Falling Down

In the film Falling Down, a man sits in his car behind a line of stopped cars on the freeway while a broken car is towed out of the way. It is a very hot day. He becomes agitated and angry and finally leaves his car, just walking away. He determines to walk to his wife's home, from East Los Angeles to Venice. As he encounters different people along the way, their antagonism brings out his defenses and his anger. He becomes incensed at a grocer because the grocer is overcharging for soda, and the man reacts by smashing up the store. He is attacked by gang members and fights back, eventually taking several guns which he will use later. When denied service at a fast food restaurant, he shoots the place up with a machine gun. He meets a Nazi store owner and kills him out of anger. He leaves a path of destruction as he makes his way across town until he is finally killed himself.

There is a great deal of criminal behavior portrayed in the movie, not all of it related to the actions of the main character. When he first explodes in the small grocery store, he commits an act of vandalism and probably an act of assault in knocking down the store owner. When he meets the two gang members, they attack him, and his reaction is self defense and justified. When they come looking for him with an arsenal, they hurt themselves much more than they hurt him. He steals a bag of illegal arms from their car, and carrying these guns is another crime. He shoots up a phone booth and a

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l residence is more protective against anxiety disorders. They note that the typical hypothesis holds that urban living places individuals at increased risk for psychiatric disorders and especially for the more reactive or stress-related disorders such as anxiety and depression. This is based on the assumption that urban regions are characterized by rapid change and social disorganization, interpersonal estrangement and anonymity, and conflicting values and norms. The hypothesis usually does not make a distinction for racial or age differences, and George et al. find that there are racial and age components which determine the effectiveness of rural areas in controlling the onset of anxiety. D-Fens is white and among the higher educated--his job testifies to this. He is suffering from the stresses placed on him by the loss of his job and family exacerbated by the angst of modern urban living. Raymond (1989) reports that research has shown that the type "A" overachieving personality, cited as at risk for coronary and psychological problems, is at risk not because of time stress or long hours at work. This person is at risk for being suspicious of and hostile toward his or he fellow human beings (813). This defines D-Fens ve

Category: Film - F