Assignment

Submitted by:

Syeda Zoha Fatima

Roll Number:

Fa22-MSPY-025

Submitted to:

Ma’am Amna

Course:

Psychopathology and Psychodiagnosis

Department of Psychology
 Bio-Psychosocial Model

Movie: The Spectacular Now

“The Spectacular Now directed by James Ponsoldt is quite the interesting coming of age Film.

The element that sets this film apart from many other films in this genre is the emphasis on

teenage alcoholism.”

“The focus of the film is on protagonist Sutter Keely, a laid back and charismatic high school

senior that everyone knows as a party animal. From very early on in the film, it is evident that

Sutter has a growing dependence on alcohol. In fact, the very first scene of the film is Sutter

drinking a bottle of beer while attempting to compose an overdue essay for a college application.

Upset after being broken up with by his girlfriend, Sutter gets drunk and is woken up on a

stranger’s lawn by Aimee Finecky. Aimee is very different than Sutter; she’s a quiet and shy

bookworm who is a less popular student in Sutter’s school. While Aimee has promising plans for

her future, Sutter is stuck in the deception of the “spectacular now”. Sutter begins to spend time

with Aimee in hopes that he can break her out of her shell but falls for her in the process. Sutter

does in fact help Aimee gain more confidence, however, she also begins to drink along with him.

Ultimately, Sutter’s dependence on alcohol begins to flourish as different events in his life begin

to unfold.”

Application of Biopsychosocial Model:

“Through the scenes in the film, it becomes evident that Sutter’s addiction can be viewed from

biological, psychological, social, cultural and spiritual dimensions. These five dimensions are the
essence of the Bio-Psycho-Social Plus (BPS+) Model presented by Herie and Skinner. The

biological dimension of the BPS+ model focuses on addiction as a deviation from proper brain

and body functioning. It views addiction as a cause of chemical imbalances in the brain or as a

kind of inherited brain disease. The effects of alcohol are psychoactive. According to Herie and

Skinner (2010) in Substance Abuse in Canada, alcohol acts on neurons in the brain, cells that

communicate with other parts of the brain, spinal column and peripheral nerves. Alcohol is

considered a depressant and therefore slows the communication between the neurons and results

in uncommon behavior. Furthermore, alcohol acts on the part of the brain that controls

consciousness, the cerebellum, which controls coordination, the hippocampus, which controls

memory, and the frontal lobes, which control judgment and emotion. In addition, Gabor Maté

(2008), in the Realm of Hungry Ghosts, states, “in a study of alcoholics, opioid receptor activity

was diminished in several brain regions, and this was associated with increased alcohol craving”.

All of these elements are evident in The Spectacular Now through the characterization of Sutter.

As mentioned, Sutter passes out on a stranger’s lawn after a night of too much drinking. This is

evidence of the impairment of his consciousness. Sutter’s coordination is impaired as he drives

after drinking in multiple occasions throughout the film and swerves through the lanes as well as

smashes into a pole in front of his home. Sutter’s memory, judgment and emotion are impaired

as he forgets where his car is when he is found passed out on the lawn. They are also affected

when he tells Amie he will take her to the prom but forgets about it until the next morning when

everything slowly begins to come back to him. In addition to the impairment of Sutter’s brain

and behavioral functioning, his alcohol addiction can be viewed as an inherited brain disease. For

most of the film, Sutter’s father is completely out of the picture. He lives alone with his single

mother who works a lot to try and make ends meet for the both of them. The absence of this
parental contact, both in his childhood and in his adolescence, makes him more vulnerable to

addiction as he uses alcohol to try and make up for what his brain is lacking. Sutter makes a

comment fairly close to the beginning of the film stating that his first beer was given to him at

the age of six by his father. Although Sutter has great interest in meeting his father, his mother

does not allow him to make any contact with him.”

“Finally, after being influenced by Aimee to stand up to his mother and make his own decisions,

Sutter pays a visit to his sister who gives him their father’s number and address. Sutter calls his

father and makes arrangements to see him with Aimee. When they first get there Sutter’s father

does not seem to remember that he has made arrangements to meet with his son. It is at this point

where it begins to become evident that Sutter’s father is intoxicated. It becomes even more

evident when he suggests Sutter meets him at a bar down the road for drinks. When they get

there, they go through three pitchers of beer. Not only is it obvious that Sutter’s father suffers

from alcohol dependence, it also becomes clear that he has an addiction to tobacco as he has a

cigarette in his mouth for most of the time that he appears in the film.”

Biological: “From the stance of the biological dimension of the BPS+ model, by Sutter being

exposed to his father’s drinking at young age as well as his father’s clearly continuing addictions,

Sutter developed a predisposition and greater susceptibility to the addiction. This can also be

related to Aimee whose parents we come to find out throughout the film suffer from addictions

as well. Her mother suffers a gambling addiction, which becomes evident through Aimee’s

dialogue about how she abandons her newspaper trail duties and leaves Aimee and her brother to

fend for themselves so that she can go to the casino every night. Aimee also briefly mentions that

her father died from his addiction to painkillers. This being said, Aimee’s evident developing

addiction to alcohol could be caused by an inheritance of the addictive qualities. Both Aimee and
Sutter’s inheritance of addiction can be related to Marine Woodrow’s chapter in Addicted by

Crozier and Lane. Woodrow mentions that after living with her father’s alcoholism throughout

her whole childhood, she begins to develop a dependence of it in her adulthood. Ultimately,

alcohol disrupts self-regulation, which is needed in order to choose not to be an addict, and

therefore makes Sutter and Aimee more vulnerable to the addiction of alcohol.”

Psychological: “The psychological dimension of the BPS+ model of addiction focuses on state

of mind in a way that emphasizes the urges and motivations that drive a person to a particular

behavior. This dimension also concentrates on outer rewards and punishments that might

maintain and shape behaviours as well as disinhibit them. The psychological dimension puts

great emphasis on the addictive personality that develops from a person’s stress. Maté (2008)

argues that “stress is a major cause of continuous drug dependence”. Herie and Skinner (2010)

state that some psychological affects that may motivate a person to drink include slight euphoria,

enhanced confidence and relaxation, and decreased inhibitions. We see plenty of evidence of

these factors in both Sutter and Aimee throughout the film. It becomes obvious throughout the

film that what drives Sutter to drink is the pain of the many events that occur throughout his life.

It is clear that Sutter drinks as a way to escape the thoughts of his girlfriend breaking up with

him. In fact, Sutter goes directly to a bar after the incident occurs and gets drunk. In addition, on

many occasions we see Sutter drink as a way to boost his confidence, to loosen up and to feel

better about himself. This is clear when his Ex-girlfriend gets upset at him for always being

drunk and unable to be serious, especially when thinking of the future. Aimee also uses alcohol

to boost her confidence as she is afraid of standing up to her mother who puts a lot of

responsibility on her as well as to her best friend who is always on her back about her personal

life decisions, such as hanging out with Sutter. Furthermore, stress plays a large role in Sutter’s
life and therefore makes him more susceptible to his alcohol addiction. It is evident that much of

Sutter’s stress is derived from the fact that he lived most of his life with no father figure. He

spent much of life thinking of his father and when he actually met him it was not the outcome he

expected. Though he uses alcohol to try to hide it, Sutter is also clearly stressed about his future.

While all his classmates are getting accepted into colleges, Sutter can’t even bring himself to

compose an essay for his application. Towards the end of the film, it becomes known that Sutter

is afraid of failure, letting people down, hurting people and also getting hurt so his urges to drink

come from wanting to hide these feelings to protect himself. Another aspect of the psychological

dimension of the BPS+ model is Sutter’s growing tolerance of alcohol. This is evident when he

makes Aimee try the liquor in his flask and she nearly spits it out. When she asks Sutter how he

drinks it so easily, his response is that he is used to it. Therefore, as the film progresses, he needs

more and more alcohol to experience the psychological rewards of it. Sutter also loses his job

towards the end of the film when his boss gives him the ultimatum to either continue working or

stop coming to work drunk or drinking on the job. Sutter declines the offer as he admits that he is

not able to do this and therefore is left with no job”

Social: “The social dimension of the BPS+ model of addiction focuses on the influences of the

people and environment around the addict. This dimension also emphasizes modeled and valued

behaviors, as well as behaviors that become normalized and legalized in society. The way

specific behaviors are promoted can also have a direct impact on an addict as they become more

susceptible to them. Social and environmental factors are very influential in both the nature and

rate of substance use and abuse. In The Spectacular Now, much of Sutter’s drinking is done in a

social context. He is in fact considered the life of the party by many of his classmates and seems

to be well known for getting and supplying alcohol for them. As David Nutt states in Drugs
Without the Hot Air the widespread availability and social acceptability of alcohol make

becoming dependent more likely. Near the beginning of the film, Sutter opens his trunk and

reveals a cooler filled with beer cans. He also always carries a flask filled with liquor in his

pocket, revealing the availability of the alcohol to him. The elements of the social dimension

could also be related to Sutter’s childhood where he experienced his father’s drinking and

therefore carried on the behavior through the modeling of it. This dimension can also be applied

to Aimee who was never a drinker before being exposed to both Sutter’s drinking and the parties

he brings her to, where almost everyone has a drink in hand. Sutter even goes as far as to buy

Aimee her own flask, which she begins to use daily, showing that Sutter’s influence made her

more susceptible to develop a dependence on alcohol. In addition, those who find it difficult to

maintain or form lasting relationships are more vulnerable to addiction. This is evident as

Sutter’s relationship with his ex-girlfriend falls apart and his relationship with Aimee does not

last as he begins to feel he is not good enough for her. It is also obvious that Sutter does not have

many close friends.”

Cultural: “The cultural dimension of the BPS+ model of addiction focuses on the integration

and connection to culture and personal identity as a vulnerability to addiction. It is evident in the

film that Sutter struggles with his personal identity. He does not seem to know how he wants to

live his life. He has no plans for the future or any idea of the kind of person he wants to be. For

Sutter, it is much easier to be the party animal everyone knows and loves. In addition, much of

the peer culture Sutter is surrounded by is not one that will help with his addiction, as their party

lifestyles do not provide alternatives for Sutter’s dependence. The spiritual dimension of the

BPS+ model of addiction focuses on strong religious affiliation as being less vulnerable to

addiction. This dimension also emphasizes recovery in 12-step groups as well as promotes
mindfulness and self-control. When people are able to connect with their outside world and come

to the realization of their problems, they are able to find a means of recovery. There is no

obvious religious affiliation for Sutter in the film. However, towards the end of the film Sutter

starts to become aware for his alcohol addiction. He Related Essays realizes that his drinking not

only rids him of the pain he feels inside but it also shuts out everything and everyone around

him. His dependence left him with no close relationships, no friends, and no job.”

“Although his alcoholism is never resolved in the film, it does end with Sutter admitting that he

needs to focus on his self-control. Sutter continues to complete the essay for his college

application and promises to pull himself together. He finally realizes that life is not always about

living in the now and that his alcohol dependence made him miss out on many good things in his

life”

5P Model Application:

Presenting Problem: “Alcohol dependence Alcoholism drinking aids a Sutter Keely in

avoiding bothersome memories and delaying decisions over what to do after high school.”

Predisposing Factors: “Sutter developed a propensity and heightened vulnerability to the

addiction as a result of being exposed to his father's drinking at a young age and his father's

obviously ongoing addictions.”

Precipitating Factors: “Sutter experiences a lot of stress in his life, which makes him more

vulnerable to developing an alcohol addiction. It is clear that Sutter's lack of a father figure for

the majority of his youth contributed significantly to his stress.”

Perpetuating factors: “Because he used alcohol to attempt and compensate for his lack of

parental interaction during his youth and boyhood, he was more susceptible to developing an
addiction. Sutter mentions near the opening of the movie that his father gave him his first drink

when he was six years old.”

Protective Factors: “Sutter admitting that he needs to focus on his self-control. Sutter continues

to complete the essay for his college application and promises to pull himself together. He finally

realizes that life is not always about living in the now and that his alcohol dependence made him

miss out on many good things in his life”

Diagnosis: Substance Use Disorder

Diagnostic Criteria

 Taking the substance in larger amounts or for longer than you're meant to
 Wanting to cut down or stop using the substance but not managing to
 Spending a lot of time getting, using, or recovering from use of the substance
 Cravings and urges to use the substance
 Not managing to do what you should at work, home, or school because of substance use
 Continuing to use, even when it causes problems in relationships
 Giving up important social, occupational, or recreational activities because of substance
use
 Using substances again and again, even when it puts you in danger
 Continuing to use, even when you know you have a physical or psychological problem
that could have been caused or made worse by the substance
 Needing more of the substance to get the effect you want (tolerance)