User:AndyJones/Stockholm syndrome in popular culture

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Main article: Stockholm syndrome

Contents

[edit] Books

  • In Ann Patchett's novel, Bel Canto, 58 international hostages and their captors in a hostage sitaution gone awry in an undisclosed South American country show symptoms of Stockholm syndrome and forge unexpected bonds.
  • The seventh Tempe Brennan novel, Monday Mourning (2004), (by American author Kathy Reichs) centers around a case involving the Stockholm Syndrome. Chapter 30 contains a concise, yet comprehensive, analysis and discussion of the syndrome and its effects.
  • In George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, Winston Smith starts to feel a nonsexual love for his torturer O'Brien. Interestingly, this book was published in 1949, many years before the incident in Stockholm, Sweden.
  • I Am Regina, a young adult novel by Sally M. Keehn, is a fictionalized account of a true story of a young girl who was abducted by Indians during the French-Indian war. In the book, the Indians change Regina's name to Tskinnak and as she grows up among the Delaware, she gradually grows to care very much for them, slowly losing nearly all memory of her life as Regina. This type of bonding did in fact happen in the early colonial period in North America; The Unredeemed Captive by John Demos is the account of the kidnapping of Eunice Williams and her family's decades-long struggle to contact her and win her return to British America.
  • In The Captivation of Eunice Williams, the 1704 Deerfield, Massachusetts Raid and resulting events are explored through the eyes of the 7 year old daughter Eunice of the town's esteemed Minister who was captured by Native and French groups. This was written with the intention of becoming an opera, and has now been performed as such for a couple years. Based on true events, Eunice becomes adopted by her captors and just a couple years later when her father arrives to take her back home, she refuses to leave. This situation is not just fiction, many abducted Euro-colonists chose to stay with Native communities, and those communities often had practices where abduction resulted in adoption and true family bonds, where the abducted / adopted is completely seen and accepted as one of their own. Women having slightly more freedom and power in those communities may have led to girls and women more often choosing to stay than males, though many males chose the same. It is suggested, and some say proven, that Eunice's adoptive parents had lost a young girl, and were hoping to adopt another one, as is sometimes custom for grieving parents. Eunice's mother had also just died, during the raid, at the hands of some of her captors, but likely men from a different tribe than where she ended up. Their mutual grief may have assisted the family bonds. Eunice had rare contact with her family over her long lifetime and visited Deerfield a few times, often with her (Mohawk) husband and children, preferring to stay in her wigwam out back rather than in the home. Her native language skills were said to be perfect, and her English skills also remained somewhat strong. Her father and many in the clergy from Deerfield to Boston literally schemed for years to try and secure her return, as they saw her living a life with "Catholics" as something that their protestant communities needed to save her soul from, possibly moreso than the Native aspect. [1]
  • In Artemis Fowl, a series of books by Eoin Colfer, Lower Elements Police captain Holly Short is kidnapped by the 12-year-old title character Artemis Fowl II. After she is released, she has a tendency to sympathize with Artemis, and in spite of her grudge, joins the boy on many of his adventures. As the story goes on, the two develop a loyal friendship, though both of them tend to deny it.
  • In Hannibal, Clarice Starling eventually falls in love with Hannibal Lecter, who had saved her from a dart wound.
  • Birds of Prey, comic book. In the first storyarc written by Gail Simone, Black Canary is kidnapped and detained by blackmailer Savant and his ex-KGB bodyguard Creote. Black Canary suspects that Creote is in love with his master, and tests her theory by waiting for Creote to bring her food and telling him "I think I'm coming down with a bad case of Stockholm Syndrome for you...". Creote merely sets down the food and leaves the room.
  • In The Danger, a crime novel by Dick Francis, a character is a victim of kidnapping and exhibits strong symptoms of Stockholm Syndrome after being held prisoner in a tent pitched inside a room in a house, despite never even seeing her captors' faces.
  • In Critical Space, the fifth book in the Atticus Kodiak series by Greg Rucka, the main character (a bodyguard) is kidnapped by a female assassin who asks him to help protect her from a rival assassin. While Atticus accepts and trains under the assassin of his own free will, many of his friends later suspect he is suffering Stockholm syndrome for not hating or fearing the assassin.
  • In The Slippery Slope, the tenth book in the popular A Series of Unfortunate Events series, the author (Lemony Snicket) gives a short explantion of Stockholm syndrone and then mentions "Mount Fraught syndrone", which he explains is "when a prisoner does not become friends with such people, but instead regards them as villains, and despises them more and more with each passing moment, waiting desperately for an opportunity to escape," to describe how the character Sunny Baudelaire is feeling being the captive of Count Olaf.

[edit] Film

  • Airheads, hostages begin to identify with and eventually assist their captors.
  • Blue Velvet
  • Buffalo '66
  • The Chase starring Charlie Sheen, the character Natalie falls in love with her captor Jackson during a high-speed chase.
  • Cecil B. Demented, several cinema terrorists kidnap a popular actress and turn her into one of them, a la Patty Hearst (who interestingly enough Patty Hearst herself appears in the film as a mother of one of the cinema terrorists).
  • The Collector
  • Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
  • Die Hard A doctor appearing on a television show describing the phenomenon refers to it as Helsinki Syndrome. The bumbling host says this refers to "Helsinki, Sweden", and the doctor corrects him, saying "Finland."
  • Dog Day Afternoon (based on a true story)
  • The Edukators, a rich man captured by a band of German discontents makes no effort to escape and actually lies to protect his captors. However, upon release, he turns them in.
  • Guerrilla: The Taking of Patty Hearst
  • John Q, Denzel Washington's character takes hostages in a hospital. The hostages later sympathize with him and even side with him.
  • Khalnayak, a police officer goes undercover to capture an escaped prisoner; she allowing herself to be kidnapped, but then falls in love with him, teaming up with him in the end.
  • King Kong, Ann Darrow eventually feels sympathy for Kong after he kidnaps her.
  • The Last Samurai An American military advisor embraces the Samurai culture he was hired to destroy after he is captured in battle
  • Manny & Lo 1996. A young girl (Scarlett Johansson) and her barely older pregnant sister are on the run from unknown captors. They shack up in empty model homes, or even just in the back of their station wagon. Once they realize they don't know anything about childbirth, they decide to kidnap someone who does. To this end they find the perfect helpmate in quirky, loner Elaine (Mary Kay Place) who though banished from the nursing profession, wears her nursing whites with pride.
  • The Negotiator has a line in which the police chief says "He is trying to take us to Stockholm".
  • The Night Porter, Charlotte Rampling portrays a young woman who is taken captive by the Nazis and becomes lovers with one of them. He even offers her the severed head of another prisoner. Years later, on a trip to Germany, she happens to bump into her Nazi lover again and she abandons her husband to stay with him.
  • Norrmalmstorg, Swedish film (2003) about the Norrmalmstorg robbery.
  • The Phantom of the Opera
  • Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma
  • Saw II, the character of Amanda appreciated her kidnapper Jigsaw for helping her overcome her drug addiction, and became his apprentice.
  • Shakti (1982), Vijay, young son of a police officer, develops a sympathy for one of his captors and becomes a confederate of him in his later life.
  • Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!
  • Truth or Consequences, N.M. (1997) a couple played by Kevin Pollak and Kim Dickens is taken hostage by Vincent Gallo and Kiefer Sutherland. He begins to be friends with them, while she is outraged by his behavior.
  • V for Vendetta, Evey Hammond
  • The World Is Not Enough (a James Bond film), female antagonist, Elektra King, is believed to have fallen in love with and being in league of terrorist Renard who kidnapped her earlier. However, it turns out that this is a case of the Lima syndrome; Renard is in love with Electra.
  • 12 Monkeys
  • Blood Diamond Many African kids were abducted by a group of terrorists and turned into child soldiers and became loyal to their captors.

[edit] Television

  • 24, in Season 1 Kim, the daughter of special agent Jack Bauer, falls in love with one of her captors after he starts protecting her against his cruel associate kidnapper.
  • Babylon 5 Helsinki syndrome mentioned in the fourth-season episode The Illusion of Truth
  • Black Lagoon, in the first episode Okajima Rokuro muses that he must be coming down with Stockholm Syndrome. He then thinks to himself, "At this moment, I feel like this big guy next to me is the only guy I can trust in this whole world" about his captor, the Lagoon company when he decided to join with them after being abandoned by his superiors.
  • Boxing Helena
  • Close to Home
  • The Collector
  • Cry in the Wild: The Taking of Peggy Ann (1991), based on a true story, a man kidnaps a girl hoping to make her his own, and she ultimately begins to sympathize with her captor.
  • CSI Miami, episode 13, season 3: Rex Linn starring as Detective Frank Tripp suggests the case at hand might be an example of the Stockholm syndrome.
  • ER (TV series), episode 3.15 "The Long Way Around", Carol develops sympathy for one of the convenience store captors.
  • Futurama, episode 3.12 ("Insane in the Mainframe") - When the crew is held hostage by insane robot Roberto, Bender pleads for his life by saying, "Don't kill me yet! I think I'm starting to come down with Stockholm Syndrome... handsome!"
  • House, the character Dr. Foreman tells the other fellows working with him under Dr. House that they have Stockholm Syndrome for being able to like Dr. House in spite of how abrasive he is.
  • Infinite Ryvius, produced by Sunrise, the best pilot of spaceship Ryvius, Juli Bahana, falls in love with despotic leader of the ship, Aires Blue.
  • Law & Order: SVU, episode 7, season 8: Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) finds a girl who had been reported missing for 5 years. It is discovered that she was kidnapped and raped by a man whom she had killed. Benson claims she developed Stockholm Syndrome in order to survive the trauma of the experience.
  • Lost, it is a common theory that Jack has Stockholm Syndrome for the Others, explaining his seemingly happy interaction with them at the end of Episode 3.12 "Par Avion".
  • Malcolm in the Middle, episode 4.18 "Reese's Party", Reese develops Stockholm Syndrome for a gang that has taken over the house.
  • Matlock: The Kidnapping[1]
  • "NCIS" Special Agent Caitlin Todd is shot dead by a terrorist that she had a chance to kill a year earlier when he kidnapped her but didn't because "there was something about his eyes"; one of her colleagues suggests she fell victim to Stockholm Syndrome.
  • Nip/Tuck, episode 3.14 ("Cherry Peck"). Kimber Henry shows signs of Stockholm syndrome after ostensibly sympathizing with The Carver after he kidnapped and tortured her.
  • Psych, fourth episode, Shawn Spencer, a fake psychic detective, says to his friend Gus, who is beginning to like a female client that is being threatened by bank robbers: "What is this thing you have for women in jeopardy? They have a name for this you know. It's called the Stockholm Syndrome."
  • The Simpsons episode "Blame it on Lisa", Homer is kidnapped and develops Stockholm syndrome, even making a photo album before he is freed.
  • Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Suddenly Human", a child abducted during war is believed by Dr. Beverly Crusher to exhibit signs of the Stockholm Syndrome.
  • Sweet Hostage (1975)
  • Take My Word For It, final episode.
  • The X-Files Helsinki syndrome mentioned in the fifth-season episode Folie a Deux by Fox Mulder. It is also implied (but not named) by Dana Scully in the third-season episode Oubliette: Mulder: "Carl Wade? Why would she be connected with Carl Wade?" Scully: "For the same twisted reason that abused children crave their parents' love or hostages develop sympathy for their captors. I mean, maybe Lucy developed some kind of emotional dependency."
  • In the popular anime Naruto, Kabuto Yakushi, who came under Akatsuki member Sasori's control under mysterious circumstances, was given to Orochimaru to spy on him, and later became Orochimaru's most trusted advisor and fighter, becoming completely devoted to him and his cause. Unlike most Stockholm syndrome victims, however, it is unsure if Kabuto is completely loyal to Orochimaru or if he had fallen in love sometime during the many years of his captivity.

[edit] Video games

  • Metal Gear Solid, Solid Snake refers to Dr. Hal "Otacon" Emmerich's attraction to terrorist Sniper Wolf as Stockholm syndrome, although this may be an example of gallows humour provoked by exasperation.

[edit] Music

  • Muse has a song called "Stockholm Syndrome" from the album Absolution released in 2003.
  • American singer/songwriter Dory Previn, herself a victim of emotional abuse and criminal captivity as a child, wrote a song entitled "With My Daddy in the Attic", dealing with Stockholm syndrome and fantasies of incest.
  • Yo La Tengo has a song called "Stockholm Syndrome" from the album I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One.
  • Blink-182 has a song called "Stockholm Syndrome" from the album Blink-182.
  • The Swedish punk rock band Backyard Babies has released an album called Stockholm Syndrome.
  • Nirvana has a song called "Paper Cuts" that somewhat describes a hostaged person with Stockholm syndrome from the album Bleach.
  • The Who wrote a song called "Black Widow's Eyes", which describes Stockholm syndrome during the Beslan school hostage crisis.
  • Slipknot's song "Iowa", from the Iowa album, hints at captor adoration, from the captor's perspective.
  • The art punk/post-punk band Les Savy Fav have a song entitled "Adopduction" from their 2001 album Go Forth (French Kiss Records) that alludes to Stockholm syndrome in its lyrics: I could trust them, dare I say it, even love them. Who's to blame? ... My fondest memories are from my hostage crises. I know it's strange, although we got so close you know, they never even told me their real names.
  • New York-based hardcore band Indecision refers to Stockholm syndrome in the song "Hallowed Be Thy Name".
  • Stockholm Syndrome is a collaboration between Widespread Panic's bass player Dave Schools and writer-artist Jerry Joseph of the Jackmormons.

[edit] References

  1. ^ For more information go here: A raid remembered