The 24-Frame Psychology Code: Psychology in Film

Author: Zhichao Wei

Publisher: Shaanxi People’s Publishing House

Imprint: Taoshuke

Publication year: 2022-9

Pages: 347

Price: 69.80 yuan

Format: Paperback

ISBN: 9787224145809

Description

“For everyone who loves movies: if you’re also a little interested in psychology, even better!”

The psychological secrets hidden in the films of renowned filmmakers including Wong Kar-wai, Ang Lee, Hayao Miyazaki, Tsui Hark, and Christopher Nolan.

The psychological puzzles concealed in classics such as Inception, Harry Potter, Lucy, and A Chinese Ghost Story.

Experimental psychology PhD and renowned film critic Zhichao Wei takes you on a search for the wonders of film through psychology.

With 4000+ films under his belt and the latest psychological research in his corner,

he teases apart and examines the many psychological states of filmmakers and audiences alike.

Recommendations

As a psychologist and longtime movie lover, Zhichao Wei turns film into the most accessible yet profoundly meaningful psychological material, helping us see into the human heart through movies.

— PhD in psychology and renowned psychological counselor Chen Haixian

Zhichao Wei’s book is terrific—it gave me a lot to think about, especially his analysis of Ang Lee’s signature films. Exactly: the people he films are the kind who keep their troubles buried, unable to tell anyone, caught in hardship and inner conflict. And that’s just his protagonists? Who among us isn’t?

— Veteran media professional and author of Relationship Strategy (Guanxi Gonglue) and Workplace Relationships (Zhi Chang Guanxi Ke) on the Dedao App Xiong Taihang

Light, funny, and enlightening. Looking at those films and their creators again through the lens of psychology gives them a whole new flavor.

— Director Chen Xiaoming

Starting in 1916, when Hugo Münsterberg made the connection, film and psychology have been linked. This book continues along that line, where scholarship and fun meet. Zhichao Wei uses clear, accessible psychological methods to unpack film plots and techniques, bringing both benefit and pleasure to creators and viewers.

— Film planner and critic Wei Xidi

Want to truly understand movies? Then you have to understand their hearts first.

— Bilibili creator / film-and-TV media personality Di Sheng

★★Part 1 Directors, Actors, Audiences: The Psychology of Filmmakers★★

【01 Director, Time to Take Your Meds】
Wong Kar-wai: The One You Can’t Have Keeps Stirring Things Up / 003
Ang Lee: The Keeper of Secrets Who Never Fits In / 010
Hayao Miyazaki: The World’s Clamor Has Nothing to Do with Me / 016
Chen Kaige: Young Kaige Is Deeply Wounded / 022
Tsui Hark: Bad Women, Good Monsters / 028
Quentin Tarantino: The Bloodthirsty Maniac’s Sense of Justice / 033
Eli Roth: Raising a Half-Psychopath / 039
Christopher Nolan: The Anti-Formula of “Using the Fake to Reach the Real” / 042
David Lynch: The Helplessness and Courage of the Dreamer / 048

【02 A Screenwriter’s Brain Is Something Else】
A Good Story = Two Fears + One Grudge / 057
The Art of Digging Holes and Never Filling Them / 064
The Screenwriter’s Matryoshka Mind / 069

【03 An Actor’s Survival Guide】
Post-Performance Stress Disorder: The Neuroscience of “Making Believe for Real” / 075
I Forced My Way into Hollywood / 078

【04 This Audience Is Trouble】
All the World’s Movies, Caught in One Net: The 12-Hour Movie Classification Method / 083
Return to Infancy: The Neural Standard for a Good Movie / 096
How to Hijack Movie Ratings with a “Spider-Sense” / 099
Why the Combination of Joy and Sorrow Moves Us Most / 101

★★Part 2 Lust, Good and Evil, Madness: Psychological Puzzles in Plot★★

【05 Good Men, Bad Men, Damn Men】
The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber: Zhang Wuji’s S&M Love Story / 109
Titanic: I Have a Strong Suspicion Jack and Rose Had a Child / 116
A Chinese Ghost Story: An Analysis of the Demon Diet / 119
James Bond: Why Are Bond Girls as Beautiful as Paintings? Because Bond Wants to Be a Good Dad / 122
Harry Potter: James Potter’s Sacrifice—He Gave His Life for Nothing / 125

【06 Good Guys, Bad Guys, Killers, Detectives】
Bad Guys, Bad Guys, Tell Me: What Do You Really Want? / 129
I Went Bald, and I Turned Bad / 137
The Justice “Face” League: A Reading of Superhero Faces / 141
Mindhunter: The New York Mad Bomber and the Birth of Criminal Profiling / 147
The Awkward Psychological Detective: Why Criminal Profiling Ruins Mystery Stories / 154
A Taxonomy of Psychopathic Killers / 158
Predictive Criminology, the Real-Life Minority Report / 163

【07 No Madness, No Masterpiece】
Under the Spell: The Hidden Theme of La La Land / 167
Split: Is Multiple Personality a “Man-Made Disorder”? / 173
Harry Potter: Luna Is a Crazy Girl / 177
Strangeness and Déjà Vu: A Report on Mr. Liang’s Emotional Wounds in The Sun Also Rises / 181
Downfall: Why Did the Führer Have a Rage? / 185

★★Part 3 Martial Arts, Horror, Science Fiction: The Psychology of Genre Films★★

【08 The Science of Kung Fu: A Study of Martial-Arts Films】
What Is That “Martial-Arts Flavor”? / 191
What the Hell Is “Biscuit-Bending Combat” in The Grandmaster? / 194
How to Master the Art of Holding Your Breath / 197
Black Mask: A Killer Who Can’t Take Pain Isn’t a Good Ninja / 199

【09 A Little Scare to Perk You Up: A Study of Horror Films】
Cthulhu’s Flesh, Skin, and Bones: What Annihilation Reveals About the Deepest Fear / 203
Why Do Zombies Make Us Both Love and Fear Them? / 211
Horror Films Aren’t That Scary—they Just Give You the Creeps / 215
Suspension of Disbelief: Why You Don’t Run out of the Theater Even When a Horror Film Is Terrifying / 218
Why Should You Watch a Horror Film on Valentine’s Day? / 221

【10 Red Pill, Blue Pill: A Study of Science-Fiction Films】
Westworld: How Artificial Intelligence Gains Self-Awareness / 225
Lucy: Is Time Just an Illusion? / 231
Indirect Dream Control: How to Play Inception in Real Life / 236
Direct Dream Control: A Hands-On Guide to Making Inception’s Totem / 241
One Day in Reality, Three Years in a Dream: Analyzing Inception’s Time Scheme / 246
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: How Feasible Is Memory Erasure? / 249
The Haruhi Suzumiya Problem and The Truman Show Delusion / 253

★★Part 4 The Screen, Reality, the Future: Film and Psychology in Conversation★★

【11 Movies Shine a Light on the Mind】
How to Massage Your Brain with Old Movies / 261
How to Summon Multiple Personalities with The Shining / 263
Use Movies to Spark Empathy / 266
Use Movies to Boost Your IQ / 271
Apocalypse Movies vs. COVID-19 / 273
The Marvelous Uses of Surrealist Films / 277

【12 Psychology Inspires Film】
Hypnosis: Security Guards Are Tough—Try Hypnotic Brainwashing / 283
Therapy: The “Psychotherapist’s Iron Law” of Mystery Films / 289
Faces: One Trick to End the Plot of Argo / 293
Amnesia: The Real-Life Prototype of Memento / 296
Feminism: Exodus and the Rise and Fall of the Society for the Eradication of Men / 300

【13 The Cinema of the Future】
Why Are There No Smell-O-Vision Movies? / 305
24 Frames vs. 60 Frames: Why “Film Feel” and “Silky Smoothness” Are Incompatible / 310
What You Think Is What You See: The Future Director’s Ultimate Weapon / 314