Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Compulsion

I couldn't stop thinking about the movie Aviator. Such a genius guy he was, and yet he was plagued with this mental illness - Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. I was watching the second DVD that came along with it, that had all the special features. The director and his team had actually worked with a psychiatrist from UCLA to learn the symptoms of OCD, particularly the ones that plagued HH. Frequent washing of hands, fear of germs, frequent checking of whether the car is locked or not, repeating the same thing over and over again without control are some of the symptoms of OCD. They say that it takes a person of above average, in fact, pretty good intelligence to even get this kind of disorder because it requires complicated thinking patterns. The psychiatrist also mentioned that this disorder is rather common - about one in fifty have it. I would tend to agree with that though, only a few cases will require medical attention and help.

We all may have or have had this kind of disorder, for at least short spells of time. I have done things compulsively. We all are obsessed about certain things. There are a bunch of people in my family who are so obsessed with cleanliness, pressing clothes and washing them. I myself watch Seinfeld very religiously and compulsively. I do it for the laughter that it provides though, not 'cause of some unknown obsession. Some people are so obsessed about how they park the car, or how they sit inside the car or how exactly to make a dish with precise amount of ingredients, etc. It is kind of sad that Howard Hughes was not really diagnosed for this kind of illness. He was left on his own and he became a recluse in the last couple of decades of his life. Interestingly enough, he died on a plane, in mid air, for all that he was as an aviator. He apparently died under mysterious circumstances and it took them a while to even identify and confirm his body. Big geniuses have their own problems, unfortunately. It is the classic case of life getting averaged out. He is a very inspiring character - I mean, he built the Hercules (Spruce Goose) pretty much knowing that it won't be sold. That plane just flew about a mile in less than a minute and was gracefully grounded. It was never flown again. It is now kept in a museum in Oregon. The movie kind of ends on a high note, where they show him coming out clean from the Senate Hearings. In reality, his life took a turn for worse around that time.

Then he proceeded to buy some casinos in Las Vegas. I mean, how many things can you do in your life? You could learn from this guy! He was apparently the first legitimate billionaire of the U.S. That is something!

No comments: