Cinema and Personality Disorders

Abstract

Cinema constitutes an audiovisual mean, that represent facts and situations, in order to entertain, inform and teach. No other art form pervades the consciousness of the individual to the same extent and with such power as cinema. Many consider movies to be the most influential form of mass communication (Cape, 2003). The potential of teaching through cinema and movies is its nature and structure, which is linked to pleasure and entertainment. Thus, cinema is a really useful tool to whoever aims in teaching. More precisely, there is a variety of movies that represent many aspects of psychopathology and could be a part of the teaching process on mental health issues. Movies combine realism with imagination and include a lot of information in short timeframes. The use of movies for educational purposes helps and strengthens learning by keeping the interest of learners high and giving them a motivation to learn. Experiential learning is an alternative way of education that extends beyond the classroom, specific textbooks and frontal teaching.