MovieChat Forums > My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done (2010) Discussion > Schizotypal Personality Disorder...Did m...

Schizotypal Personality Disorder...Did mother fuel the fire?


Warning...possible SPOILER!


I thought the film was excellent and rather true to what could possibly be someone's life. It was interesting to watch how the character persisted and no one knew / thought to get this guy psychiatric help or call someone because of his eratic behaviour.

The mother's role was a very controlling one and it was quite apparent that she too suffered from a disabling psychiatric disorder. From an observer's point of view their relationship was anything but 'normal'.

I also found it interesting that the mother's last words as her son proceeded to slay her were "My son, My son, what have YE done?" Was she caught in a huge delusional theatrical performance herself?

It also seemed as though the only seemingly perceptive people in the film were the two neighbors however at that point it was too late and the ultimate end unfolded right before their eyes. The request of the son of the neighbor - that she kill him - I wonder if he would have been stopped or if he would have essentially lashed out against them all.

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No-one else see a small lashing of Norman Bates over the mother-son thing?

http://comments.imdb.com/user/ur0064493/comments-index?order=date&; summary=off&start=0

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Re: Schizotypal Personality Disorder...Did mother fuel the fire?

Who knows? The director Herzog admits that he made up 70% of the film. The mom died in 1979. It's very difficult to research the true crime as little is available on-line.

Although current psychological standards state that there is no correlation between a mother's behavior and schizophrenia, the studies I have read while a psychology student in the 90s gave strong evidence that that indeed is a contributing factor in some cases of schizophrenia. One study showed hidden camera footage of mothers who visited their sons in hospitals and they would behave very strangely......one would do things like hug her son while giving him bizarre insults.

Some info about the film / crime here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Son,_My_Son,_What_Have_Ye_Done%3F
http://www.bu.edu/today/node/10249
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2009/apr/05/lz1c05grant20233-inspired-tragedy/




~ "The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist."

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I have to disagree with your diagnosis, although I'll agree that both seem to be mentally ill, and that schizotypal personality disorder fits some of his behavior.

The main reason schizotypal personality disorder does not fit is that Brad's family and friends say that he "changed" after coming back from Peru. The nature of personality disorders makes it impossible for someone to exhibit symptoms suddenly following an event. To be diagnosed as having schizotypal personality disorder, the behaviors should begin by early adulthood. Personality disorders are characterized by an individual's characteristic pattern of behavior.

"The lack of close friends or confidants other than first-degree relatives" criterion isn't met by Brad either (his fiance). My diagnosis of Brad would probably be either paranoid schizophrenia or brief psychotic episode.

Oh well, Biloxi was beautiful.

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Of course she fueled the fire; after all, who could possibly NOT go nuts when the über-creepy Grace Zabriskie is roaming around the house. Seriously though I suppose it´s safe to say Zabriskie, too, had mental issues or hang-ups concerning her son - she clearly loved Shannon very much, but at the same time... jesus christ the scene early on where she brought Shannon and Savigny cookies and just stopped to stare at them from the doorway for what seemed an eternity with that all-too-well-intentioned yet utterly chilling smile on her face... that´s just bloody spooky. Mystifying undercurrents in that fam´ly (what had happened to Shannon´s dad, again?)



"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan

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