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The Conversation
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Christopher Patterson, Senior Lecturer, School of Nursing, University of Wollongong

Hallucinations in the movies tend to be about chaos, violence and mental distress. But they can be positive too

Jake Gyllenhaal Joaquin Phoenix Leonardo DiCaprio Natalie Portman Mental Health Torture
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Hallucinations are often depicted in the movies as terrifying experiences. Think Jake Gyllenhaal seeing a monstrous rabbit in Donnie Darko, Leonardo DiCaprio experiencing the torture of Shutter Island, Natalie Portman in Black Swan, or Joaquin Phoenix as the Joker.

Each character experiences some form of psychological distress. Scenes connect to, or even explain, a decline into chaos and violence.

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