The second part of

‘Groundhog Day’ with Bill Murray and Andie McDowell demonstrates the power of love to transform character in a way that leads to profound psychological and emotional growth.

Darren Aronofsky’s visually stunning new film, ‘Black Swan’, tells us that while it may be terrifying and socially unacceptable to experience “black” feeling, when we try to be all “white” we only end up weak and frightened, incapable of passionate engagement with our world.

Continuing discussion of the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter sagas as a metaphor for the psychic conflict between love and hatred.

A continuation of an earlier post that discusses both epics in terms of human psychology, especially splitting and ambivalence.

The Harry Potter saga, as well as ‘The Lord of the Rings’ trilogy of books and movies, is a wonderfully complex fairy tale that can be understood as both an epic battle between good and evil as well as the externalization of internal emotional conflicts.

I’m pleased to introduce Movies and Mental Health with Joseph Burgo, Ph.D. This blog is devoted to looking at films — both recent, contemporary movies and the classics — as an avenue for examining different aspects of the human experience.

“I’m particularly interested in exploring and writing about the nexus between mental health issues and popular culture,” says Dr. Burgo. “From time to time, a book or TV show might also be an appropriate topic for discussion.”

I love movies, and I love delving into the psychological aspects of their characters, because there are just so many darned good stories out there. So I must admit, I’m not only happy to introduce this new blog, but also will be an avid reader of it.

Please give Joseph a big Psych Central welcome!