Teresa DolezalAbnormal PsychologyProfessor Amanda EllisFilm Paper3/31/14Film Paper: Fatal Attraction Borderline Personality DisorderIn the 1987 film titled Fatal Attraction, a happily married New York lawyer 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 soon after the weekend ends, Dan receives numerous harassing phone calls from Alex and soon discovers that she is pregnant with his child. He tells Alex multiple times that he wants nothing to do with her or the baby, but she doesn't stop. It soon gets to the point where Alex kidnaps Dan's daughter and stalks not only him but his family as well. He eventually gets to the point where he breaks into Dan's house and attempts to kill him and his wife, which then unsuccessfully leads to his murder. After witnessing Alex's erotic behavior and self-harming tendencies, I diagnosed her with borderline personality disorder (BPD). According to our textbook, BPD has been a focus of interest for many reasons, including; being very common in clinical settings, very difficult to treat and associated with suicide. The DSM-5 diagnoses bipolar disorder in the presence of five or more of the following criteria: 1) frantic efforts to avoid abandonment 2) unstable interpersonal relationships in which others are idealized or devalued 3) unstable sense of self 4) self-defeating impulsivity behaviors in at least two areas (such as sex, substance abuse, reckless driving, and binge eating) 5) recurrent suicidal behaviors, self-harming gestures or behaviors 6) marked mood reactivity, 7) chronic feelings of emptiness 8) recurrent attacks of intense or poorly controlled... half of the paper... according to DSM-5 criteria. The fact that Alex meets not just five but seven and a half of the criteria based on the textbook undoubtedly led me to believe that he has BPD. I really enjoyed watching this movie and it really helped me learn about BPD not only as a disorder but also from the perspective of someone who actually suffers from the disorder, even if Alex was fictional. The film did a great job of adequately portraying the disorder. The only thing I wish had been added to the film would have been to see that instead of Dan "drowning" rather than Beth shooting Alex at the end, if they had kept her alive and allowed her to get treatment. I would have liked to see the treatment options provided. But overall watching this movie helped me integrate what I learned in the lecture about the disorder and have sympathy for those people who are unfortunate enough to have it..