K-PAX story
K-PAX is a 2001 American-German science fiction-mystery film based on Gene Brewer's 1995 novel of the same name, directed by Iain Softley, starring Kevin Spacey, Jeff Bridges, Mary McCormack, and Alfre Woodard. Synopsis: A psychiatric patient claims to be an alien from the planet K-PAX. During his treatment, the patient demonstrates an outlook on life that ultimately proves inspirational for his fellow patients and especially for his psychiatrist.
20 total · 8 major · 12 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| coping with post-traumatic stress | major | A revelation of the story was that Prot may have been an alter ego that Robert Porter, a man who'd attempted suicide in after his wife and child were murdered. |
| coping with the death of one's entire family | major | The possibility was left open that Robert Porter fell under the delusion that he was an extraterrestrial in response to his wife and only child having been brutally murdered. |
| delusion of being someone one is not | major | The story centered around Prot being institutionalized after claiming to be an extraterrestrial from the planet K-PAX. |
| doctor and patient | major | Prot's psychiatrist Dr. Mark Powell went above and beyond the call of duty to help him get well. |
| extraterrestrial being | major | It was left open that Prot might actually have been an alien from the the planet K-PAX, 1,000 light years away in the Lyra constellation. |
| medical occupation | major | Central to the story was the psychiatrist Dr. Mark Powell's treating of his presumed delusional patient Prot. |
| mental illness | major | Prot was institutionalized for claiming to be an extraterrestrial from the planet K-PAX. More generally, the film is set in a psychiatric hospital full of mentally ill patients. |
| what it is like in a psychiatric institution | major | Prot was committed to a psychiatric hospital that was filled to the brim with stereotypically mentally ill people. |
| cyclical time universe | minor | According to Prot, The universe was destined to expand, collapse back on itself, and then expand again in a forever repeating process. |
| father and daughter | minor | Dr. Mark Powell had some passing interactions with his young daughter. |