Diagnosing Depressives in Popular Film
By Jimmy Chen
“Nick” (in The Deer Hunter)
Overview: Vietnam really screwed Christopher Walken (Nick) up, especially the Russian roulette (in which captives are forced to shoot themselves in the head with a n:6 ratio of bullets in the barrel) psychological warfare employed by the Vietcong. His friend and co-captive Robert De Niro (Michael), the more stoic of the two, who is able to cope with life after the war, goes back to Vietnam to find Nick playing Russian roulette for money, and begs him to stop; but Nick, psychologically distorted into another person, vacant in the eyes, shoots himself in the head, in what may be seen as the most passive aggressive move ever. (Is this where I say spoiler alert?) Sucks, cuz Nick was a regular chill bud drinking bro about to marry Meryl Streep, and basically went fucking nuts by those Asians.
Diagnosis: Schizophrenia, PTSD.
Suggested Medication: n/a.