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Cecilia Dougherty
video

The Drama of the Gifted Child
1992, 5:30
video clip

Inspired by psychologist Alice Miller's book The Drama of the Gifted Child: The Search for the True Self. Miller's book is an analysis of the harmful effects of parental expectations for achievement upon their children. While not an adaptation of the book, my video is an essay on the transference phenomenon, narcissism and the desire for a sense of self-worth based on the needs of peers and the standards of others: friends and lovers, family, academia, the art world. The themes of sexual love, uncertainty, pedagogy, self-help, power within personal relationships, separation, and reunion all seek resolution.

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