Teresa DolezalAbnormal PsychologyProfessor Amanda EllisFilm Paper3/31/14Film Paper: Fatal Attraction Borderline Personality DisorderIn the 1987 film Fatal Attraction, a happy and happy New York lawyer Groom named Dan Callagher (Michael Douglas) is having an affair with his co-worker Alex (Glenn Close), and the two enjoy a steamy weekend while Dan's wife and daughter are away. But shortly after the weekend ends, Dan receives several harassing phone calls from Alex and soon discovers that she is pregnant with his child. He repeatedly tells Alex that he wants nothing to do with her or the baby, but she doesn't stop. It soon escalates to the point where Alex kidnaps Dan's daughter and stalks not only him but his family as well. Eventually it gets to the point where she breaks into Dan's house and attempts to murder him and his wife, which unsuccessfully leads to his murder. After witnessing Alex's erotic behavior and self-harming tendencies, I diagnosed him with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). According to our textbook, BPD has been a major focus of interest for many reasons, including: being very common in clinical settings, very difficult to treat, and associated with suicidal tendencies. The DSM-5 diagnoses BPD in the presence of at least five of the following criteria: 1) frantic efforts to avoid abandonment 2) unstable interpersonal relationships in which others are idealized or devalued 3) unstable self-esteem 4) impulsivity self-destructive behaviors in at least two domains (such as sex, substance abuse, reckless driving, and binge eating) 5) recurrent suicidal behaviors, gestures, or behaviors or self-injurious behaviors 6) marked mood reactivity, 7) feelings chronic emptiness 8) recurrent episodes of intense or poorly controlled...... middle of paper ......DSM-5 criteria. The fact that Alex meets not only five but seven and a half of the criteria based on the manual definitely leads me to believe that she has BPD. I really enjoyed watching this movie and it really helped me learn more about BPD, not only as a disorder, but also from the perspective of someone who actually suffers from it, although Alex was fictitious. The film did a great job of portraying the disorder correctly. The only thing I would have liked to add to the movie would have been to see that instead of Dan "drowning", Beth shoots Alex at the end, if they had kept her alive and allowed her to be cure. I would have liked to see the treatment options offered. But overall, watching this movie helped me complete what I learned at a conference about this disease and have sympathy for people who are unfortunate enough to suffer from it..