Loveday Writing

The playlist was created by Professor Caleb Lack, a professor of psychology at the University of Central Oklahoma, seven years ago. Lack describes the playlist, which consists of 35 videos as a “series of short documentaries, each around 10-15 minutes long, that examine the various types of mental disorders displayed by characters in popular media.” All of the documentaries were created by his undergraduate students for an assessment task.

The documentaries aren’t limited to characters on TV shows, some of them focus on movie and book characters. Each documentary goes into great detail on the psychological disorder that the character presents/has, and provides examples of how this is so.

The 35 videos are:

• Bart Simpson—A case study in ADHD (The Simpsons)
• Ron Weasley—A case study in Specific Phobia (Harry Potter)
• Teddy Daniels—A case study in Delusional Disorder (Shutter Island)
• Stewie Griffin—A case study in Oppositional Defiant Disorder (Family Guy)
• Regina George—A case study in Histrionic Personality Disorder (Mean Girls)
• The Grinch—A case study in Antisocial Personality Disorder (How the Grinch Stole Christmas)
• Giselle Vasco—A case study in Anorexia Nervosa (Skinny [book])
• Adrian Monk—A case study in OCD (Monk)
• Mad Hatter—A case study in Borderline Personality Disorder (Alice in Wonderland)
• Helen Hudson—A case study in Panic Disorder (Copycat)
• Walker & Texas Ranger Bobby—A case study in Oppositional Defiant Disorder (Walker Texas Ranger)
• Bill Dautrieve—A case study in Dysthymic Disorder (King of the Hill)
• Michael Scott—A case study in Histrionic Personality Disorder (The Office)
• Chaucer—A case study in Pathological Gambling (A Knight’s Tale)
• Marsha & Frannie Hunter—Case studies in Eating Disorders (Hunger Point)
• Nelson Muntz—A case study in Conduct Disorder (The Simpsons)
• The Joker—A case study in Antisocial Personality Disorder (The Dark Knight)
• Teddy Daniels—A case study in Delusional Disorder (a video from another student)
• Clark Griswold—A case study in ADHD (National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation)
• Dolores Price—A case study in Cyclothymic Disorder (She’s Come Undone [book])
• Jenna Maroney—A case study in Narcissistic Personality Disorder (30 Rock)
• Chip the Cable Guy—A case study in Borderline Personality Disorder (Cable Guy)
• Trevor Reznick—A case study in Anorexia (The Machinist)
• Tony Soprano—A case study in Panic Disorder (The Sopranos)
• Charlie Kaufman—A case study in Social Anxiety Disorder (Adaptation)
• Piglet—A case study in Generalised Anxiety Disorder (Winnie the Pooh)
• Eeyore—A case study in Major Depressive Disorder (Winnie the Pooh)
• Blair Waldorf—A case study in Eating Disorders (Gossip Girl)
• Anthony Soprano Junior—A case study in Major Depressive Disorder (The Sopranos)
• Matt Foley—A case study in Intermittent Explosive Disorder (Saturday Night Live)
• Casey Roberts—A case study in Bipolar II Disorder (Mad Love)
• Wolverine—A case study in Intermittent Explosive Disorder (The Wolverine)
• Carla Tate—A case study in Intellectual Disability (The Other Sister)
• Barry Egan—A case study in Social Anxiety Disorder (Punch-Drunk Love)
• Fiona Anderson—A case study in Alzheimer’s Dementia (Away From Her)

While you could argue that analysing fictional characters this much may be overkill, it shows the talents of the writers and actors that write and portray them respectively, not to mention it shows us why we connect with certain TV shows, movies, books, and more importantly characters in the first place. TV shows, movies and books aren’t just for mindless entertainment or to pass the time, they and their characters mean something to us all, and we can all learn them.