Obsessive-compulsive disorder in popular culture and lit

Jim Powers wrote:
>
> Howard Hughes and his handwashing compulsion in "The Aviator" was OCD.
> Kubrick was a perfectionist and a major pain in the ass to the actors
> who
> worked with him, some of whom he drove to tears with his constant
> demands for retakes.
>
So if that's an example of OCD, what would you call Ed Wood?:

"Do you think we should shoot the scene twice just to make sure?"

"Sure about what?"


--
"And he did bring them. It took a number of years, but one by one he
brought them here. Except for his father, that old man died where he was
born." -+ "Elia Kazan, "America, America"
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Richard Fangnail wrote:
> The earliest mention was in MacBeth. Lady Macbeth went nuts about a
> murder and focused her mind on her hand. Would that be considered OCD?
> I wonder when the term OCD was thought up.
>
> Today everybody knows about OCD from the TV series Monk. And it was
> mentioned in Elektra and the second novel by Steve Martin.
>
> The Wiki article lists too many people as having OCD. Like Stanley
> Kubrick. He's just listed because he filmed the same scenes over and
> over again. But that may not be OCD.

Dr. Johnson, I believe, was afflicted with a counting mania. So, if you
want to believe Ken Russell, was composer Anton Bruckner.

In fiction, would you count Uriah Heep, who keeps rubbing his hands
together?
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"Richard Fangnail" wrote in message

> The earliest mention was in MacBeth. Lady Macbeth went nuts about a
> murder and focused her mind on her hand. Would that be considered OCD?
> I wonder when the term OCD was thought up.
>
> Today everybody knows about OCD from the TV series Monk. And it was
> mentioned in Elektra and the second novel by Steve Martin.
>
> The Wiki article lists too many people as having OCD. Like Stanley
> Kubrick. He's just listed because he filmed the same scenes over and
> over again. But that may not be OCD.
>

As Good as it Gets is a
 >> Stay informed about: Obsessive-compulsive disorder in popular culture and lit 

Richard Fangnail wrote:

> The earliest mention was in MacBeth. Lady Macbeth went nuts about a
> murder and focused her mind on her hand. Would that be considered OCD?
> I wonder when the term OCD was thought up.
>
> Today everybody knows about OCD from the TV series Monk. And it was
> mentioned in Elektra and the second novel by Steve Martin.
>
> The Wiki article lists too many people as having OCD. Like Stanley
> Kubrick. He's just listed because he filmed the same scenes over and
> over again. But that may not be OCD.

Donald Trump, host of the TV show "The Apprentice," has a germ phobia
that makes him afraid to shake hands.

Hollywood hottie Denise Richards has germ phobias. She always carries a
supply of antibiotics around with her at all times. And when she flies
on an airliner, she puts a blanket completely over her head to ward off
germs.

In the TV show and movie "The Odd Couple," the character of Felix Ungar
was a compulsive cleaner.

On the TV show "Survivor 10: Palau," the contestant Janu Tornell was a
compulsive hoarder, hoarding useless junk like old shower curtains and
old bones. (She also appeared to be bulimic, which is a kind of
obsession too.)

It's safe to say that in the novel and movie "Moby .," Captain Ahab
was obsessed with the White Whale.

The movie "As Good As It Gets" featured an obsessive character played by
Jack Nicholson.

The movie "Girl: Interrupted" featured a compulsive character, Daisy,
who would hoard old chicken bones. (I think that was changed from the
original novel.)


--
Steven D. Litvintchouk
Email: sdlitvin.DeleteThis@earthlinkNOSPAM.net

Remove the NOSPAM before replying to me.
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Bob Champ wrote:
>
> In fiction, would you count Uriah Heep, who keeps rubbing his hands
> together?

Not sure I would. The character *was* complex and depending on your
attitude toward socioeconomics and criminal intent, much more
sympathetic than Steerforth. I always took his hand-rubbing as a
"tell" of a sadistic-but-craven pleasure about the power he had over
Agnes' father.

The complication, however, is whether his pleasure resulted solely from
monetary considerations or from a belief he'd eventually win Agnes'
love. In any event, I would love to see an adaptation of David
Copperfield where 1) David's mother is portrayed with less syrupy
sympathy than she has been in every adaptation I've ever seen; 2)
Steerforth's (and Mrs. Steerforth's) evil is portrayed with the
brutality it deserves; and 3) Uriah Heep's motives are treated in a way
that makes the character more complicated than Snidely Whiplash.
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Richard Fangnail wrote:
> The earliest mention was in MacBeth. Lady Macbeth went nuts about a
> murder and focused her mind on her hand. Would that be considered OCD?

I think there's a difference between OCD and murderous guilt that
results in madness.

> Today everybody knows about OCD from the TV series Monk.

I know I'll be extremely unpopular for asking this, but does *anyone*
in rec.arts.tv-or-movieland dislike this series as much as I do? I
loathe Monk. I dislike it for the way it 1) glamorizes a disease that
is incredibly painful both for the person inflicted with it and even
more painful for those who have to live with him/her; and 2) dismisses
the undercurrent of contempt that even the most sympathetic
OCD-sufferer betrays for anything and everything part of the Great
Unwashed.

IIRC (and it should) I'm speaking as someone with this affliction who
never once thought it deserves a cutesy upbeat Randy Newman
accompaniment. Part of the suffering involves knowing how you make
others suffer, and there's nothing remotely amusing, funny, or ha-ha
about it.
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Richard Fangnail wrote:
>
> The earliest mention was in MacBeth.

Well, there's the catalogue of the ships.
 >> Stay informed about: Obsessive-compulsive disorder in popular culture and lit 

wrote:

> I know I'll be extremely unpopular for asking this, but does *anyone*
> in rec.arts.tv-or-movieland dislike this series as much as I do?

probably not.

> I
> loathe Monk.

So do I. But I loathe the character moreso than the series. I thought
the show was wonderful the first two or three episodes that I saw but it
got old really quick.

I dislike it for the way it 1) glamorizes a disease that
> is incredibly painful both for the person inflicted with it and even
> more painful for those who have to live with him/her; and 2) dismisses
> the undercurrent of contempt that even the most sympathetic
> OCD-sufferer betrays for anything and everything part of the Great
> Unwashed.
>

I'm probably not a very sympathetic person, but I just got tired of his
behavior. So I quit watching. I have no idea whether Monk's behavior
was exagerated and with both my mother and wife with severe diseases, I
just don't have any desire to feel sympathy for a fictional character
and in general don't see humor in this type of situation.


> IIRC (and it should) I'm speaking as someone with this affliction who
> never once thought it deserves a cutesy upbeat Randy Newman
> accompaniment. Part of the suffering involves knowing how you make
> others suffer, and there's nothing remotely amusing, funny, or ha-ha
> about it.

Is your degree of OCD as extreme as Monk's?

.
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. Sidbury wrote:
> wrote:

> > I loathe Monk.
>
> So do I. But I loathe the character moreso than the series. I thought
> the show was wonderful the first two or three episodes that I saw but it
> got old really quick.

Ditto.

> I'm probably not a very sympathetic person, but I just got tired of his
> behavior. So I quit watching. I have no idea whether Monk's behavior
> was exagerated and with both my mother and wife with severe diseases, I
> just don't have any desire to feel sympathy for a fictional character
> and in general don't see humor in this type of situation.

Exactly. To me, it's like Hogan's Heroes. I was very young when that
show was on the air, and I remember my dad sometimes watching and
laughing at it, and I'd always think to myself How *could* you laugh at
anything related to Hitler, especially when you fought in WWII?

> Is your degree of OCD as extreme as Monk's?

There are different ways the disease manifests itself, but yeah. The
"counting/checking/rechecking" variant naturally attracts attention,
and when I was a kid I had a raging case of that, pure unmitigated
torture, as intrinsically funny as schizophrenia or being a paraplegic.
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