California State University Northridge

Abnormal Psychology
Bobby Lee Davis III
Peeping Tom: Personal Reaction
12/13/14

Intro
Peeping Tom, a startling film by legendary director Michael Powell, is a double edged sword into
the world of both psychology and the art form of film itself. The movie tells the story of a
photographer in the film industry who is a Peeping Tom watching ladies without consent and
eventually murdering them (while filming). The movie touches on a ton of subjects from family
to love to work while focusing on Mark and his journey from lady to lady. As a film buff I have
wanted to see this movie for a long time due to its cinematic influences, but never had I taken to
consideration how relevant it would be to my love of psychology.
Diagnosis
Mark suffers from the paraphilic disorder known as Voyeuristic Disorder (302.82). He meets all
three of the major criteria including arousal, action, and being a legal adult. There could also be
some overlap with his lack of emotions which stem from trauma caused by his late father.
Childhood trauma is a very common cause for many disorders of behavior. Voyeuristic Disorder
can victimize a person to great lengths depending on the severity of how in depth the voyeur
(Mark in this case) decides to go with his behavior. The reoccurring nature of these attacks
makes it even more troublesome.
Story
The beauty of the movie to me is that it makes the audience experience what voyeurism is. The
first way the filmmaker does this by using POV or point of view camera work which puts the
audience in the eyes of the character. He does this behind the lens and with the character and it
made audiences very uncomfortable to feel like they didnt have the control to look away (much
like people with the disorder would feel). Another way he by showing that film itself is a form of

voyeurism that we allow ourselves to participate in. His father was representative of the ways
that sometimes all of the analysis and testing can go overboard for the sake of science. People
are still people and should be treated as such regardless of age rather than just looked at as
subjects to advance a study or idea.
Personal feeling
Personally I thought this movie was very good, I loved the way the director integrated so many
ideas into one man without making the story overly complicated. The characters felt like people
who would inhabit our actual world. From the movie star to the blind mother, each character had
their own weaknesses that increased the intrigue of their characters. I would have liked to get a
little more depth on his life between childhood and the point the movie begins as well as how it
has affected the others around him.
Conclusion
Overall this was a very enjoyable movie that had a lot of information which we have studied
during this course including Voyeuristic Disorder and Traumatic disorders. Experiencing such
negative training as a youth has played a major part in the dysfunctions that Mark suffers from.
Understanding this makes the audience ask the questions about who has motivated them to
become voyeurs of the cinematic kind.