Monsters of the Upside Down, beware! Travis Langley (author of the acclaimed Batman and Psychology) returns with a group of expert contributors to explore these and other questions to shine a light on true human nature through the Netflix series and cultural phenomenon Stranger Things. When do feelings of grief, guilt, depression, fear, and isolation tear us down, and how do we transform them into hope, inspiration, forgiveness, acceptance, and motivation to do what's right? Growing up is hard enough without metaphors for the dangers that lurk in life's shadows springing to life in the form of monsters, villains, conspiracies, and enemy soldiers. Stranger Things Psychology: Life Upside Down descends into the dark side of adolescence to find the light on the other side of the ultimate coming-of-age story.
Batman is one of the most compelling and enduring characters to come from the Golden Age of Comics, and interest in his story has only increased through countless incarnations since his first appearance in Detective Comics #27 in 1939. Why does this superhero without superpowers fascinate us? What does that fascination say about us? Batman and Psychology explores these and other intriguing questions about the masked vigilante, including the following: Does Batman have PTSD? Why does he fight crime? Why as a vigilante? Why the mask, the bat, and the underage partner? Why are his most intimate relationships with bad girls he ought to lock up? And why won't he kill that homicidal green-haired clown? This book, which is written by a psychology professor and Superherologist (a scholar of superheroes), gives fresh insight into the complex inner world of Batman and Bruce Wayne (and the other characters of Gotham City), using this popular comic-book character as a lens to help explain psychological theory and concepts.
How does an immortal deal with death? What kind of person makes the best Companion? Why does the Doctor say he and Freud "got on very well"? How do the Daleks and Cybermen reflect concerns about losing our humanity? And what can looking at an ancient Time Lord teach us about real human nature? Doctor Who Psychology: A Madman with a Box explores these questions and many more. Chapters include:
●"Getting to the Hearts of Time Lord Personality Change"
●"Who's Who: Interview with Four Doctors and a River on the Core of Personality"
●"Post-Time War Stress Disorder"
●"From Human to Machine: At What Point Do You Lose Your Soul?"
Doctor Who Psychology explores the alien in us all. This fascinating in-depth collection, edited by Travis Langley, contains 19 chapters and other special features delving into the psychology behind the time-traveling Doctor in his many iterations, as well as his companions and his foes.
The next entry in Sterling's Popular Culture Psychology series features twenty chapters and exclusive interviews with cast members and Rod Roddenberry. In a fun and accessible way, Star Trek Psychology delves deep into the psyches of the show's well-known and beloved characters. The trailblazing franchise spans five TV series, thirteen films, and countless novelizations. It celebrated, as no other form of entertainment had before, a world filled with space-traveling dreams and human diversity. In the process, it became one of the oldest and most popular sci-fi franchises of all time. Star Trek Psychology uses academic and scientific theories to analyze and answer such questions as Why do Trek's aliens look so human? and How can the starship's holodeck be used for therapy? This compilation examines alien neurobiology, discusses identity formation for shapeshifters, explores the importance of emotion for artificial intelligence, and much more.
Following the adventures of two brothers who investigate deeply strange and paranormal mysteries in their neverending road trip, the TV show Supernatural has many fans eager to better understand the psychology behind the series' themes and characters. Featuring cast & crew interviews, this collection examines issues at the heart and soul of Supernatural's heroes and foes (fans, too):
●The role grief and trauma play in the protagonists' lives.
●The importance of music to the narrative.
●What motivates someone to hunt monsters and why we want to believe in magic.
●How angels relate to humanity and what that has to do with real intergroup conflict.
●How people can cope with tragedy, loss, addiction, and fear to become heroes who do the right thing.
●The dynamics of fandom: how fans relate to the narrative, characters, and actors, and continue to engage with series through fanfic, social media, and other practices.
For seventy five years, Wonder Woman has served as an inspiration to people everywhere. Wonder Woman Psychology: Lassoing the Truth examines this powerful superhero-who was created by famous psychologist William Moulton Marston-through twenty chapters, including some very special interviews and the previously unpublished memoir of Elizabeth Holloway Marston. This collection analyzes:
- Marston's important role in the history of forensic psychology.
- How Diana's relationship with her mother and Amazonian sisters shapes her to become a leader and the heroine called Wonder Woman.
- The ways differences in culture and gender can contribute to alienation but also to personal empowerment.
- What roles emotion, strengths, virtues, and culture shock play in heroic behavior.
- And what it truly means to be a wonder.
This thought-provoking anthology offers a close examination of the psychology behind the intricate narrative and compelling characters in author George R.R. Martin's bestselling work, A Song of Ice and Fire, and the popular HBO TV series based upon his books, Game of Thrones.
In Martin's richly detailed world, deceit, manipulation, and greed rule the day, and almost everyone fights for power over the realm or simply over their own lives. How do love and hate, good and evil, need and greed, altruism and narcissism drive the very best and very worst human behaviors? With no moral boundaries honored, the psychological games played by the series' conniving protagonists are seemingly limitless. Game of Thrones Psychology: The Mind is Dark and Full of Terrors explores motivations, relations, personality disorders, psychopathy, trauma, and much more. What kind of person can survive the game of thrones, much less hope to win?
By understanding the psychological forces that drive The Walking Dead's action, fans can better grasp Robert Kirkman's compelling fictional universe. Which characters suffer PTSD, which show the most hope for recovery, and which instead show posttraumatic growth? Has Rick Grimes lost his mind? What's it like for a kid like Carl growing up during the zombie apocalypse? Is the Governor a psychopath, a sociopath, or something even worse? What does that make Negan? What is the emotional cost of killing a walker or even another living person? What does Terror Management Theory tell us about what it means to fight constantly or survival? What is groupthink and how does it affect the decisions made by the people of Woodbury, Terminus, Alexandria, and Rick's "family"? How do they find hope? In 19 chapters from a range of esteemed contributors, plus "Case Files" sidebars by renowned editor Travis Langley with a foreword by George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead co-creator John Russo, The Walking Dead Psychology: Psych of the Living Dead answers these and many other questions in a way sure to fascinate the millions of passionate graphic novel readers and TV viewers.
