Even though psychopaths make up about 4.5 percent of the general population, most of what ordinary people learn about psychopaths is through cinema. The way movies portray psychopaths shapes how people view them as a whole. So how accurate are the depictions we see on the screen?
A group of psychiatrists watched over three years 400 movies featuring characters who could be described as psychopaths, trying to determine which one accurately represented the clinical state of psychopathy. In other words, it revealed how many of the characters we see in the movies that are portrayed as psychopaths are actually psychopaths.
Narrowing the list to the 105 male and 21 female psychopaths portrayed in films since 1915, the team of 10 forensic scientists and film critics then weighed in who might be diagnosed as a psychopath and whether they would actually be diagnosed with other conditions. The team found some excellent and remarkable depictions of psychopathy that they believe can be used to “teach and demonstrate various aspects of forensic psychiatry.” However, they were in the minority.
“Some of the most famous ‘psychos’ in movies are psychotic, not psychopaths,” the team wrote in their article published in the Journal of Forensic Sciences. “Well-known examples are in the films Psycho (Norman Bates) and Taxi Driver (Travis Bickel). These characters are variously detached from reality and suffer from delusional thoughts.” So these two characters don’t actually fit the definition of a psychopath.
One of the best portrayals of psychopaths, the team said, was Anton Chigurh, the Coen brothers’ antagonist in No Country for Old Men. “Anton Chigurh is a well-designed prototypical idiopathic/primary psychopath,” the team continues. There are enough arguments and detailed information to diagnose a lack of composure, ruthlessness, complete determination, and lack of empathy, inability to learn from past experiences. He appears to be fundamentally invulnerable and resistant to any emotion or humanity.”
Anton Chigurh – No Country for Old MenAnother good portrayal of psychopaths was Henry from Henry-Portrait of a Serial Killer, inspired by real-life serial killer Henry Lee Lucas: “In this movie, the main, interesting theme is the chaos and instability in the psychopath’s life, Henry’s insight into A lack of empathy is a strong lack of empathy, emotional poverty, and failure to have a well-exemplified plan.”
Some of the most famous movie psychos don’t meet what psychiatrists will see in real life, but they still fall under the category of psychopaths. Hannibal Lecter, who they call the most famous and “cartoonized” example of the psychopath, is described as having “many personal traits that are not usually found in everyday clinical practice.”
Overall, the team believes that although many depictions of psychopaths are not accurate for clinical descriptions of this condition, films showing psychopaths can be beneficial to society: “These characters, reflecting certain types of our society, are essential to cinema and art itself in general, but for the next generation of forensic psychologists and psychiatrists. It can be largely educational material for
Finally, the team concludes: “In fact, some of these fictional characters can be considered valuable for teaching and demonstrating various aspects of forensic psychiatry such as personality disorders, paraphilia, expert traits, portrayals of the legal system, lawyers’ behavior and courtroom procedures, these films are a source of lessons. There may be questions about clinical cases and constructive discussions between students and faculty. But the truth is that not all of them are truly psychopaths . . . “
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