Psych paper about Firefly

[Syka]

So for my Psychology of Personality class I decided to do my paper on Simon Tam from the Person-Situation Interactionist perspective. I was wondering if any of you would mind giving it a once over for me? Familiarity with Firefly, psychology, or even both are appreciated but not required (I'm pretty sure my teacher has never seen the series). It's only three pages which...is incredibly short for a term paper that is double spaced. It kind of irritates me since I could easily get 5+ out of this topic.

:) Thanks. This could be a completely wrong place to put this but, as it's the only board I frequent...yeah. And, well, it has to do with psychology which doesn't quite fit in on other boards. Right? :smallredface:

Cheers,
Syka

[Maxma]

I edit my friend's papers all the time, I -love- the Firefly series, and I'm decent when it comes to Sociology/Psychology.

And I'd be willing to look it over. Would you just want a straight up Grammar/Spelling/Organization edit, or would you like me to scan for clarity and correct information as well?

[Cobra_Ikari]

I'd be willing to look it over, although I warn you that I'm not at all good at the proofready type things. Or anything related to the concept of writing. *hugs*

[FireFox]

I would be happy to look it over.

[Desgardius]

I'd help if you still need some. I know the series, and psychology has always interested me ^^

[Syka]

Hehe, thanks all. :) I'll send PM's out once I finish it (should be tonight, tomorrow at the latest...I'm also going to hit up my mom and sister).

Main focus is on clarity and getting the point across (I'll send along what I had to do), but basically that. Any glaring (or annoying) grammar mistakes feel free to point out. I'm shoddy with grammar of any sort, but I can make a sentence sound pretty.

Heck, if you just wanna see some fun analyzing of Simon, feel free to ask for it. ;) I was originally going to do Jayne from the Psychoanalyst perspective but I thought Simon would give me a better paper.

Boo caring about school.

Cheers,
Syka

[Brickwall]

I own pretty much every piece of Firefly media currently available to the public (issue two of the new comic mini-series comes out Wednesday, people). I think I have some authority on the subject, if it helps.

[Sneak]

I'd like to take a peek too, if that's alright.

I know everything about Firefly. I can't say I know that much about psychology, but I find it interesting, and I can probably at least help with clarity, grammar, etc.

Plus...I kinda just wanna see your analysis. :smallwink:

[Vaynor]

Go ahead and send it to me, I'd be glad to give you my thoughts when I have a chance.

[Alarra]

I would love to read it over. I'm rather busy right now, but it sounds very interesting. I also love the series, have a degree in psychology and worked as an editor for awhile, so...yeah...I think I can help you out. :smallwink:

[Argetlam15]

I'd love to read it, but don't think I can comment on it, since I've never seen the series, nor do I have any psychology education. But I'd still love to read it, since it's one of the three subjects I'm considering taking an education in :P

[Zeb The Troll]

I think you should let Alarra take a peak at it because she's got a psych degree, love's the series, and used to work as an edi-

-Oh. She posted that already. Okay. Well, I'll just look over her shoulder then. :smallcool:

I mean, I've seen the series (okay, and I watched the extras), I am familiar with the word 'psychology' and can name a couple other than Freud, and I got an 'A' in my composition courses. Yeah, she's the better bet.

[Tom_Violence]

I'd be interested in reading it myself, as I like the series and am (hopefully) at the tail end of a psychology degree myself.

[Player_Zero]

Yay firefly! Boo schoolwork!

You could do the entire paper about Jayne, him being by far the best character, an' all. :smalltongue:

[Maxma]

Actually, insofar as it relates to Psychology, I think River would be the most interesting, but I'm going to reveal some of the movie Serenity when I detail why, so that'll be in the Spoiler.

Warning: If you haven't seen Serenity, go do so. Now. Until you have seen the movie, do not read the spoiler, as it contains information revealed within the movie.

With River Tam, you could hypothesize the effects of the removal of a person's Amygdala, and contrast the theoretical hypothesis with the portrayal of River in the movie.

Barring that, you could go into the psychology behind River's condition.

[Vuzzmop]

I'd love to have a look at this paper of yours. I don't know anything past basic psychology honed from years of fraternising with the near-unhealthy.

PM me pwitty pwease:smallbiggrin:

[Don Julio Anejo]

Funny. I had exactly the same paper due about two weeks ago, except I did mine on James Carter from Rush Hour (Chris Tucker's character). And I used Jungian typology/MBTI to analyze him.

Do you have a size limit? I doubt they're going to take off marks for writing more than you're supposed to. Mine is something like 10 pages long, 6 without the movie summary and reference sheet.

PS: what do you mean by person-situation interactionist perspective? We haven't talked about anything like this in Personality, mostly stuff in Social where it wasn't a personality theory in itself but mostly how a person adapts to the situation and the people around them so he can become an ingroup member. Are we talking about the same thing?

[Player_Zero]

Actually, insofar as it relates to Psychology, I think River would be the most interesting...

But he's the hero of Canton! Noone outdoes Jayne! Besides, his hat is awesome.

[Maxma]

Yes, but as I recall, River can kill Jayne with a thought. :smallwink:

[Brickwall]

Actually, insofar as it relates to Psychology, I think River would be the most interesting, but I'm going to reveal some of the movie Serenity when I detail why, so that'll be in the Spoiler.

Warning: If you haven't seen Serenity, go do so. Now. Until you have seen the movie, do not read the spoiler, as it contains information revealed within the movie.

With River Tam, you could hypothesize the effects of the removal of a person's Amygdala, and contrast the theoretical hypothesis with the portrayal of River in the movie.

Barring that, you could go into the psychology behind River's condition.

What are you on about? That's from the episode Ariel, where Simon gets to the 3D neuro-imager to see it (it's also referenced in the subsequent episode). The movie never talks about it, and uses as its "crazy device" bizarre psychological conditioning to respond to encoded signals that only a psychic would be able to understand though the show. She still acts the way we'd expect from the show, but you're not refering to the movie at all.

[Maxma]

What are you on about? That's from the episode Ariel, where Simon gets to the 3D neuro-imager to see it (it's also referenced in the subsequent episode). The movie never talks about it, and uses as its "crazy device" bizarre psychological conditioning to respond to encoded signals that only a psychic would be able to understand though the show. She still acts the way we'd expect from the show, but you're not refering to the movie at all.

Once more, I'm talking about stuff that will spoil the movie and/or series, so proceed at your own caution.


Really? Oops...

It's been a while, but the last time I watched Firefly/Serenity, I was sick and watched the entire season followed by the movie, over the course of a few days. I guess I've jumbled up where information was given in my mind.

On second thought, though, you're right. I remember the episode now. It's one of my favorites because the plan that they have is probably their smoothest one in the entire series, if it weren't for Jayne mucking it up. Although it was a slight disappointment to find Jayne do something like that. Despite knowing the kind of guy he is, one hopes that he will do the right thing, because he obviously has it in him. It's just buried deep, deep down. lol

[Brickwall]

Once more, I'm talking about stuff that will spoil the movie and/or series, so proceed at your own caution.


Really? Oops...

It's been a while, but the last time I watched Firefly/Serenity, I was sick and watched the entire season followed by the movie, over the course of a few days. I guess I've jumbled up where information was given in my mind.

On second thought, though, you're right. I remember the episode now. It's one of my favorites because the plan that they have is probably their smoothest one in the entire series, if it weren't for Jayne mucking it up. Although it was a slight disappointment to find Jayne do something like that. Despite knowing the kind of guy he is, one hopes that he will do the right thing, because he obviously has it in him. It's just buried deep, deep down. lol

Well, it's actually an important move, because it brings us back to the first episode, Serenity, when Mal and Jayne talk about the money being good enough for Jayne to betray Mal. It's an important part of his character. Also does well to set up Simon and River's relationship with Jayne. He'd be a good deal less interesting without the threat of him doing something bad for everyone else hanging around.

Have we proven our geekdom enough for you to share, now, Sykes?

[Syka]

Haha, I love you all. :) I'll post the paper on this thread tonight rather than PM everyone individually. If you feel like editing it, send me any corrections/ideas/etc through PM, otherwise enjoy the read.

I'd love to do that about River, but the paper is basically taking a character from a book/TV series/movie and analyzing them from one of the Personality Theories (psychoanalytic, behaviorist, etc). ;) I did have fun writing it though. It's supposed to be 3 pages and in it's rough form it's currently 3.3333 pages. I'm doubtful I can take it down much so I'm going to need to ask my teacher about it....I could always change the margins. ;)

Cheers,
Syka

[Syka]

Teh Paper!




Doctor Simon Tam from television series Firefly is a complex character, particularly when examined from the Person-Situation Interactionist approach. The drastic changes in his environment combined with a personality that has a strong core but fluid secondary characteristics provide a wealth of information. It is impossible to examine his personality through only one episode, therefore it will be discussed in the context of the entire series, with individual episodes mentioned as needed.

Simon spent his formative years on an Alliance controlled central planet. His family was wealthy and consisted primarily of his parents and younger sister, River. Given every opportunity as a child, Simon became a gifted doctor working at a prestigious hospital after proving his skills in medical school. During his adolescences, a few years prior to the beginning to the series, it is shown that Simon is very protective of his younger sister, despite her being far more intelligent than him. He risks, and eventually loses, not only his career but his access to wealth and the rest of his family in order to rescue River from a facility where he realizes she is being harmed. The siblings end up transport ship to escape detection by the Alliance. It is crewed by an assortment of different types of people- everything from a mercenary to an innocent mechanic to war veterans. This environment and situation is drastically different from his previous experiences and manifests itself as an increased need to protect of his sister. As the series progresses, however, he is more and more willing to put his sister’s safety in the hands of the other crew members and reestablish his individuality as a young man and medic. By the end of the series he has allowed himself to show his feelings for the ships mechanic, Kaylee Frye, and more comfort with the crew members who in the beginning were so different from how he had been in his previous life.

Interpersonal Psychiatry, as developed by Harry Stack Sullivan, would look at Simon’s relatively stable core of his personality and come to the conclusion that he was raised in a stable environment void of many conflicts with his parents and important others that could result in pathologies. He was raised on the central core by both his parents who, as far as the viewer is able to see in the episode “Safe” were loving, nurturing, and provided their children with everything they could. However, when looking at his interpersonal reactions it becomes apparent that Simon is not always adept at dealing with others in the form of friendship, especially possibly romantic partners. He even explains this in the episode “The Message” when he tells Zoë that he doesn’t communicate well with girls, to which Zoë responds “Why, is there someone you are good at talking to?” This can be explained in that, even though he was given every opportunity as a child, his social interactions were most likely limited to his parents, sister, and the occasional high society function. Despite being a brilliant doctor from a well to do family, it seems her never developed the close relationships to his peers that Sullivan terms chumship which would help his later relationships.

This could also explain why he appears to have a fairly field independent (or personal view) of situations and environments as well as a highly developed ego. Several times through out the series, Simon is shown in the role of a medic or doctor. Regardless of the situation he is in, whether on a core planet or a ship in the middle of space with no other living souls around, if there is someone in need of medical assistance, Simon is there to help them. He does not seem as susceptible as other crew members to panic in most of the crises situations, such as in “Out of Gas” when they are stranded in the middle of space with little life support left. While others worry about how they will survive, Simon focuses his attention on the first mate that was injured in the fire that destroyed the life support system. Even so, it would not be amiss to classify him as a high self-monitor. He is always self-conscious of how he is speaking and if anything he says can be construed negatively.

Henry Murray would see Simon’s actions as indicative of the needs that drive him in his every day life. The fact that he is always watching out for his sister, to the point of near obsession, and his passion for being a doctor and willingness to help those in need point to a high Need for Nurturance, which the text describes as the “need to help, console, comfort, nurse the weak” (Friedman and Schustack, 357). The environment aboard Serenity provides ample opportunity to care for injured people because many of their jobs are illegal and involve dealing with less than trustworthy contacts on nearly lawless outer planets, and Simon is therefore able to fulfill this major need with ease. His experiences prior to joining Serenity also point to a high Need for Achievement. He was at the top of his class in medical school and finished his internship in record time, quickly rising in the ranks of notable doctors. On the ship, this Need for Achievement manifests itself not only through his medical skills but his continuation of proper behavior and manners in an environment that neither desires nor requires such actions.

Unfortunately, one of the most interesting tools used by Person-Situation Interactionist psychologists is not available for use on Doctor Simon Tam. The viewer is not able to see how his personality evolves and stabilizes over the course of his life, and that is where a great deal of information can be gathered, such as with the Life Course Approach. Would he remain a doctor or decide to settle into a less hectic life? Would he remain single and a caretaker for his sister or would he get married and raise his own children? Would he stay with the crew of Serenity or make a normal life for himself? Unfortunately, it is impossible to know, so it is up for the viewer to decide how his personality during Firefly could influence his actions in other potential environments during the remainder of his life.


I have no doubt it's a bit...icky, and definitely needs some clean up. I got it cut down to only 3.5 lines on the fourth page, so I should be good on length (but anything you think could be cut out is always appreciated!).

Thanks all, a head of time.

Cheers,
Syka

[Sneak]

Okay, just gonna focus on grammar and stuff for now. I don't have much time.


Doctor Simon Tam from television series Firefly is a complex character

Maybe should be "Doctor Simon Tam from THE television series Firefly?" Maybe not, though. Dunno if this matters.


During his adolescences

Adolescence?


The siblings end up transport ship to escape detection by the Alliance.

Despite what you may think after watching Objects in Space, River is not actually a ship. :P I guess it should be "end up on a transport ship."


By the end of the series he has allowed himself to show his feelings for the ships mechanic, Kaylee Frye, and more comfort with the crew members who in the beginning were so different from how he had been in his previous life.

"and more comfort" should probably be "and is more comfortable."


He does not seem as susceptible as other crew members to panic in most of the crises situations,

I think "crisis" situations would make more sense.


The fact that he is always watching out for his sister, to the point of near obsession, and his passion for being a doctor and willingness to help those in need point to a high Need for Nurturance, which the text describes as the “need to help, console, comfort, nurse the weak” (Friedman and Schustack, 357).

This isn't a full sentence.

__

That's all I can see for now. Hopefully all my corrections make sense/are correct. >_< Anyway, I'll look at it in more detail when I have more time.

[Cobra_Ikari]

Agreed with Sneak, aside from that actually being a complete sentence as is.

Oh, and I really liked it. :)

[Brickwall]

This isn't a full sentence.

The verb is "point", somewhere in the middle of it.

Please PM your stuff like everyone else :smalltongue:

[Sneak]

Whoops, didn't see that second 'point' in there. :smallredface:

Anyway, sorry. I guess I should've PMed.

[Syka]

Hey guys, thanks for all the input. I've made corrections and I'm sending it off to my TA and my mom and sister to read over. :)

I got it down to 3 pages, too. I just changed the margins from 1.25 inches on the sides to 1 inch. ;) Wish me luck with it. I'm actually not going to be in the class the day it's due so I'm turning it in early...'cause I'm seeing a presentation by some of the MythBusters crew. :smallbiggrin:

Cheers,
Syka

[The Duskblade]

I'm actually not going to be in the class the day it's due so I'm turning it in early...'cause I'm seeing a presentation by some of the MythBusters crew. :smallbiggrin:

... I am Incredibly Jealous right now. :smallsmile:

I have to say I agree with Maxma River would be an interesting choice. Might be a tad on the tricky side though.

[Syka]

... I am Incredibly Jealous right now. :smallsmile:

I have to say I agree with Maxma River would be an interesting choice. Might be a tad on the tricky side though.

Alas, I only have three pages in which to introduce the characters background and major life events, hit all the main points in my chapter, AND give examples. I'm at the very end of 3 pages as it is.

River I could write a whole book on. :smallbiggrin:

After this class is over, I'm going to email the teacher to suggest she up the required number of pages, or at least make it a range, like 3-6 pages. Because, honestly, I could get six or more pages out of just Simon.

And he's a simple character by Firefly standards. o.o

Cheers,
Syka