CHFA | Global Languages Senior Colloquium

Presenter Information

Taylor KerrFollow

Academic Level at Time of Presentation

Senior

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Major

Spanish

Minor

French

List all Project Mentors & Advisor(s)

Roxanne Reigler; Tanya Romero-Gonzalez

Presentation Format

Oral Presentation

Abstract/Description

Taylor Kerr is a Spanish major at Murray State University. She lives at home with her parents and dog in Paducah, Kentucky. In her free time, she enjoys playing the piano, singing, attending performances at the Grand Ole Opry, and learning multiple languages. After graduation, she plans to travel abroad and teach English.

No Happy Endings: Powerful Psychopaths in Pan’s Labyrinth and Sleep Tight

Psychopaths can wield an incredible amount of power and their lack of empathy and display of audacity wreak havoc on those they encounter. Films in the United States, like Psycho (Hitchcock 1960) or Silence of the Lambs (Demme 1991) depict the psychopath accurately. Conclusions are often wrapped neatly with the psychopaths being punished. However, both Spanish speaking films Pan’s Labyrinth (Del Toro 2006) and Sleep Tight (Balaguero 2011) have an open ending. This research project examines two psychopathic characters in these Spanish-speaking films, Capitan Vidal from El Laberinto del Fauno or Pan’s Labyrinth and Cesar from Mientras duermes or Sleep Tight. The main characters in both films are psychopaths who hold positions of authority. I analyze the person and actions of Capitán Vidal, a commander of soldiers in El Laberinto del Fauno and César who is a concierge in Mientras Duermes. I explain why these two characters are psychopaths using the two traits described by Scott O. Lillienfield: lack of empathy and extreme audacity. In analyzing the open-ended conclusions to these films, I affirm that the audience is left with a feeling of dissatisfaction and doom upon watching the interactions of these psychopathic characters. I conclude that Spanish speaking films portray psychopaths much more realistically than some American films and there is no happy resolution for the characters nor the audience.

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No Happy Endings: Powerful Psychopaths in "Pan's Labyrinth and "Sleep Tight."

Taylor Kerr is a Spanish major at Murray State University. She lives at home with her parents and dog in Paducah, Kentucky. In her free time, she enjoys playing the piano, singing, attending performances at the Grand Ole Opry, and learning multiple languages. After graduation, she plans to travel abroad and teach English.

No Happy Endings: Powerful Psychopaths in Pan’s Labyrinth and Sleep Tight

Psychopaths can wield an incredible amount of power and their lack of empathy and display of audacity wreak havoc on those they encounter. Films in the United States, like Psycho (Hitchcock 1960) or Silence of the Lambs (Demme 1991) depict the psychopath accurately. Conclusions are often wrapped neatly with the psychopaths being punished. However, both Spanish speaking films Pan’s Labyrinth (Del Toro 2006) and Sleep Tight (Balaguero 2011) have an open ending. This research project examines two psychopathic characters in these Spanish-speaking films, Capitan Vidal from El Laberinto del Fauno or Pan’s Labyrinth and Cesar from Mientras duermes or Sleep Tight. The main characters in both films are psychopaths who hold positions of authority. I analyze the person and actions of Capitán Vidal, a commander of soldiers in El Laberinto del Fauno and César who is a concierge in Mientras Duermes. I explain why these two characters are psychopaths using the two traits described by Scott O. Lillienfield: lack of empathy and extreme audacity. In analyzing the open-ended conclusions to these films, I affirm that the audience is left with a feeling of dissatisfaction and doom upon watching the interactions of these psychopathic characters. I conclude that Spanish speaking films portray psychopaths much more realistically than some American films and there is no happy resolution for the characters nor the audience.

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