The Rabbit Hole USA

Last weeks topic on So, You Want to Know More About…, was about making movies which can be found here. This weeks column is about psychopaths. Next week, perhaps we will choose a more uplifting topic.

One of our surprising best sellers here at The Rabbit Hole is The Sociopath Next Door by Martha Stout. Obviously, people want to know more about this relevant topic, so we will point out a few other titles.

The problem comes up when discussing psychopaths is that there is so much confusion. Just two reasons for that confusion:

1. The movies often depict them as psycho killers, at times cannibalistic, and portrays them as you would know them if you saw them. Not so, according to the books we will point out below. They are usually very charming, and you often won’t know until you are embroiled into some sort of relationship. Most do not break the law. In fact, they can present an appearance of normality, without neurosis, and are very good at presenting a facade of mental health.

2. We have a very difficult time imagining a type of existence and perception that is completely foreign to our own. We project our own emotions and motivations, because we can hardly conceive of a being without emotion, a conscience or a concern for others’ well being.

The Sociopath Next Door by Martha Stout, ph.D

Everyone should read this book. Really.

We are accustomed to think of sociopaths as violent criminals, but clinical psychologist, Martha Stout, reveals that a shocking 4 percent of ordinary people have an often undetected mental disorder, the chief symptom of which is the complete absence of conscience. This book teaches you how to identify a sociopath who may already wreaking havoc in your life, and how to protect yourself from the ones who cross your path.

Political Ponerology: A Science on the Nature of Evil Adjusted for Political Purposes by Andrew M. Lobaczewski

The first draft of this book was considered so dangerous it had to be burned, just before the secret police raided the author’s offices in Communist Poland. Subsequently the book faced further censorship around the world. The major theme of Lobaczewski’s book is that if world civilization is to survive and thrive it must learn how to deal with evil individuals who seek its destruction. I will warn you: it is not an easy book to read. It is very dense and on the academic side, but well worth the effort. We recommend reading a few pages a day. Here is an example quote:

“When the human mind comes into contact with this new reality so different from any experiences encountered by a person raised in a society dominated by normal people, it releases psychophysiological shock symptoms in the human brain with a higher tonus of cortex inhibition and a stifling of feelings, which then sometimes gush forth uncontrollably. The mind then works more slowly and less keenly because the associative mechanisms have become inefficient. Especially when a person has direct contact with psychopathic representatives of the new rule, who use their specific experience so as to traumatize the minds of the “others” with their own personalities, his mind succumbs to a state of short-term catatonia. Their humiliating and arrogant techniques, brutal paramoralizations, and so forth
deaden his thought processes and his self-defense capabilities, and their divergent experiential method anchors in his mind. In the presence of this kind of phenomenon, any moralizing evaluation of a person´s behavior in such a situation thus becomes inaccurate at best.”

Without Conscience: The Disturbing World of the Psychopaths Among Us and Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work both by Robert D. Hare Ph.D.

Dr. Hare has made it his life’s goal to spread the word and educate people, often touring and giving lectures. Snakes in Suits will perhaps provide answers as to how we got into such a difficult economic climate in the first place. Psychopaths are incapable of understanding or predicting future consequences of their actions. They seek power and control. Sounds a bit like some of those executive bankers, who are now making sure they get their bonuses after they are largely responsible for the collapse in the first place. The research for Without Conscience largely takes place on prison populations.

Women Who Love Psychopaths by Sandra L.Brown

This is the first book to explore the personalities and experiences of women who have been romantically involved with psychopathic men. The book details the methods psychopathic men use to lure and seduce women. It gives an inside look at what it is like to experience intimacy with a psychopath. Most importantly, the book shows the inevitable harm that result from involvement with psychopaths. You can find Sandra Browns website saferelationships.com here.

This is the start of new series here, So, You Want to Know More About…, where we will pick a topic and suggest books that are useful in educating yourself about said topic. So far, we have plans to write posts about Japanese pop culture, punk, psychopaths, Medieval history, economics, creative writing, UFO’s, jazz, graffiti… If you have a topic you want us to include, you can leave us a comment.

This post is So, you want to know more about making your own movie, then The Rabbit Hole suggests the following books:

Rebel Without A Crew or How a 23 Year-Old Filmmaker with $7000 Became a Hollywood Player by Robert Rodriquez

Rebel Without A Crew is drawn largely from Rodriguez’s journals while he worked on developing and filming El Mariachi, including his time during the infamous human guinie pig fund raising gigs. The appendix includes one of his ten minute film courses, and the original screenplay for El Mariachi. A genuinely fun read, as he shares all of his disappointments, ups and downs, and ingenious tricks to get the movie made on the cheap and then shops it around.

What They Don’t Teach You at Film School: 161 Strategies for Making Your Own Movie No Matter What by Camille Landau and Tiare White

With chapters like If all you want to direct what are you waiting for, Fix the script and the rest will follow, and Uses for duct tape and other quick fixes this little book covers a lot of territory. Loaded with common sense, considering that you might have to be slightly crazy to take up such a task.

Directing Actors: Creating Memorable Performances for Film and Television by Judith Weston

Once you have a great script, you will need to help your actors bring it to life. This is the book that will help teach you how to establish creative, collaborative relationships with actors. Ms. Weston also discusses just what exactly constitutes a good performances, what actors want from their directors, how to get the most from rehearsals, and much more.

Deep Cinema: Film as Shamanic Initiation by Mary Trainor-Brigham, M.A.

You want to make movies that move people, right? This book can help. Deep Cinema reveals how movie makers and movie lovers can perceive storytelling from an indigenous world-view through a layered shamanic cosmology that we all share.  We were lucky enough to get Mary here for a truly inspirational film discussion/book signing. Recommended by John Sayles.

In the Blink of an Eye: A Perspective on Film Editing by Walter Murch

After you shoot your film, it is now time to actually make your movie. In the books forward, Francis Coppola calls the author a pioneer. You want to know why do cuts work, and what makes a good cut then read this book. The second edition includes a lengthy meditation on digital editing.

From Reel to Deal: Everything You Need to Create a Successful Independent Film by Dov Simens

What do you do after you’ve made your film? Actually, I would recommend reading this before you start filming – great tips on budgeting, screenplays, cameras, sound, etc. Then Simens gets into distribution rights and studios. If this book can help Quentin Tarantino get his start, then it may be able to help you.