University Essay: Psychological Analysis of Darren Aronofsky's Requiem

This essay provides a critical psychological analysis of the 2000 movie "Requiem for a Dream." It examines the film's portrayal of drug addiction and its devastating consequences on the characters' lives. The essay explores the psychological motivations behind the characters' substance abuse, linking their actions to the harsh realities they face. It delves into the themes of escapism, desperation, and the destructive nature of addiction, drawing on quotes from the film and referencing relevant psychological concepts. The analysis highlights how the movie presents the characters' descent into despair, emphasizing the cyclical nature of addiction and the loss of hope. The essay also discusses the movie's impact and its relevance to contemporary issues of drug abuse, offering a nuanced perspective on the psychological toll of addiction.

Running head: PSYCHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF MOVIE
Psychological Analysis of Movie
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

1PSYCHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF MOVIE
“I have absolutely no pleasure in the stimulants in which I sometimes so madly indulge. It
has not been in the pursuit of pleasure that I have periled life and reputation and reason. It has
been the desperate attempt to escape from torturing memories, from a sense of insupportable
loneliness and a dread of some strange impending doom.”
The above quoted lines of Edgar Allan Poe clearly indicate the reason behind the
consumption of drugs and other hallucinatory materials by the people. It is to be noted that
drug abuse and its related aspects are one of the major problems which the world is facing
presently. Every year several movies are directed which aim to portray this problem. The
movie “Requiem for a Dream” released in 2000, is an “American psychological movie”
which aims to portray the negative effects of the process of drug abuse and the effects which
entail with it (Menzemer, 2015). This essay intends to give a critical review of the movie
from a psychological perspective.
The Imbd magazine gives the outline of the plot of the movie as “The drug-induced
utopias of four Coney Island people are shattered when their addictions run deep” (Aronofsky
et al., 2018). The movie is one of the most moving ones to be produced in the 21st century and
have as its theme the problem of drug abuse which the majority of the present day youths are
facing (Krzic, 2015). According to the same magazine, “Before The Wrestler and Black
Swan, before The Fountain and Noah, there was Requiem for a Dream, the harrowing heroin
film that brought Darren Aronofsky to the attention of mainstream moviegoers in 2000”
(Aronofsky et al., 2018). It is to be noted that the movie portrays four different kinds of drug
abuse which leads the central characters to be “enmeshed in a web of delusions and reckless
desperation that is subsequently overtaken by reality, thus leaving them as hollow shells of
their former selves” (Krzic, 2015). The major characters in the movie seem to be,
“Wandering between two worlds

2PSYCHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF MOVIE
One dead and the other powerless to be born in”
The present reality of their lives is too much for them to bear and thus they resort to
the various forms of addiction like heroine and others to cross over to the realm of the land of
their “heart’s desire” (Rossi, 2017). However, in the later part of the novel self-realization
kicks in and therefore the protagonist, Hubert Selby Jr. says, “I suspect there will never be a
requiem for a dream, simply because it will destroy us before we have the opportunity to
mourn it's passing” (Aronofsky et al., 2018). Towards the end of the novel there is a ray of
light as ““...and the night was comfortably warm as the soft filtered light continued to push
the darkness into the shadows as they held each other and kissed and pushed each others
darkness into the corner, believing in each others light, each others dream” (Aronofsky et al.,
2018). However, the central characters are not allowed even this particular ray of hope and
everything is obliterated.
The movie has been interpreted in psychological terms ever since its release in the
year 2000 (Chong, 2015). The movie relates the root cause of the drug abuse faced by the
central characters to the ugliness of their reality. Therefore, Hubert Selby Jr., justifies his
drug abuse by saying that it is the only positive ray of hope in his life in the lines “There's a
sorrow and pain in everyone's life, but every now and then there's a ray of light that melts the
loneliness in your heart and brings comfort like hot soup and a soft bed” (Aronofsky et al.,
2018). Selby justifies his psychological need for the intake of drugs in the words “The voice
so filled with nostalgia that you could almost see the memories floating through the blue
smoke, memories not only of music and joy and youth, but perhaps, of dreams….almost a
part of the world” (Aronofsky et al., 2018). It is often seen that the inability to bear the
mundane realties of the world often turns the people to one or another form of coping
mechanism which more often than not is related to the problem of drug abuse (Wildfeuer,
2014). However, it would be wrong to say that the drug addicts are completely oblivious to

3PSYCHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF MOVIE
the harmful effects of living in the unreal (Heider, 2013). Thus, Selby says “Eventually we all
have to accept full and total responsibility for our actions, everything we have done, and have
not done” (Aronofsky et al., 2018).
The problem of drug abuse and its related aspects is a major one which the world is
facing at the moment (Chong, 2015). It is to be noted that the around 74% of the youth in the
12th standard consume heroine or smoke marijuana at least once a week (Monitoring the
Future Survey: High School and Youth Trends, 2018). The present day youths just like the
character Selby in the movie who justifies their drug problem in the words “If the lights
prevented you from seeing the heavens, then preform a little magic and change reality to fit
the need” justify their drug problems in the same lines (Aronofsky et al., 2018). Therefore, it
would not be too far-fetched to say that the problem of drug abuse poses a serious threat to
the present generation (Heider, 2013). This particular movie therefore, through the life of
Selby and the other characters seek to present the negative effects of drug addiction and the
crimes which it gives rise to. Many people consider the ending of the movie to be very
nihilistic. However, according to others it is supposed to be an eye-opener for the drug
addicts showing them the potential of the drugs to havoc their lives.
Therefore, from the above discussion it becomes clear that drug abuse is a common
problem faced by the majority of the world population today. The movie, “Requiem for a
Dream” intends to show this particular problem faced by the people through their
presentation of the life of Selby, his girlfriend, mother and friend. It is to be noted that the
problem of drug abuse is deeply rooted to the psychological of the person. Therefore, a
proper consideration of the psychology of the person concerned is also important for the
treatment of the people with drug abuse problems.

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References
Aronofsky, D., SelJr., H., SelJr., H., Burstyn, E., Leto, J., & Connelly, J. (2018). Requiem for
a Dream (2000). IMDb. Retrieved 13 March 2018, from
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0180093/
Chong, S. (2015). Hollywood has often been called a “dream factory,” manufac-turing
fantasies of wish fulfillment and escapism for mass. Hopelessness: Developmental,
Cultural, and Clinical Realms, 107.
Heider, F. (2013). The psychology of interpersonal relations. Psychology Press.
Krzic, V. (2015). Clint Mansell: Music in the films" Requiem for a Dream" and" The
Fountain" by Darren Aronofsky (Doctoral dissertation, UCLA).
Menzemer, M. C. (2015). Perversions of the American Dream in the 20th Century Novel:
Requiem for a Dream and The Great Gatsby.
Monitoring the Future Survey: High School and Youth Trends. (2018). Drugabuse.gov.
Retrieved 13 March 2018, from
https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/monitoring-future-survey-high-
school-youth-trends
Rossi, L. L. (2017). Requiem for a Dream: Drug aesthetics in audiovisual
processes. Technoetic Arts, 15(2), 129-135.
Wildfeuer, J. (2014). Film discourse interpretation: Towards a new paradigm for multimodal
film analysis (Vol. 9). Routledge.