Wednesday, December 23, 2020

Application of Theory of Mind in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Part 2

 To minimize risk of exposure to and spread of the COVID-19 virus, I am temporarily suspending in-person hypnotherapy sessions with me in my office. However, phone, Skype and Zoom consultations ARE and WILL REMAIN AVAILABLE! 

 

(This blog was originally posted on December 17, 2015)


 
Photo by Rick Hustead

 

Yesterday, I identified several applications of Hypnosis Motivation Institute founder John Kappas, Ph.D.’s Theory of Mind in the 1964 stop-action film, Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer. In the first part of this blog, I focused on Dr. Kappas’s model in the context of how the characters interacted with each other and dealt with challenges in their environment. Here I will address the ways in which details in the story satisfy the audience’s expectations about the characters’ behavior, especially by anthropomorphizing the non-human characters’ beliefs and behaviors.

  • First, the narrator of the movie, Sam the Snowman, tells the audience that a Christmas tree isn’t a Christmas tree without tinsel. Then, when Rudolph runs away from home and Donner decides to search for his son, the reindeer tells Rudolph’s mother that she must remain in the cave to wait because the search will be dangerous. A couple times, Donner and even Sam the Snowman refer to the search as being “men’s work” and that the male reindeer need to “protect the women.” Sexism aside, isn’t a female reindeer a “doe”?
  • Remember that tuft of bright yellow hair that I noticed sprouting between the tiny antlers of Dasher, Rudolph’s new friend at the reindeer tryouts? The “hairstyle” was probably very popular among young boys when the movie came out. As for “Coach” Comet’s baseball hat and whistle, we’re used to seeing these items on coaches and referees at human sports events. Incorporating these details on the reindeer helped to make the scene more relatable for the child audience that would have been watching the movie.
  • People of any age would recognize and even empathize with the more serious theme of bullying that Rudolph, Hermey the Elf and the characters on the Island of Misfit Toys endure. To this day, whenever I watch the movie or listen to the song, I feel a twinge of sadness and even anger about the teasing and ostracism that they endure before their differences are accepted and appreciated.
  • When we meet mineral prospector Yukon Cornelius, he values silver and gold above all else. He has been alone in the wilderness for so long in his pursuit wealth that it’s almost incredible that he would even know how to talk to Rudolph and Hermey, let alone forge a friendship with them. I don’t think it’s an accident that Cornelius is depicted as being socially isolated, perhaps the consequence of a single-minded pursuit of achieving his goal even though he also nurtured a desire to connect with others. The fact that this character is able to ultimately make friends and even join the community in Christmas Town is a hopeful metaphor for the many individuals who feel isolated and alone at this time of year.
  • The characters that live on the Island of Misfit Toys initially doubt that their dream of finding homes with children who will love them can or will ever come true. They don’t even believe it when they first hear the reindeer’s bells as they pull Santa’s sleigh and see the glow from Rudolph’s red nose. Their disbelief stems from their previous experience of being disappointed every Christmas Eve; the idea of finally being delivered to a home on Christmas morning is unknown and likely even a little bit scary. It is emotionally safer to feel disappointment when you know that a wish won’t be realized than to feel even more hurt by allowing yourself to believe that it might come true and then it doesn’t happen after all.

 

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Let hypnotherapy help you become a permanent ex-smoker! Package #1 is six sessions and helps you kick the habit gradually ($800 when paid in full, up front, including  the First/Intro session in the cost). Package #2 is one, two-hour session for people who smoke 5 or fewer cigarettes per day. Please go to the link below for prices and more details about each offer ($275, may be required to also do the First/Intro session if you have never been hypnotized before). 

 

*These promotions may not be combined with any other offer. It is non-transferable and may not be exchanged for cash.

 

 

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. In July 2019 and in September 2020 she was voted the Best Hypnotherapist in Santa Clarita, California. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

© 2020

 

 

1 comment:

  1. Hi, there. I am Tom Neil and I want to describe how life had been for my younger brother living with schizophrenia and how he had been permanently able to survive this debilitating illness via a naturopathic, herbal method.

    Maicon - my kid brother was twenty years old when he was brought to the emergency room by the campus police of the college from which he had been suspended several months ago. A professor had called and reported that he had walked into his classroom, accused him of taking his tuition money, and refused to leave.

    Although he had much academic success as a teenager, his behavior had become increasingly odd during the past year. He quit seeing his friends and no longer seemed to care about his appearance or social pursuits. He began wearing the same clothes each day and seldom bathed. He lived with several family members but rarely spoke to any of them. When he did talk to them, he said he had found clues that his college was just a front for an organized crime operation. He had been suspended from college because of missing many classes. My sister said that she had often seen him mumbling quietly to himself and at times he seemed to be talking to people who were not there. He would emerge from my room and ask my family to be quiet even when they were not making any noise.

    My father and sister told the staff that Maicon's great-grandmother had had a serious illness and had lived for 30 years in a state hospital, which they believed was a mental hospital. Our mother left the family when Maicon was very young. She has been out of touch with us, and they thought she might have been treated for mental health problems.

    Maicon agreed to sign himself into the psychiatric unit for treatment. The whole family except I had agreed to have Maicon transferred to a mental asylum. I knew inwardly there was still some plausible means by which my kid brother could overcome this condition. I knew botanical means of treatment will be more favorable than any other type of treatment, and as such, I had taken a keen interest in the research of naturopathic alternative measures suitable for the treatment of schizophrenia. I had pleaded for some little patience from the family in the delay of the transfer, I was looking forward to proving a point to the entire family, of a positive botanical remedy for this condition.

    It was during my ceaseless search on the internet I had been fortunate enough to come across Dr. Utu Herbal Cure: an African herbalist and witch doctor whose professional works had majored on the eradication of certain viral conditions, especially schizophrenia, ( improving the memory capacity positively), via a traditional, naturopathic process and distinguished diet plan. It was by the administration of this herbal specialist that my brother had been able to improve his condition for better.

    Before the naturopathic remedy - Maicon's story had reflected a common case, in which a high-functioning young adult goes through a major decline in day-to-day skills. Although family and friends may feel this is a loss of the person they knew, the illness can be treated and a good outcome is possible.

    My brother Maicon is just like many other patients out there suffering from this disease. Although he was able to overcome this condition via a naturopathic herbal remedy administered by this African herbal physician and saved completely thus, rekindling the lost joy which had been experienced by the family members.

    I wish to use this opportunity to reach across to anyone who may happen to be diagnosed with this disastrous condition to spread the hope of an everlasting herbal remedy that is capable of imposing a permanent end to this disease.

    For more information concerning this naturopathic herbal remedy, feel free to contact this African herbal practitioner via email:
    drutuherbalcure@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete