Film Analysis of Dead Man Walking - Term Paper Example

? 01 December Film Analysis of Dead Man Walking: Introduction: Dead Man Walking is acritically acclaimed move focusing on the story of a criminal Matthew Poncelet who is imprisoned in Louisiana and is scheduled to be executed for murdering a couple. The film conveys a strong message about the cruelty of capital punishment and stresses on abolishing it. It compels the audience to think deep about serious issues in life. Myriad socio-psychological principles are evident in the film in different scenes and characters. In this paper, I will contemplate three principles which struck me the most while watching the film and have huge repercussions. The pronounced effects of these principles really developed my interest in the film and also enabled me to appreciate their validity in real life situations. In order to discuss these critically important principles and relate them to the film under analysis, first the particular scene to which each of them relates the most will be identified. Then, that principle will be scrutinized to appreciate what literature has to say about it and finally, the extent to which each principle relates to the scene described will be critically analyzed. A- Deindividuation Scene: After going through many sessions with Poncelet, Sister Helen develops a special relationship with him and also becomes his confidant. She strongly believes in the value of forgiveness and repeatedly attempts to inculcate the same belief in him in many earlier scenes. It is because of that emphasis that near the end of the film just sometime before Poncelet is about to be executed for his crime, he confides in Sister Helen that he did in fact kill the boy and rape the girl despite having denied these deeds before. In this scene, he takes full responsibility for the cruel demise of both teenagers. What is deindividuation? Deindividuation is popularly described as marked loss of self-awareness to the point that a person becomes uncaring about social code of conduct or norms of the society. The loss of self-awareness is so potent that a person refuses to take responsibility for any action taken by him/her. According to the concept of deindividuation, people are more likely to engage in crime, violate law, or break traditional norms when they have lost their self-awareness. Such people have no regard for others’ lives and do not seem to mind the idea of them bringing suffering or acute distress in other people’s lives. Deindividuation also compels people to violate their personal norms because external norms become more powerful (Pastorino and Doyle-Portillo 473) and engage in activities they would not care about otherwise. It is associated with unbridled and offensive behavior because it lowers the sense of self-awareness leaving a person unable to conscientiously evaluate his/her actions. How the scene conforms to the principle of deindividuation? This scene illustrates how deindividuation played a destructive role in motivating Poncelet to murder two innocent people. Because of wrong influence in the form of Carl Vitello and his own weaknesses, he violated his person code of conduct and lived by the external norms which stimulated him to commit the crime. He had no self-awareness in that moment and even after that, he is not seen willing to take responsibility for his heinous actions. Before this scene, he always admitted being high on drugs but blamed Vitello for killing the teenagers leaving himself out of the main action. His personal norm was to lie about the real situation and he tried to live by that norm. However, when the moment of execution finally dawns on him, he loses self-awareness and the will to protect himself. Here, the external norms of Sister Helen related to honesty and taking responsibility for one’s actions become more powerful. B- Schemas Scene: Near the end of the movie, Sister Helen tells Pocelet that he is a son of God and should expect forgiveness because while he is being executed, Christ would be here. This makes Poncelet very emotional as the words uttered from Sister Helen’s mouth leave a deep impression on his heart. He is so moved that through tears he tells Sister Helen that no one in his all life has ever called him a son of God. People often called him a son of a you-know-what but never for a moment thought about giving him some respect. What is a schema? Schemas are thought of as cognitive frameworks which help a person interpret information. These frameworks or structures “are created through multiple experiences” (Delamater 263) and compel a person to act in certain ways and exclude all that information which does not confirm to them. Schemas guide a person to act in a certain way and see things in a particular manner. It is this concept which creates differences between people on the level of perception. People look at same things with different patterns of thinking because of different schemas they have (Strack 448). It is through these cognitive structures that new information is interpreted. It is schemas which decide how a person is bound to process and use information. How the scene conforms to the principle of schemas? Poncelet’s schema is related to loneliness and social rejection. All his life before imprisonment he spent dealing with loneliness, frustration, and social disapproval which made him develop a schema for self-loathing. Because of multiple social experiences of criticism and abandonment gained in and out of prison, he began to think he was meant to be hated. It was this schema that made him focus on killing the teenagers because the act confirmed his pre-existing belief instilled by society that he was not good. He never met anyone who tried to modify his existing schema with kind treatment. However, when he is told by Sister Helen that he is a son of God for agreeing to the fact that he killed the innocent teenagers, his schema about social rejection is activated and realizing that someone thinks respectfully of him in contrast to the schema he had developed makes him tearful. Sister Helen very effectively changes his schema for loathing himself by conveying this message that he is to be respected being the son of God. C- Cognitive dissonance Scene: There is a scene in the movie when Sister Helen is stopped in her tracks by a prison guard who curtly asks her what purpose a nun like herself could have in frequenting some place like a prison. She is asked why she keeps visiting Poncelet when she very well knows he brutally killed innocent people. She reacts to this by claiming that she sees no sense in authorized killing as a way to control unauthorized killing. What is cognitive dissonance? Cognitive dissonance is described as a conflict which arises when two ideas or beliefs conflict with each in a person’s mind and create a feeling of acute discomfort for that person. This dissonance is quite pervasive and can be witnessed in many areas of life. Given its power and depth, it has a preponderant effect on people’s actions and behaviors causing them to act in a certain way. It is a natural tendency to seek consistency and avoid dissonance, but the latter is always there when there is inconsistency between two ideas or between beliefs and behaviors (Cherry). It is suggested that engaging in an activity or inviting a belief which is not in line with the usual way a person behaves or think “creates unpleasant arousal or dissonance” (Sanderson 196). How the scene confirms to the principle of cognitive dissonance? In this scene, the prison guard observes Sister Helen acting in a way which is not in line with the conventional way in which most nuns are supposed to act like teaching in a convent. Instead, she regularly pays visit to a hated convict who has a very dark history. This creates dissonance and compels him to argue with the sister. As for Sister Helen herself, the conflict is that on one hand she believes in standing on Poncelet’s side for emotional support, but on the other side her tendency to support a convict is not approved by catholic chaplains and prison guards. Already she has had an earful from her seniors on expressing her will to defend Poncelet which is against what she has been taught all her life because her supporting Poncelet is perceived by others as supporting crime. So, she experiences unpleasant discomfort due to conflict between what her heart tells her to do and what people warn her against. Ultimately, she minimizes the dissonance by going with her heart. Discussion: The above discussion suggests that the knowledge of different socio-psychological principles is critically valuable to avoid unnecessary worries and enjoy happier lives. It also suggests that it is important not to treat disadvantaged members of society as social outcasts because that can inculcate destructive ideas in them. Many times we are unable to appropriately deal with difficult situations in life because of conflicts in our minds or because we nurture wrong perceptions. Sometimes, people have twisted code of conduct which they live by or they have a mutilated way of viewing and perceiving situations as in case of Poncelet in Dead Man Walking who ends up in jail because of a twisted way of thinking. This explains why knowing how to implement different socio-psychological principles in real life situations can be highly useful to correctly perceive or interpret new information and identify all pre-existing beliefs which are wrong. Works cited: Cherry, Kendra. What Is Cognitive Dissonance? About.com, 2013. Web. 01 Dec. 2013. Delamater, John. Handbook of Social Psychology. USA: Springer, 2006. Print. Pastorino, Ellen E., and Doyle-Portillo, Susann M. What is Psychology? Canada: Cengage Learning, 2011. Print. Sanderson, Catherine A. Social Psychology. USA: John Wiley & Sons, 2009. Print. Strack, Stephen. Handbook of Personology and Psychopathology. USA: John Wiley & Sons, 2005. Print. Read More