...Shutter Island is a film that is completely unpredictable and changes the audience’s expectations on a whole new level. At first it appears that Teddy Daniels arrives on Shutter Island to do his job as a U.S. Marshal, but by the end of the movie, it appears that Teddy is actually suffering from Delusional Disorder. He had created the tale to cope with the tragic misfortunes that happened to him and the crime that he committed in his earlier years. Teddy Daniels creates a life for himself that he believes to be real in order to deal with the pain that he bears. His doctors try to cure his psychiatric disorder by making his imagination a reality. The film begins with two U.S. Marshals, Teddy Daniels and Chuck Aule, who set out to find an escaped patient,...
Words: 1306 - Pages: 6
...SHUTTER ISLAND It's 1954, and up-and-coming U.S. marshal Teddy Daniels is assigned to investigate the disappearance of a patient from Boston's Shutter Island Ashecliffe Hospital. He's been pushing for an assignment on the island for personal reasons, but before long he wonders whether he hasn't been brought there as part of a twisted plot by hospital doctors whose radical treatments range from unethical to illegal to downright sinister. Teddy's shrewd investigating skills soon provide a promising lead, but the hospital refuses him access to records he suspects would break the case wide open. As a hurricane cuts off communication with the mainland, more dangerous criminals "escape" in the confusion, and the puzzling, improbable clues multiply, Teddy begins to doubt everything - his memory, his partner, even his own sanity. In the end of the movie it is revealed that "Teddy" is actually a delusional mental patient in the hospital. He murdered his manic depressive wife Dolores Chanal after she drowned their three children. He was a mental patient at the hospital for two years, and the doctors decided to try a roleplay experiment to allow him to live out his delusional fantasy in order to come to grips with reality. The treatment plan works - and the patient is retold what has happened to him and he accepts what he did to his wife. However, in the final scene he relapses to a delusional state, and the administrator decides to lobotomize him. It is implied that he is faking his...
Words: 278 - Pages: 2
...SHUTTER ISLAND It's 1954, and up-and-coming U.S. marshal Teddy Daniels is assigned to investigate the disappearance of a patient from Boston's Shutter Island Ashecliffe Hospital. He's been pushing for an assignment on the island for personal reasons, but before long he wonders whether he hasn't been brought there as part of a twisted plot by hospital doctors whose radical treatments range from unethical to illegal to downright sinister. Teddy's shrewd investigating skills soon provide a promising lead, but the hospital refuses him access to records he suspects would break the case wide open. As a hurricane cuts off communication with the mainland, more dangerous criminals "escape" in the confusion, and the puzzling, improbable clues multiply, Teddy begins to doubt everything - his memory, his partner, even his own sanity. In the end of the movie it is revealed that "Teddy" is actually a delusional mental patient in the hospital. He murdered his manic depressive wife Dolores Chanal after she drowned their three children. He was a mental patient at the hospital for two years, and the doctors decided to try a roleplay experiment to allow him to live out his delusional fantasy in order to come to grips with reality. The treatment plan works - and the patient is retold what has happened to him and he accepts what he did to his wife. However, in the final scene he relapses to a delusional state, and the administrator decides to lobotomize him. It is implied that he is faking his...
Words: 283 - Pages: 2
...Running Head: SHUTTER ISLAND 1 Shutter Island and Delusional Disorder Lynn Fontenot Ilze Nix University of Maryland University College 02/26/2012 SHUTTER ISLAND 2 Abstract A behind the scenes look at the disorder that plagues the character in “Shutter Island”. To inform the audience exactly what a Delusional Disorder is and what characterizes Delusional Disorder. SHUTTER ISLAND 3 “Shutter Island” is one of those films that glue you to the screen with suspense and mystery. Initially, we think we are watching a well-intentioned U.S. Marshall named Teddy enter an insane asylum hoping to uncover the whereabouts of a recently-disappeared patient. Later, we begin to doubt our initial idea of a simple missing person case. Now we think we are witnessing a brave, intelligent and dedicated U.S. Marshall searching for damning evidence that will expose...
Words: 1145 - Pages: 5
...Robert Kimble GMMD211 Shutter Island Scene Analysis The “Opening Scene” The 2010 movie Shutter Island is a psychological thriller that focuses on our main character “Teddy”. Portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio, our protagonist believes he is a U.S. Marshal who is headed to a remote island, which houses an asylum for the criminally insane, to investigate the disappearance of one of their patients. The harsh reality is that “Teddy” is one of those patients, and the opening scene sets the tone for what is to follow. The opening scene starts with a greyish screen and only the diegetic sound of the waves, symbolizing perhaps being lost at sea with nothing but water surrounding you. We then hear the horn of a ship, followed by a long shot of the ship taking shape as it emerges from the fog. At the front of the ship we see a person standing alone facing the direction the ship is heading. This symbolizes that whomever it is, they are gaining clarity of what is to come. Cut to a medium shot, showing the interior of the boat where we see someone leaning over a toilet and hear them throwing up, meanwhile we also hear the rustling of the chains shown hanging in the forefront. Cut to an extreme close up of our main character looking into the mirror and saying to himself “pull yourself together Teddy, pull yourself together.” This scene wreaks of split personality disorder. This could have a parallel meaning that while “Teddy” is fighting with himself to regain control, it is making...
Words: 870 - Pages: 4
...Running head: Shutter Island 1 Issues in Shutter Island Andrew Casey Introduction to therapeutic skills Fort Hays State University 2 The movie Shutter Island deals with a time period in the 1950s where a character by the name of Edward “teddy” Daniels, in his thirties, deals with some extreme situations. The movie starts off with Daniels on a boat heading towards Ashville hospital of the criminally insane on Shutter Island near the Boston Harbor. He is accompanied by his partner by the name of Chuck Aule throughout most of the movie. They end up getting stuck on the island and try to find a missing patient by the name of Rachel Solando. Daniel is denied many times in getting classified documents and even entering a part of the hospital. Daniels starts to get headaches and when he sleeps he has visions of Rachel Solando drowning her three kids. Towards the end he feels like the doctors are doing questionable experiments and treatments on patients. He also feels like they are giving him something that is causing him to get the headaches and that everyone is playing games with him. At the end of the movie he realizes that he’s not actually Edward Daniels but he is actually Andrew Laeddis. The doctor finally tells him He is the one that actually killed his wife and drowned his three kids and he can now remember what he had done and that he is actually a patient at the hospital. There seems to be a couple disorders that Andrew...
Words: 970 - Pages: 4
...The movie Shutter Island is directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonard Dicaprio was released February 2010. The movie is based off the book of the same name. The book was written by Dennis Lehane. The book was written in 2003. The movie is set in Boston in the 1954. It started out with two U.S Marshall, Teddy and Chuck looking into the disappearing of a woman on a secretive mental institution for the criminally insane. Aschecliffe Hospital is a highly security federal asylum for the criminal insane. The only way on and off the island is the ferry. Upon reaching the Island, Teddy and his partner Chuck is brief on the patient that disappears from the island. The patient name is Rachel. Rachel was sent to the asylum because she drowned her three children and is in the stage of denial. She believed that she is still at home in Massachusetts Villages and that the other patients and staffs are her neighbors. While investigating the disappearing of Rachel, Teddy started having constant hallucinations, dreams and delusions about his wife. In one of his dream his wife appears to him and told him that the man who started the fire that killed her, Andrew Laeddis was stilled on the Island along with Rachel. While exploring and searching for the escaped patient, Teddy and Chuck had to seek shelter from the hurricane that reeking hell on the Island. While waiting out the storm in a building Teddy told Chuck about his traumatic experiences that he had while he was a solider in the war...
Words: 604 - Pages: 3
...Chapter division are from the DVD. • Time shifts are indicated thus: F/B-W = wartime memories; F/B-PW = post war memories; H or D = dreams, hallucinations – though they are often mixed up, so it is an indication only • 'Clue': used to point out deliberate illogicalities etc. that may cause unease on first viewing but are really obvious only on subsequent viewings. S/T: 'sub-text' = things said that take on another layer of meaning on second viewing. • 'Teddy' is used for the Marshal persona, 'Andrew' for his real identity as a patient. Similarly Chuck / Dr Sheehan. • Abbreviations used: // = CUT; M = motif; A = allusion; F/S = foreshadowing (signposting); MS = Martin Scorsese narrative commentary 1. screen text: Boston Harbour Islands, 1954 fog; a ferry appears; a man (Chuck) stands at the bow // INT. HEAD - DAY: a man being sick "It's just water. It's a lot of water." SHALLOW FOCUS on manacles and handcuffs, PULL FOCUS as he emerges He joins a solicitous Chuck at the rail. They introduce themselves – he is Teddy Daniels, a "legend" in the US Marshalls. Teddy concedes that he used to be married Day 1 EST. the wider context; from here on, everything will be from Teddy's POV. Our first view of the protagonist is a double and ambiguous image: his black silhouette and his reflection in a mirror, water dripping off his face. Water will be a significant motif. Teddy's first view of Chuck is a back view, through a link-chain fence (M). Chuck's full name is...
Words: 8295 - Pages: 34
...ajkjajskdhbkuhgfiuehfiuegfhauk Shutter Island is written by Dennis Lehane. Lehane mainly write books in the genres crime, fantasy and mystery fiction. In 1954 US Marshal Teddy Daniels has come to Shutter Island, home of Ashecliffe hospital for the criminally insane to find an escape murderer named Rachel Solando. As a killer hurricane bears down on the island, the investigation deepens and the questions mount. How has a barefoot woman escaped from a locked room? Who is leaving them clues in the form of cryptic codes? And what really goes on in Ward C? The closer Teddy gets to the truth, the more elusive it becomes. And the more he begins to believe that he may never leave Shutter Island. Because someone is trying to drive him insane… Shutter Island is written by Dennis Lehane. Lehane mainly write books in the genres crime, fantasy and mystery fiction. In 1954 US Marshal Teddy Daniels has come to Shutter Island, home of Ashecliffe hospital for the criminally insane to find an escape murderer named Rachel Solando. As a killer hurricane bears down on the island, the investigation deepens and the questions mount. How has a barefoot woman escaped from a locked room? Who is leaving them clues in the form of cryptic codes? And what really goes on in Ward C? The closer Teddy gets to the truth, the more elusive it becomes. And the more he begins to believe that he may never leave Shutter Island. Because someone is trying to drive him insane… Shutter Island is written by Dennis Lehane....
Words: 2128 - Pages: 9
...Reel Bad Arabs--Discussion Prompt--50 Minutes Current Word Count: 214. Required Word count: 514 1. Shaheen’s research has led him to view over 1000 films in which Arabs are represented. He argues that Arabs are “the most maligned group in the history of Hollywood.” Would you agree with this claim? And why? 2. Shaheen identifies what he terms the mythical location “arabland.” From where did this image first come? It first came from the European travel writers and artist about 150 to 200 years ago. 3. Shaheen says that “arabland” is furnished with images from an “instant Ali Baba kit.” What are the key ingredients found in this kit? The key ingredients are are images of see through pantaloons, belly dancing outfits, villains with long scimitars, magic carpets, and turban charmers programming snakes in and out of baskets. 4. In what ways does Disney’s Aladdin serve as a prime example of this stereotyping? Aladdin portrays the Arab people as villains with long scimitars, “where they cut peoples ears off if they don’t like your face” and also as people who steal. 5. In what ways are Arab men represented in these movies? 6. In what ways are Arab women represented in these movies? 7. In what ways, according to Shaheen, does the “reel” representation of Arabs affect our understanding of the Arab world in “real” life? 8. Shaheen says that American-made DVDs are readily available throughout the Arab world. In what way, also,...
Words: 289 - Pages: 2
...Sam Collins Film Essay: 2012 question: Analyse how symbols are used to present an idea or ideas in a film Shutter Island by legendary American director Martin Scorsese is an elaborate labyrinth of a film. It's ever changing plot line and deeply emotional scenes make it compulsory viewing for any avid film goer. Scorsese has constructed this intricately woven film by using various film techniques the most significant of which is symbols. In the film symbols are used to present many different ideas to the audience. Scorsese who is a modern film icon constantly uses symbolism throughout his films to convey subtle ideas to the audience without them knowing. Three different motifs or symbols are used in the film to achieve this result. Water is firstly used to present the idea reality or truth; while fire is used to represent the idea of Teddy's' fantasy. ward "C" is used the film is used to represent the idea of Teddy's mental instability to the audience. These symbols are used throughout the film but primarily in three, firstly water in the opening scene. Fire is used in the scene where Teddy supposedly finds Solando and Ward C in the scene where Teddy is exploring the anoles to find Laeddis' cell. These symbols in combination create a very profound cinematic involvement for the audience and makes Shutter Island, a modern classic. The story begins on a steamboat heading towards the ominously secluded Ashecliffe mental hospital off the Boston, Massachusetts shore in 1954...
Words: 2181 - Pages: 9
...Sam Collins Film Essay: 2012 question: Analyse how symbols are used to present an idea or ideas in a film Shutter Island by legendary American director Martin Scorsese is an elaborate labyrinth of a film. It's ever changing plot line and deeply emotional scenes make it compulsory viewing for any avid film goer. Scorsese has constructed this intricately woven film by using various film techniques the most significant of which is symbols. In the film symbols are used to present many different ideas to the audience. Scorsese who is a modern film icon constantly uses symbolism throughout his films to convey subtle ideas to the audience without them knowing. Three different motifs or symbols are used in the film to achieve this result. Water is firstly used to present the idea reality or truth; while fire is used to represent the idea of Teddy's' fantasy. ward "C" is used the film is used to represent the idea of Teddy's mental instability to the audience. These symbols are used throughout the film but primarily in three, firstly water in the opening scene. Fire is used in the scene where Teddy supposedly finds Solando and Ward C in the scene where Teddy is exploring the anoles to find Laeddis' cell. These symbols in combination create a very profound cinematic involvement for the audience and makes Shutter Island, a modern classic. The story begins on a steamboat heading towards the ominously secluded Ashecliffe mental hospital off the Boston, Massachusetts shore in 1954...
Words: 2181 - Pages: 9
...In Bruges Reflection Martin McDonagh’s film, In Bruges, is a dark comedy about two Irish hit men, Ken and Ray, who are ordered by their boss, Harry, to hide out in the medieval town of Bruges in Belgium after Ray’s mistake on his first job. Ray goes sightseeing in Bruges with Ken, but does not admire its beauty like Ken does. While Ray miserably waits for Ken outside of the Basilica of the Holy Blood, he focuses his attention children who are skipping, laughing, and clutching stuffed animals. Suddenly, a flashback occurs where Ray assassinates a priest, Father McHenry, in a church, and one of the bullets unexpectedly pierces through the forehead of a little boy. Ray is stunned, especially as he reads the child’s confessions on a blood-spattered piece of paper near his dead body: “1. Being moody 2. Being bad at maths 3. Being sad.” The boy’s benign sins are contrasted with Ray’s murders for the sole purpose of money and wealth. After a visit to the Groeninge Museum, Ken and Ray philosophically reflect on Hieronymus Bosch’s painting, The Last Judgment. Ken discusses his belief in living a good life, despite him having killed people including an innocent man out of self-defense. This triggers Ray’s overwhelming guilt and regret; he tells Ken, “I will have always have killed that little boy. That ain’t ever going away… Unless… maybe I go away.” Ken, clearly concerned, says, “Don’t even think like that.” This conversation reveals Ray’s desire to end his own life, and foreshadows Ken’s...
Words: 654 - Pages: 3
...What types of defense mechanisms do we use on a regular basis to avoid reality? How positive are they? Andrew Laeddis is the main character in the movie Shutter Island. He suffers from schizophrenia and many other mental problems. The trigger happened after one day he came back home from work and discovered that his wife had killed his three children. She was mentally ill and felt no remorse for what she just did so Andrew killed her. As a result of such traumatic experience, he unconsciously invented another self, created another story in which someone else had committed his wife’s and his own crime. He even denied having any children. At the end he drives himself crazy, and ends up in a mental institution. It’s also important to mention that he went to war and he had lived traumatic experiences prior to his family’s murder. This is a great example for what is called “’defense mechanisms” and how they affect our lives. Everyday people are faced with problems, traumas, difficulties and emotional (and even physical) pain. The mind, in order to protect itself from pain, usually creates these defense mechanisms such as denial, habit, behavioral changes, isolation of affect, etc. Even though defense mechanisms can be positive for protecting the individual against trauma, they can be extremely destructive in using them without awareness and control. Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud researched defense mechanisms...
Words: 363 - Pages: 2
...reliable when he speaks for or acts in accordance with the norms of the work, (which is to say, the implied authors norms) unreliable when he does not" [2] . We are consumers of narratives which has given us the ability to identify unreliable stories. However as "theoreticians, we are less well able to say what constitutes unreliability and how it is detected". [3] Shutter Island is a film adapted, from a novel, by Martin Scorsese; the film is within the film noir genre, with an unreliable narrator that, as result, plays with your mind and makes the film appear to be very ambiguous. Shutter Island is clearly shown through the perspective of a fallacious narrator. A narrator's job is to reveal what is real in the narrative and, comparable to tellers in reality, the narrator may have it incorrect or would rather disclose what they deem to be true. "On this model we perceive narrative unreliability when we perceive a disparity between the intentions of the implied author concerning what is true in the story and the intentions of the narrator concerning what she would have the reader believe." [4] Shutter Islands' narrative follows this idea as throughout the film, the central characters perspective gradually becomes more and more inconsistent. The narrator successfully...
Words: 1390 - Pages: 6
