Media
This section of the website is devoted to presenting media that depict trauma in a variety of contexts.
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Books that discuss trauma in the lives of famous people:
Alice Miller. (1990). For Your Own Good: Hidden Cruelty in Child-Rearing and the Roots of Violence. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN: 978-0374522698
Description: Miller reviews Hitler’s abusive childhood and its influence on the development of his extreme views and behavior.
Alice Miller. (1990). The Untouched Key: Tracing Childhood Trauma in Creativity and Destructiveness. Anchor Books: New York. ISBN: 978-0385267649
Description: Miller examines the lives of Picasso, Buster Keaton, Nietzsche, Hitler, and others, demonstrating how trauma affected their art and thinking.
Jerrold M. Post. (2003). The Psychological Assessment of Political Leaders: With Profiles of Saddam Hussein and Bill Clinton. University of Michigan Press. ISBN: 978-0472068388
Description: Jerrold Post, M.D. and his team of contributors seek out a deeper understanding of the influences of personality on global affairs.
Lenore Terr. (1990). Too Afraid to Cry. Basic Books: New York. ISBN: 978-0465086443
Description: Terr reviews famous people such as Stephen King whose lives have been greatly impacted by trauma.
Lenore Terr. Unchained Memories: True Stories of Traumatic Memories Lost and Found. Basic Books: New York. ISBN: 978-0465095391
Description: Terr reviews the lives of famous figures including Virginia Woolf, Maya Angelou, and Stephen King whose lives and work were strongly influenced by early trauma.
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Documentaries that feature trauma:
The Hunting Ground [1] by Kirby Dick
Description: The Hunting Ground is a film documentary that explores sexual assault on United States campuses, institutional cover-ups, and the toll that abuse takes on victims and their families as they fight for justice.
The Invisible War [2] by Kirby Dick
Description: This film documentary investigates violent sexual assault within the United States military. Interviews with victims detail their experiences with the consequences of rape, corruption of the justice system, and attempts to seek medical and psychological care.
What I’ve Been Through Is Not Who I Am [3] by End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes (EPCAT) USA
Description: This documentary is centered around the sexual exploitation of children in the United States. Katrina, a survivor of human trafficking, shares her emotional story of recovery and success. Experts also discuss the traumatic effects of commercial sexual exploitation of children.
Who Will Love Me?: Four Stories of Mother-Daughter Incest [4] by Christine Hatchard, Ph.D.
Description: This is a courageous documentary that uses interviews with four women who were sexually abused by their mothers to describe the long-term impact of this type of abuse. Painful and articulate, these women describe the tremendous impact of mother-daughter incest, yet inspire the audiences with their courage and struggle to heal.
You’re Not Crazy and You’re Not Alone: Inside the Inner World of Dissociative Identity Disorder [5] by Wendy Lemke, M.S.
Description: This DVD features six individuals with dissociative identify disorder who share their experiences, artwork, and poetry, so that others may understand the disorder from their perspective and how treatment has impacted their lives.
[1] Dick, K. (2015). The hunting ground. Retrieved from http://www.thehuntinggroundfilm.com/
[2] Dick, K. (2012). The invisible war. Retrieved from http://invisiblewarmovie.com/index.php
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Movies that depict various types of trauma:
Antwone Fisher is based on a true story of a young man dealing with his traumatic past that includes multiple placements in foster care, as well as physical abuse and sexual abuse.
Deliver Us From Evil is a film that surrounds sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church.
Fast Runner is the first feature film ever to be written, directed and acted entirely in Inuktitut, the language of Canada’s Inuit people. It won an award at Cannes. Set in the ancient past, the film starts slowly as it retells an Inuit legend passed down through oral tradition. In a community already split by rivalry and lust for power, an evil shaman commits a murder and places a curse that plays out through the lives of the characters, until spiritual forces and human courage begin the process of healing and confrontation. It provides an alternative to revenge that is inspiring.
Fearless is about a plane crash survivor and his subsequent post-traumatic stress disorder.
Forbidden Games touches on themes about erotism in childhood and shows a dramatic traumatizing event in the life of a young girl.
Hotel Rwanda explores the harsh reality of the Rwandan genocide.
Metamorphosis by Netalie Braun explores the lives of rape victims in Israel. This film was given an award by the International Society for the Study of Trauma & Dissociation.
Monster portrays a female serial killer, Aileen Wuornos, who experienced childhood and adulthood sexual abuse. Charlize Theron won an Academy Award for best actress for this role in Monster. To note, when Theron was 15, she witnessed her mother shoot and kill her physically abusive father. Because it was ruled self-defense, the police did not press charges against her mother.
Mother of Mine is a movie based on the evacuation of 70,000 Finnish children to the safety of Sweden in World War II. The movie depicts a boy grappling with his abandonment, and his foster mother grappling with a loss of her own that prevents her from attaching to the boy. The documentary of the actual events is “Sotalapset” and is also available in Finnish.
Mysterious Skin portrays two boys who were sexually abused by a coach. One boy developed amnesia and the other became a prostitute. The boys find each other later in life and attempt to begin their process of healing.
Pan’s Labyrinth is about a little girl and how she manages the reality of an abusive step-father, a helpless mother, and the guilt of her disobedience as meaning risk for her unborn baby brother.
Schindler’s List covers the traumatic events of the Holocaust.
Spotlight is a movie based on the true story of how Boston Globe reporters uncovered the corruption of a local catholic church after investigating into many allegations of child molestation by an unfrocked priest.
The Cemetery Club is a fantastic documentary about a group of aging Holocaust survivors who meet monthly in a cemetery in Israel. It follows two women who reacted to the trauma in quite different ways: one profoundly narcissistic, the other depressed with many physical problems.
The Fisher King portrays a DJ whose off-hand comment triggers a tragedy, followed by his descent into despair as he interacts with a survivor of that tragedy.
The Machinist is a dark movie about a man has severe PTSD and amnesia and how he recovers his own memory.
The Magdalene explores the reality of teen pregnancy in Ireland a few decades ago, where teens were dropped off at convents where they were further abused by nuns and priests (as a way of making them “pay for their sins”). The movie is powerful, and at times, disturbing.
The Wall by Pink Floyd depicts the story of a character named “Pink” who loses his father as a child and is abused at school by teachers. Each of Pink’s traumas become “another brick in the wall”, leading him to increasing depths of self-imposed isolation. To note, Roger Waters, the bass player and songwriter for Pink Floyd, lost his own father in World War II.
The War at Home portrays a Vietnam Veteran who is unable to settle back into life in his small home town after the atrocities he’s faced.
The White Ribbon a postmodern German film that won the 2010 foreign film Oscar, is about the psychological basis of Nazism as seen through social and familial relationships in a small village in pre-World War I Germany. The film covers physical and sexual abuse of children, the transgenerational transmission of trauma, anti-Semitism, and class and group prejudices. The movie becomes somewhat of a thriller without a clear wrap up, so it would be great to spur discussion.
Two Women portrays a widow struggling to survive in battle-scarred Italy along with a teenage daughter. The film begins with both women sharing romantic feelings toward a young man, a story line disrupted by the ravages of World War II and the horrifying rape of both mother and daughter in a church by Allied Moroccan soldiers. The aftermath of this atrocity finds both characters dealing with even more, varying shades of grief, as the war seems to sap all that they had treasured and leaves them struggling for their emotional and physical survival.
Waltz with Bashir portrays an individual’s societal dissociation. The film tells the story of a man who experiences amnesia after his time as a soldier in Israel’s war against Lebanon. The movie depicts his search to uncover his actions during the war.
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A Streetcar Named Desire (1947) [1]
Description: In this play, suicide and rape lead the main character, Blanche DuBois, to become psychologically unstable. Some believe that this play is loosely based on Rose Williams’ struggle with mental illness.
Bang Bang You’re Dead (1999) [2]
Description: This is a one-act play written by William Mastrosimone that focuses on school violence and its causes. The plot focuses on a high school student named Josh who murdered his parents and five classmates. The play was written in response to three different school shootings: Thurston High School (1998), Heath High School (1997), and Westside Middle School (1998).
Death and the Maiden (1990) [3]
Description: Ariel Dorfman scripts the struggle of Paulina Salas, a former political prisoner that experienced sexual assault by her captors. Viewers follow her story as she attempts to bring her experiences to light and seek justice against her main perpetrator.
Post Mortem (1930) [4]
Description: Post Mortem follows the story of John Cavan, a young English soldier that is mortally wounded by enemy fire in World War I. The play explores the mistreatment of England’s soldiers during the war, the ignorance of the civilian public, and the horror of wars themselves.
Tommy (1975) [5]
Description: Tommy Walker develops a psychosomatic inability to see, hear, and speak after witnessing his father murder his mother’s lover. Unable to protect himself or tell anyone about being what is going on, Tommy is abused by his uncle and cousin. Ultimately, Tommy regains use of his senses and becomes a cultish type of spiritual leader, urging others to become spiritually awakened.
[2] Mastrosimone, W. (1999). Bang bang you’re dead. Retrieved from http://totaltheater.com/?q=node/1129
[4] Coward, N. (1930). Post mortem. Retrieved from http://www.samuelfrench.com/p/12532/post-mortem
[5] Russell, K. (1975). Tommy. Retrieved from http://broadwaymusicalhome.com/shows/tommy.htm
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Online videos that provide an educational scope of trauma:
Childhood Trauma, Affect Regulation, and Borderline Personality Disorder by Bessel van der Kolk, M.D.
Description: Bessel van der Kolk, M.D. shares his findings related to childhood experiences and borderline personality disorder (BPD). From his study of subjects with BPD, he found that 87% of his participants had histories of severe childhood abuse and/or neglect starting prior to age 7. The most frequent exposure types of traumas experienced included experiencing childhood emotional abuse, loss of a primary caregiver, having an impaired caregiver, and exposure to domestic violence.
Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences on Health Across the Life Course—Core Story: The ACE Study by Robert Anda, M.D., M.S.
Description: This video discusses the link between childhood trauma and long-term health and social consequences. The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study is a research project conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Kaiser Permanente’s Health Appraisal Clinic in San Diego. The ACE Study’s findings suggest that certain childhood experiences are major risk factors for the leading causes of illness and death in addition to negatively impacting the quality of life of those who experienced ACEs.
Interpersonal and Institutional Betrayal by Jennifer Freyd, Ph.D.
Description: Jennifer Freyd, Ph.D. outlines the Betrayal Trauma Theory and the current research surrounding institutional and interpersonal betrayal. Like the ACE Study, she notes that health symptoms are also related to betrayal trauma, including, but not limited to, higher symptoms of anxiety, depression, dissociation, physical illness, hallucinations, self-harm, and re-victimization.
Overview of Sleep: Implications for Trauma Survivors by Kathleen Kendall-Tackett, Ph.D.
Description: Kathleen Kendall-Tackett, Ph.D. provides a brief overview of how trauma impacts sleeping patterns, leading to a multitude of sleep disorders. She also notes that individuals who are chronically sleep deprived exhibit an increased risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome, and how trauma survivors are at particular risk for these illnesses.
Overview of Trauma and Health by Kathleen Kendall-Tackett, Ph.D.
Description: Kathleen Kendall-Tackett, Ph.D. provides a brief overview of the relationship between trauma and health. She mentions the ACE Study, as well as other recent studies that show how childhood abuse leads to health problems across the lifespan. For example, she cites one study that found that experiencing childhood physical and sexual abuse doubles the odds of both depression and obesity in adulthood.
Prevent, Screen and Heal, Interrupting the Intergenerational Cycle of Adversity by Nadine Burke Harris, M.D., MPH, FAAP
Description: Dr. Nadine Burke Harris talks about the lifelong impact of childhood adverse experiences and what her pediatric clinic is doing to screen for and support traumatized children and families.
Trauma and the Brain: Could Early Life Trauma Impact Brain Development? by Ruth Lanius, M.D., Ph.D.
Description: Ruth Lanius, M.D., Ph.D. discusses the impact of early life trauma on brain development. She notes that research on brain development shows that infants and children who have experienced trauma and/or insecure attachment relationships have less cognitive engagement while they are younger, as well as developmental unrest throughout the lifespan.