Short Film Analysis: American Sniper

Psychology Film Analysis: American Sniper
Symptoms Observed:
The film touches briefly on Chris Kyle’s childhood the relationship with his family as highly religious and aggressive. His father is emotionally abusive, if not physically abusive to his sons. He glorifies aggression and male dominance and talks about the analogy of the wolf, sheep, and the just sheep dog who is aggressive and strong. Kyle appears to identify with this sheep dog alias at which point he begins to show ‘Hero’ or ‘Savior’ like behavior. Having to leave his men and fellow soldiers behind with the antagonistic or opposing sniper who is portrayed as the evil in the world leaves him distraught which is why he enlists in several tours. He brings his bible wherever he goes and it’s difficult to know whether it is for protection or absolution, or to validate his purpose. He can’t allow for the ‘wolf’ or the evil in the world go unpunished and must right the wrong according to his belief. It’s an obsession, not a job because of how much he thinks about his adversary and how he won’t settle down until his mission is completed. His need for control causes the desire to go back right away. He talks about it as his wife is getting ready to go into labor. He spends his time watching videos of what is happing during the war. It puts strain on his relationship with his wife and family

For OCPD I would argue that Kyle is missing the orderliness, special rituals, or perfectionism. One thing I would like to know and are uncertain about is can conflict resolution or goal achievement cure OCPD? Does Kyle actually show legitimate symptoms of OCPD in your professional opinion and is it possible for the OCPD to become stronger by not treating the PTSD and because the PTSD gets progressively worse as seen in the film can that also be a direct cause of