout the movie all three of their self-concepts changed such that they seemed to view themselves as worthless, broken, lost/scared, or perhaps worst of all-abnormal. Michael was once the self-sufficient leader with a high level of competence and autonomy as well as an excellent ability to self-regulate, but he had been changed by war.
In terms of emotion, character, and personality, Michael was the easiest character to examine. I will focus on his character and personality changes.
I believe that it was Michael personality that kept him and his buddies alive while in Vietnam. Michaels was highly planned and organized which showed he had a high desired control. He was so organized so that he could anticipate surprises and be prepared for the unexpected. He seemed to avoid risks, yet he was clearly aroused as he reacted well to environmental changes. He didn’t seek sensation, but he was able to cope when it arose. He also had was seemed to be mostly positive emotions as he was a leader-indicating what seemed to be an elevated level of extroversion. His naturally calm nature on the other hand reflected that he had a low level of neuroticism. Because he had a low level of neuroticism and a higher level of extroversion, it seemed that Michaels positive and negative emotions were at a good average level.
Terms: happiness, helplessness, personality, character, self-worth, emotions, anger, fear, cope, control, self-concepts, self-schema, competence, autonomy, self-regulate, feelings, arousal, desired control, sensations seeking, extroversion, positive/negative emotions, neuroticism,
The movie showed the general human instinct for the search for companionship. They fulfilled a social need. They were all really close friends that generally felt connected to each other. They worked together, played together and felt emotions together. Whether it was Steven's Wedding or hunting, they were sharing life with one and other.
Mike was a solid character who showed the need to be in control of his situations as well as what was going on around him. He presented a desire for control. Through war he gained an aspect of life that no one outside of the situation he was in would gain. He was dedicated and loyal. These were things he gained from trials he went through. Because of this, he came up with decisions for everyone involved and they respected it.
Steven was the exact opposite of Mike. He had a general persona of panic and self-doubt. He had very little self-control over any situation he was in and showed many signs of a nervous person (Shaking, Hyperventilating, etc).
The character Nick seemed to have a far less wary take on everything that happened to him. He had a sort of care-free outlook fronted behind solid decision making and risk management. It also showed a perception of control. The gambling he involved himself in displays this behavior of risk taking which separates him from the risks he shares with his friends..
It seems that because of the war they all had the general outlook on life that you have to enjoy it before it ends. It might have been the Vietnam war that affect this emotion but their professions in the foundry only furthered it. They were a family and they all sort of fed of each other in this aspect.
Terms: perception of control, risk taking, desire for control, social need, risk taking, panic, self-doubt, self-control, risk management
I only watched the first 75 minutes of Deer Hunter in class today so I did not get to see the characters fully develop. While flipping through the chapters the concept of self-schemas stood out (ch 10). Right away I could see that part of Michael's self-schema was being the leader of the group. He is always the one driving and seems to be the one everyone turns to. Although he is soft spoken in the beginning, his presence is always known and felt. I think he realizes that he sets an example for the other around him. Nick's self-schema seems to consist of being the right hand man to Michael. When Michael tells him he's the only one he would go hunting with you can see the pride and appreciation. I also saw the concept of possible selves in Michael and Nick. Although they tease about their buddy getting married, they both have eyes for the same girl. Nick sees his friends getting married and envisions that life for himself and Linda which is reflected when he proposes after she catches the bouquet. Michael expresses an undesirable possible self which can be seen by his hesitation to talk about the war.
One role that emotion played in the movie (ch 11) was when Linda decided to leave her drunk father. Emotion is often a motivational factor and helps energize and direct behavior. In Linda's circumstance, the emotion that elicited the action or behavior was fear. After her father hit her the role of the comprehensive biology-cognition model can be seen. The cognition or significant stimulus event was her father hitting her. This caused arousal and preparation for action and was also when she experienced fear. The fear itself was what elicited the action to ask Nick if she could use their place while they were away.
Another concept I felt was very obvious just from the beginning of the movie was the role of appraisals (ch 12). An appraisal determines the significance of an event in someones life. Appraisals were seen in the movie several times by Nick. The main one was the significance he attributed to the war. He knew the war was going to change things so he did his best to cope with that in the days leading up. Suddenly he didn't know whether or not they would all return so he proposed to Linda, enjoyed the hunt, had a serious conversation with Michael, and had his moment of silence at the bar while the piano played. These behaviors were reflections of the serious appraisal he placed on the war and his upcoming journey.
One of the very last scenes I saw was that of Michael trying to calm down and reassure a fellow soldier while they were POW's in Vietnam. Michael is a person with a high desire for control (ch 13) so he did his best to hold on to any control he had in that dire situation. Michael's personality and desire for control can be seen numerous times leading up to this point as well. Just the way he acts around his friends, always being the driver, and refusing to lend his boots to try and teach a lesson are perfect examples of this. At home, Michael had a high sense of perceived control but at war it was much lower. I am interested to see how his character develops and how he uses his desire for control throughout the rest of the movie.
Terms: self-schemas, possible self, emotion, biology-cognition model, appraisals, control, desire for control, perceived control
“The Deer Hunter” is an older movie that depicts three friends who go to war in Viet Nam and are captured and put into a prison camp where they are forced to play Russian roulette. The trauma that they experience while at war results in permanent changes to their personalities, and one friend (Nick) even kills himself because he is not able to escape the horrors that he had to face.
I was instantly drawn to the main character, Michael. In the beginning of the movie, he seems like a very extraverted and happy young man. Some examples of his outgoing and social behavior include the scene where he races around a semi-truck and when he runs down the streets naked after his friend’s wedding. Since Michael is a very extraverted person, his happiness set-point is likely high. The other thing we learn about Michael in the beginning of the book is that he does not like surprises and that he likes being in control of the situation. Nick even calls him a “control freak”. The other main component of Mike’s personality that we see prior to the war is his love for hunting. While his friends seem to enjoy hunting as well, you can tell that Mike has truly internalized being “a deer hunter” as part of his self-concept. For example, he gets very upset with Stanley when he forgets to bring his boots because it demonstrates that he is not taking it as seriously as Mike is. Being a hunter is a self-schema that Mike has incorporated into his self-concept.
When the three friends go to Viet Nam, we can see how the intense environment affects each individual in different ways. Steven becomes very sad and distraught, and Mike has to comfort him and supports him through the traumatic experience. Had it not been for Mike, I do not think Steven would have made it. Nick was very quiet during the experience. It seemed to me that he felt helpless because he felt he had no control over what was about to happen to him. While he did not respond with extreme emotion, you can tell that the situation was deeply disturbing. Michael on the other hand handled the situation very well. While the other two were over-aroused and were not able to cope with the situation, Michael was able to think coherently enough to formulate a plan and get the three of them out alive. I think that Michael’s personality enabled him to effectively cope with the situation because he was naturally extraverted and sensation-seeking. For Michael, taking a risk (like running down the street naked) did not seem quite as traumatic as it did for the other captives. Because Michael had a lower baseline level of arousal and reactivity, he was able to effectively cope with the stress of the situation instead of hyperventilating (like Steven) or giving-up (like Nick).
Another thing we notice about Michael during his time at Viet Nam and after he returns is that his level of affect intensity seems to be fairly low (or “affect-stable”). I say this because he is able to remain fairly calm throughout the entire situation and we only see him break down after Nick shoots himself in a game of Russian roulette.
After Michael returns to Pennsylvania, you can tell that he feels uncomfortable being back home. The war had changed his self-concept, and he was not sure what his identity was. Steven expressed the same thought when he fights Mike who is trying to bring him back to Pennsylvania. Steven lost his legs in the war and he seems to be having a hard time adjusting to new self-concept that included being handicapped. He tells Mike, “I don’t fit in.” Prior to leaving for war, Steven had gotten married to Angela who was pregnant with their son. Upon returning from the war, Steven had a difficult time resolving the dissonance he felt between his self-concept (of who he was prior to the war) and who he is now.
The most depressing scene of the movie is when Mike goes back to Viet Nam to find Nick who has continued playing Russian roulette. Mike finds Nick in an almost trance-like state. It seemed like Nick had created a new reality for himself. All that remained for him was the game. The gamble. The trauma that he had endured seemed to render him emotionless. I think that Nick had a very low perception of control. This relates to the self-confirming cycle of low engagement. Because Nick felt like he had little control, he did not try and find a way out of his situation, which caused him to be put in danger, which made his situation seem even more uncontrollable. Ultimately, Nick is killed and Mike was not able to save him.
All three of these men were permanently changed due to the horrible situations they were put through while in Viet Nam. Some personality characteristics (such as extraversion and a high need for control) seemed to help some of the men cope with the situation better than others. I think this movie does a great job illustrating the effects war can have on an individual (especially psychologically). After Mike returns, his friends say that they will go hunting again, “Just like old times.” But Mike is not able to shoot the deer. He is no longer “the deer hunter”. He seems to surrender to this and screams out loud “okay”. In his attempt to regain control of his life, he realized that he would never be the same person that he was prior to the war.
Over all, I enjoyed the movie. It was very realistic and had extensive character development, which are crucial to any classic. It displayed a whole range of human emotion, such as the joy felt at a wedding and the overwhelming sadness at a friend’s funeral. It felt very real. And very human.
Terms: extraversion, happiness, set-point, control, internalization, self-concept, self-schema, sad, helpless, control, over-aroused, sensation-seeking, baseline level of arousal, reactivity, affect intensity, affect-stable, identity, dissonance, perceived control, engagement, self-confirming cycles of engagement, personality characteristics, regaining control, emotion, joy
The movie Deer Hunter is split into three parts. The first is three friends and their normal lives, then their lives in Vietnam, and then their lives after. There is definitely a change in these characters through the progression of the movie. In the beginning of the movie it showed Steve’s wedding with his friends Michael and Nick. It was clear that Steve and Michael were high is extraversion and happiness. There was a lot of dancing and the festivities and was a celebratory time. The men were extroverts because they were loud and more social with everyone. This however did display that even though Michael appeared to be more introverted that he still was happy and could have fun. Extroverts just have the capacity to experience more positive emotion than introverts do, and tend to thrive in social situations.
Michael’s character also seemed to desire control in situations. He seemed to be more uptight than his friends. When his friend forgot his shoes hunting Michael wouldn’t let him borrow his shoes because he wanted to teach his friend responsibility. Michaels need for control ended up saving their lives when they were captured by the Vietcong. He perceived that he had control when in reality he really didn’t have much, but this motivated him to devise a plan to escape which was successful. Michael also stayed fairly composed during this time compared to his friends who were high in the inverted-U experiencing too much arousal, but Michael stayed more moderate which was very helpful.
The guys seem to have a high sensation seeking. Going to war is risky and is a job that requires a lot of arousal and risk taking. This also requires them to completely change their normal life and routine and go to an entirely different country in a wartime state. The scene where the men are with the Vietcong being forced to play Russian roulette shows a lot of sensation seeking as well as a high level of arousal to make it out alive, and to be able to react in a way to save their lives. This motivation in them really helped them in their situation.
The last aspect I looked at was the men’s self-concept. In the beginning of the movie the men seemed to all have pretty good self-concepts. After their traumatic experience being in Vietnam this changed for them. They began to see themselves as worthless, and did not think highly of themselves. This is unfortunate that their experience leads to their self-concepts deteriorating, but it shows the impact that war and trauma can have on an individual. This movie shows how much war can affect people and how different they can become and their motivations in life change.
Terms: Extravert, introvert, happiness, emotions, control, motivated, inverted-U, arousal, sensation seeking, risk-taking, self-concept
Deer Hunter
Deer Hunter was packed with emotion. With this movie we got to see all the aspects of emotion including feelings, bodily arousal, sense of purpose and social-expression. All of these were shown many times, but the best example that sticks out in my mind was when the character Linda had just got hit by her father and was asking Nick if she could stay at his place while he was gone. She was clearly under distress feeling both fear and anxiety from the situation. Her bodily arousal was clear because she was almost crying and breathing fast. Her social-expression matched the distress pattern of her bodily arousal. This was shown by her worried facial expressions and also her stuttered speech when she was talking to Nick. Finally this emotion of fear and anxiety of her father and living with him gave her the sense of purpose to move out and ask Nick if she could rent his place. If this particular example were evaluated even further, we can see what caused Linda’s emotion and look at both the biological and cognitive perspective. Emotion stems from a significant situational event, which was clearly Linda getting hit/abused by her drunk father. From a biological perspective, fear is a basic emotion. It is natural that our body experiences fear as a result from being hit. It is a natural defense mechanism to want to protect ourselves and fear for our lives. After Linda was hit her first response was to huddle in the corner, this was a motivation driven by fear to protect herself. From a cognitive perspective, after the immediate danger had passed Linda could think about how she did not want to go back and the anxiety she felt motivated her to ask Nick to live at his place.
Another aspect to look at in this movie is happiness. In the book it stated that our level of happiness doesn’t really change over time. That we have a kind of set happiness point and even if someone goes through a traumatic event that is life-altering they will eventually be as happy as they were before. This was really hard for me to take in when I read it so I watched for it in the movie. Michael was the best candidate to watch for this example. First of all he was the leader of the group and exhibited all the signs of an extravert. This makes him prone to be happier anyway because extraversion is the personality characteristic associated with “happier people”. Also he was one of the guys that went off to war. This is the main reason why I picked to watch him because I would for sure think that war would change not only the person but also how they see the world and how happy they are. However, after watching him before the war and then after he got back I saw the book was right. Before he went off to war he liked to see his friends, shoot some pool, and drink. He was seen smiling a lot and singing along with music, which are all signs that a person is happy. After he got back he was eventually able to do all these things again. He joked and hung out with his buddies and was able to smile and laugh again. It took him some adjusting but inside he was still that happy extravert guy.
Arousal was another concept that could be seen in many places. However, the most interesting scene for me when looking for arousal was when Michael and Nick were captives in the war and they were being forced to play Russian roulette. According to the book people perform best under medium arousal situations. This is covered in the inverted-U hypothesis. On the other hand if they are over stimulated they get to anxious and can’t perform very well. This all being said in the scene of Russian roulette, it was a highly stressful situation where a gun was quite literally pointed to their heads and instead of taking deep calming breaths to cool themselves down they were psyching themselves up. Michael was continually yelling “just do it, just do it” for Nick and to psych himself up. His plan was to get out and shoot the guards if he could but it was almost like he needed to be over-aroused in an already very stressful situation.
Another explanation for this odd behavior could be the issue of control. Michael’s character was the ring leader of his group. He often decided what they would do and the group would follow his lead; for example when he took them hunting. The fact that Michael is the leader could be because he has a high desire for control. So when you put him in a highly uncontrollable environment such as being a captive, he does things that could be his way of trying to gain some control over the situation. For example in the Russian roulette seen he tells the guy to put three bullets in the gun. This could be him trying to cope with his fate if he dies, he dies, and if he doesn’t he was going to shoot the guards, which he did.
Terms: emotion, feelings, bodily arousal, sense of purpose, social-expression, significant situational event, biological perspective, basic emotion, fear, cognitive perspective, happiness, extraversion, arousal, over-arousal, inverted-U hypothesis, control, desire for control
Deer Hunter was an interesting but sad movie. It takes quite a while to get into the guts of the movie. However, that length is necessary to show us the characters and their relationships before this major life event occurs so that we can fully see how their personalities change. I chose to analyze the movie by going through the topics on the order of the text and see their applications in the movie. The movie contained significant amounts of material that was representative of the material we discussed in class. The way that I thought best to compare the two, was by looking at the material we read and finding one or two supporting examples from the movie that showed those points.
In the beginning of the movie, they each have psychological well-being. They have self-acceptance, positive interpersonal relationships, autonomy, purpose in life, environmental mastery and personal growth. The only area they may be lacking is in personal growth because, from what is visible, their lives have been consistent their entire lives. The men may be seeking to grow when they enlist in the military. In that case, their self-schemas are motivating them to change themselves into a desired self. Their identities are what I would describe as “hometown guys.” They grew up together, they know everyone in town, and they plan on always staying there. This is their identity because they fit into their social group of the town in that manner. The guys have intrinsic motivation to get involved in the war. This is evident because they have the option to stay home if they so choose. However, they realized they had the potential to do something more with their lives and they are acting on it. This is the aspect of the self called agency. They developed self-concordant goals of coming home war heroes to help them meet that ultimate self need of personal growth discussed at the beginning of this paragraph.
When we first see the men in Vietnam, we are seeing Michael watch a bunch of women and children get killed. After killing a Vietcong, Nick and Steven come over and are glad to have found Michael again. The Michael we viewed earlier in the movie would have rejoiced at seeing them also. However, Michael experienced a major life event of viewing all of those innocent people getting killed. This changed his mood which influenced, in this case, the behavior of getting Nick and Steven to stop rejoicing and get their heads back on straight. Later, when we meet Angela after the events of the war she has experienced the major life event of her husband coming back from the war a different man. This gave her negative emotions and caused her to do the abnormal behavior of not caring for her son. Both of these examples are significantly more extreme than what was discussed in class but they do represent the material well. In Angela’s case, Steven getting hurt is a decrease in the well-being of a loved one which is a factor of primary appraisal. In secondary appraisal, Angela coped with the event poorly and the two types of appraisal caused her negative emotions over Steven’s condition, according to Lazarus’s theory.
The last thing that I will look at are personality characteristics. In the beginning of the movie we can see that most of the rest of the guys in their group of friends are more extraverted. They go out and talk to people and interact with each other. Michael, however, lingers in the entryway at the wedding reception and says very few words, which is evidence of introversion. The text discussed that extraverts are typically more happy and this is shown in the movie. The other guys smile and laugh more than Michael and those are all evidence of happiness. After Vietnam, we can see that Steven has become neurotic. Neurotic people are emotionally unstable. In the Russian roulette game, Steven is yelling and shaking when they are in the cage below the game. Later, at the VA hospital he goes from happy to distraught and so forth. His emotions are all over the place. This is evidence that Steven has become neurotic.
During the original game of Russian roulette, Nick and Steven are upset and freaking out (highly aroused). Michael, however, has brought his level of arousal down so that he can perform more efficiently. The Inverted-U curve shows that at a moderate level of arousal, our performance is better. However, with high levels of arousal, performance is lower. Nick and Steven are at high levels of arousal. Michael’s moderate level of arousal made him more alert and he was able to think of a plan to help them get out of captivity.
In that same situation, Michael is desiring more control than he actually has. He perceives his control as being low (he is being forced to do play Russian roulette). However, Michael came up with a plan to make achieving his desired level of control possible. He knew in his head how things should go, thus making the events predictable. Michael had a higher desire for control than Nick and Steven because he was trying to take control of his life rather than waiting like the other two.
The last topic I would like to discuss is sensation seeking. Throughout the first half of the movie, we see evidence that supports my opinion that Michael, Steven, Nick and their group of friends are all sensation seekers. In the beginning of the movie, they decide to pass a truck on the inside to experience the adrenaline rush. They do this again on their way to deer hunt. They cover the eyes of the driver and he veers off of the side of the road. The way they hunt is a way of sensation seeking. There is sensation seeking in killing a deer. However, they take it a step further by actually chasing after the deer, trying to corner it, and so forth, rather than using a deer stand like most deer hunters do. Lastly, towards the end of the movie, when they go deer hunting, Stan actually chases the deer into the water and wrestles with it. That is certainly sensation seeking because that is not a normal way to deer hunt.
Terms Used: Major Life Event, Psychological Well-Being, Self-Schemas, Motivating, Desired Self, Identities, Intrinsic Motivation, Agency, Self-Concordant Goals, Mood, Behavior, Primary Appraisal, Secondary Appraisal, Lazarus, Extraversion, Happiness, Introverts, Neurotics, Personality Characteristics, Emotions, Arousal, Inverted-U Curve, Desired Control, Sensation Seeking
The Deer Hunter is about much more than the Vietnam War. I found this movie very heart wrenching. The characters Nick, Mike, and Steve, all were traumatized by the experience of war. In the beginning, their friend, Stan, showed examples of neuroticism during the wedding. He was getting upset that the girl he was with was dancing with another guy, so he complained and showed some avoidance. His very negative attitude was very neurotic. Also, when they go hunting and he forgets his boots, Mike didn’t let him barrow his extra pair. Mike was trying to teach Stan a lesson, but Stan got very angry and defensive.
Sensation seeking behaviors were displayed throughout the movie. Mike drives the car around the semi in a very dangerous way. It was a one-way, and he drove on the inside instead of the outside. Also, when Mike comes up with the idea to enhance the Russian Roulette by adding more bullets, he takes a big chance of killing himself here. I understand that the other bullets were to be used for killing the Vietnamese men, but he took the risk.
Emotion was expressed in weird ways, I feel. Mike seemed to have feelings for Linda, but Nike had proposed to her. She seemed to have mixed feelings. She flirted with Mike at the wedding as she kept an eye on Nike. When Nike came in by the bar, Linda kissed him and glared at Mike. When Mike came home Linda wanted to have them “comfort each other.” I feel she shows she has some feelings of interest toward mike, which is subjective aspect. The biological, would be her sexual feelings to sleep in the same bed. Her purposive seems to be to end up with him, or at least a one night stand. She expresses it through her facial expressions, and gestures, which would be the social aspect. They all display fear throughout the movie. Also, lots of anxiety of how to react was shown.
Overall I didn’t really like the movie because of the realisticness of the wounds and war.
Terms Used: neuroticism, avoidance, sensation seeking behaviors, risk, emotion, biological, subjective, purposive, social,
Deer hunter is a remarkable story following the journey of 3 best friends before and after they fight in the Vietnam War. The movie shows how each of the characters changes as a result of the wars everlasting impact on their lives. Michael, Nick and Steve are the main characters whose lives are portrayed. This is a very emotional movie with many up and downs .Many emotions can be felt throughout the film such as fear, anger, sadness, disgust and joy. The beginning of the movie starts off in the steel mill and transitions to a wedding where the three friends seem very happy and extroverted; they are all drinking and having a good time. The movie then shows the friends being captured and forced to play Russian roulette with the lives of others. The last transition of the movie is the coming home of the men after war.
While they are different from one another, the men are all very adventurous and thrill seeking in the beginning of the movie, they enjoy shooting guns and hunting for deer. All three of the friends all seem to be risk takers for even joining the army. Throughout the three transitions of the movie you can see the change in each characters self –concepts and self-schemas. The characters self-schemas change as a result of their experiences, after witnessing the horrific killings as prisoners of the Russians. Michael seems to be the glue that keeps his friends together, when they are forced to play Russian roulette he is able to take control over his emotions and put on a brave face, his affect-intensity seems to be low. He also showed his need for control earlier in the film when he refused to let his friend use his boots, so that he would learn a lesson. By the end of the film Michael has high levels of arousal; this makes it hard to live his life after the war. He experiences depression and anxiety. Michael has a high intrinsic motivation to survive, he wants to live. Once a man who took pride in killing a deer with one shot, Michael now realizes that killing an innocent animal is meaningless.
Steve is the most extroverted; you can tell he loves to have a good time. He jokes and dances at the wedding but after being a prisoner of war he does not have a consistent-self.
Steve who once an extrovert experiences a great amount of neuroticism, he is very unhappy with life. The entire trauma he experienced took a toll on his personality. Steve experienced so much fear, he desperately feared for his life. He felt negative emotions due to the Behavioral inhibition system. (BIS)
Nick is completely ruined by the war and by everything he has been forced to do as a prisoner. He ends up staying in Saigon playing Russian roulette professionally because he thinks his friends are dead. He is unable to cope with the entire trauma he has experienced. He is very unstable and needed to take risk to deal with everything that happened. He basically loses it and becomes depressed and crazy. He doesn’t even remember Michael when he comes back to try to save him, ultimately Nick ends up killing himself in a game of Russian roulette against Michael.
Environmental changes as well as experiences forever changed the lives and personalities of all three men. This was an incredibly sad movie but is demonstrative of how emotional and motivation work.
Key words: thrill seeking, emotions, self-concept, self-schemas, extroverted, sadness, anger, fear, disgust, joy, control, risk-takers, arousal , intrinsic motivation, consistent-self, neuroticism, Behavioral inhibition system, affect-intensity
I did not like the movie Deer Hunter at all. I found it boring and uninteresting. I had a low level of arousal and felt underaroused while watching the movie, so I felt the need to talk in order to stay focused. I was motivated to turn the movie off because I disliked it and wanted to withdrawal from it. However, I was also motivated to continue watching the movie in order to finish my blog and get a desirable grade. Because this motivation was greater than my motivation to shut the movie off, I continued watching it.
I chose to talk about the Russian roulette aspect of the movie. It plays a key role in the character’s experiences and lives. Michael and Nick initially appraised their situation when being forced to play Russian roulette. They appraised it as harmful, and therefore felt the emotion of dislike. This lead them to want to withdrawal from the situation and not participate. However, they were forced to participate.
The sense of purpose Michael felt to get out of the prison camp motivated him to find a way to escape. Michael and Nick’s emotions at the prison camp tell us that they were not adapting well to the new setting. They both reacted negatively to being forced to play Russian roulette and were on the verge of tears. This event was significant to both of them because they had that emotion. If it were not significant, pointing a gun to their head and pulling the trigger would not have elicited that kind of emotion. The overstimulating, stressful environment increased their arousal. They were highly aroused, which caused increasing emotional disturbance and disruption (hence the crying and laughing) and anxiety over dying. If they did not pull the trigger, they would either be shot or be left out to drown. If they did pull the trigger, they would die. It was a no-win situation. In addition, they had cognitive disruption because they were pointing a gun at their head. They had physiological disruption because they were very aroused and scared.
Nick seemed to like the uncertainty of the game. He developed a sensation-seeking personality. He needed the dopamine release and began to crave it. He constantly felt approach tendencies to play the game. He was willing to risk his life in order to have the experience, and this eventually lead to his death.
I had never seen The Deer Hunter before and I was confused by the title when it was about some guys going off to the Vietnam war. But after watching it, it made sense. I had never really watched a war movie before and now I remember why. I dislike the shooting and the blood, but that is to be expected in war movies. I found myself cringing and being anxious when I thought somebody was going to die.
In the movie, Nick, Michael, Steve, and Linda experienced happiness. They were all happy at Steve and Angela's wedding. They were singing, socializing, dancing, laughing, smiling, and having fun, even though they knew that Nick and Michael were going off to Vietnam soon. Linda and the other friends felt happy when Michael came home from Vietnam. But Nick personality changed at the end to be more neurotic. He was emotionally unstable, irritable, and was under anxiety and fear.
Nick, Michael, and Steve felt aroused when they were in Vietnam. Not only they were aroused because they were in a war, but they were fighting for their lives. Nick, Michael, and Steve had to play Russian Roulette to stay alive when they were captured. In that case they were overaroused. Steve tried to decrease his arousal by not shooting himself in the head and Nick and Michael tried to decrease their arousal by escaping. In the end, Nick's arousal by playing Russian Roulette decreased and he was underaroused. Nick did not flinch or hesitate pulling the trigger when he played anymore. Nick and Michael were demonstrating risk taking behaviors. Michael was motivated to do it because he wanted Nick to remember him. Nick was motivated to do it because it was like gambling.
Nick had a perceived control over the Russian Roulette game. He believed that since he had not died from the game yet, that he never would. Michael had a desire for control. When they were captured in Vietnam, he made plans and goals so they could escape. He went back to Vietnam to find Nick to bring him home. He tried to control the situation by bribing people to get what he wanted. When the boys went hunting for the first time, Michael showed his control by shooting down a huge deer. But when they went hunting the second time, Michael could not kill the deer. He had every opportunity to, but he just could not. The war affected the way he thought of guns now.
The movie demonstrated all of the basic emotions. Steve, Nick, and Michael experienced fear when they were captured and when they were forced to play Russian Roulette. They all faced fear when they thought they were going to die. Nick was scared when he thought that Steve and Michael died. And Michael felt fear when Nick did not remember him. Michael was angry at his capturers for making them suffer and he was angry at Stan for waving a gun around and not knowing how to properly use it. Michael was disgusted with guns and what damage they could do that he could not even kill a deer with his. They were all sad when Nick died. Angela was sad when Steve got back and he would not come home and that he lost his legs and an arm. Steve felt sorry for himself because he lost his limbs. Nick cried when he thought Steve and Michael did not make it and he survived. Steve, Nick, Michael, Linda, and Angela felt joy at the wedding. Linda and the rest of the town felt happy with Michael came back. Michael was interested in deer hunting in the beginning of the movie. But by the end, he became disinterested with it.
TERMS: happiness, neurotic, arousal, risk taking behaviors, perceived control, desire for control, fear, anger, disgust, sadness, joy, interest,
The Deer Hunter was a very intense movie. Despite the movie being very old (hard to find too) and slow at times, I actually enjoyed it. The movie not only has a lot of different motivational and emotional examples but also does a great job at pointing out why people decide to pursue a degree in psychology.
The main character in the film is Michael and is played by Robert De Niro. The two other main characters and best friends of Michael are Steven and Nick. The three friends get dragged into the Vietnam War together and end up getting captured, making them prisoners of war. While imprisoned, the three experience terrible physical and mental torture. The Viet Cong forced the soldiers to play Russian roulette against each other which ultimately caused permanent psychological damage to all of them. Despite being against all odds and man power, the three friends escape. Michael thinks up a plan to escape and explains it to Nick. The plan works and all three make it back to safe territory.
Michael is really the only one who keeps all of his marbles during all of this and afterwards even. Nick goes AWOL while still in Vietnam and ends up getting tossed into a Russian roulette organization. Steven lost his legs and continues to suffer psychologically. Michael eventually makes it home, but feels terrible coming home without Nick or Steven and is unable to confront everyone at the welcome home party. Michael continues to feel detached from home even though he is home. After finding out Steven was back home, Michael goes to see Steven and discovers that Nick is still alive. The only way that Michael can find self-peace is by going and bringing Nick back home from Vietnam. Michael eventually locates Nick in the Russian roulette games and sees that Nick has totally lost his mind, emotionless and numb to all former memories. Michael buys into the game and competes against his best friend, Nick. Unable to curve Nicks desire to play the game, Michael watches him shoot himself right in front of him. Michael returns home with Nick’s body and gives him a proper funeral.
Besides all this other stuff going on, there is actually an internal conflict between Nick and Michael throughout the whole movie. This conflict involves Lynda. Lynda is Nick’s girlfriend but it turns out that Michael is in love with her too. While with Nick, Lynda displays behavior that shows she holds a connection with Michael as well. So, it’s obvious now without the return of Nick that Lynda and Michael will be together, which they do succeed in doing.
All three of the friends have somewhat “normal” self-schemas and have fairly good ideas of their self-concepts. Prior to going to war, they are all working men while in the pursuit of love. All of them have several friends and enjoy socially drinking themselves to sleep. Each of them can give a good definition of themselves and describe their position in the world. After the war, being captured more specifically, their self-schemas and self-concepts become permanently damaged. Nick has lost all contact with reality and prior memories. Nick has also lost the ability to feel emotion, not being bothered by putting a gun to his head at all. Steven has lost his legs and feels like he can no longer identify with society, he feels out of place and ashamed. Steven also loses his perception of his prior life. Michael has also lost his identity. Michael is the strongest during all of this, keeping it together the most. Nick completely fails to self-regulate himself. Steven begins to make steps in the positive direction towards the end of the movie and Michael has been doing a great job self-regulating the whole time.
Happiness is really only prevalent during the beginning of the movie. It makes sense too because all of the characters are fairly extraverted.
The most prevalent time to observe different motivations and emotions is definitely during the imprisonment period in Vietnam. This is where Nick and Steven begin to lose it but Michael keeps it together and develops a plan that gets the three of them out of there. During this time, all of them are showing signs of intense arousal. The mind is realizing that the body is in danger and begins to cope. The easiest way to observe this was by the increased breathing rate and facial expressions. Fear was made very obvious in the eyes of Nick and Steven when being forced to play Russian roulette. Michael remained somewhat fearless and coped by being extremely angry. The three soldiers had a very low perceived control. They were outnumbered and outgunned. Thus, their low perceived control gave them a great desire for control which eventually led to them getting rescued. Michael devised a plan to gain the upper hand and allow for them to escape. This was a success.
This movie was a great movie and did a superb job at displaying various emotions and motivations. Most importantly, the movie shows that the pains of war can be far more than just physical pain and continue to haunt the victims mentally even after they have returned home.
Terms: Self-schemas, Self-concept, Identity, Self-regulation, Arousal, Facial expression, Emotion, Fear, Anger, Happiness, Extraversion, Perceived control, and Desire for control