A Portrait Of A Killer - 1042 Words

The National Geographic film, A Portrait of a Killer, examines the types of stress that living beings can endure, and how it can thus affect the rest of their bodies. Severe chronic stress can lead even lead to the destruction of brain cells. Dr. Robert Sapolsky is a neurobiologist of Stanford University who has been researching stress for over thirty years. In order to study stress and its implications upon nonhumans, he went to Africa to study baboons. This species has only three hours of stress caused by eating, and the rest of their daily routine is consumed by about nine hours of free time. Much like Western society, baboons socially stress out one another, as they have social hierarchies to regulate how them interact with one another. When put under stress, both humans and baboons have cortisol and adrenaline found in their blood. These hormones are critical for survival, and other physical changes in the body such as a racing heart, increased blood pressure, and quickly responding muscles are all present when the body is put under stress. However, in regard to humans, these same physical responses can occur when the body is not in a life in death situation. Instead, it is common for psychological stresses such as public speaking, taking a test, paying taxes, or driving a vehicle to invoke the same physiological responses as someone in a critical situation. This can be unhealthy for the human body, as many people can get worked up over multiple stressors in one day,Show MoreRelatedJust Walk On By : Black Men And Public Space1464 Words   |  6 PagesThe portrait of black men that people have had in their mind for many decades has narrowed their vision about black men and has automatically affected black menâ€⠄¢s identity. When it comes to black people, one already has a picture in his or her mind and draws a conclusion about how black people have to look and how they will act. After I read the essay entitled, â€Å"Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space,† written by Brent Staples, in which he talks about the fearsomeness mistakenly given to himRead MoreRobert Nixon was an African-American serial killer who confessed to five murders and multiple700 Words   |  3 PagesRobert Nixon was an African-American serial killer who confessed to five murders and multiple assaults in Chicago and Los Angeles from 1936 to 1938. He was born on June 16, 1919, in the small town Tallulah, Louisiana. The press gave Nixon the nickname Brick Moron† after he confessed to the â€Å"brick bat murders† (Arney). Edna Worden, her 12-year-old daughter, Rose Valdez, Elizabeth Rice, and Zoe Damrell were a few of his many victims. After Nixon was arrested, he was sentenced to death and elect rocutedRead More The Life of Mass Murderer, Henry Lee Lucas Essay1037 Words   |  5 Pagesthrough a childhood of abuse and neglect. If there is a case that proves a persons childhood is reflected in their later actions this could certainly be one. He was never taught that life had any value and perhaps this led him into a life of crime. (killer index) Henry Lee Lucas was born on August 23, 1936, in Blacksburg Virginia. Lucass mother was an abusive prostitute who forced both her disabled husband and son Henry to watch her performance of sexual acts on strangers. Henrys father was missingRead MoreEssay The Making of a Serial Killer, An Annotated Bibliography1410 Words   |  6 PagesAnnotated Bibliography: Brogaard, Berit. The Making of a Serial Killer. Psychology Today. Sussex Directories, Inc., 7 Dec. 2012. Web. 03 May 2014. Berit Brogaard, D.M.Sci., Ph.D., is a Professor of Philosophy and the Director of the Brogaard Lab for Multisensory Research at the University of Miami. She earned a medical degree in neuroscience and a doctorate in philosophy. This article explained the traits of a psychopath, such as their callous, manipulative, and cunning behavior, along withRead MoreThe Short, Savage Life of A Civil War Guerrilla by Albert Castel and Thomas Goodrich1012 Words   |  4 Pagesdemolished, and destroyed towns and villages in Missouri and Kansas. In Bloody Bill Anderson: The Short, Savage Life of a Civil War Guerrilla, Albert Castel and Thomas Goodrich provide a look at the real war by describing a gritty, brutally realistic portrait of William Anderson, and his malicious acts to protect what he believed. In this review I will look at the life of William â€Å"Bloody Bill† Anderson and what shaped and made him the most vicious, ruthless man in guerilla war fare in the civil war andRead More T he Horror Genre Essay1310 Words   |  6 Pagesactors and actresses in a film need to be suited for their roles. Could you imagine a film where Arnold Schwarznegger is the innocent murder victim, and Dale Winton the serial killer? Dont you think it would be a little bit more logical the opposite way round? Due to Arnolds reputation as the killer or hero, people may not want to watch him being brutally and mercilessly murdered; does Dales voice suit a typical gruff murderers voice? But the actor is not the only importantRead MoreA Modern Crime Or A Masterpiece?1300 Words   |  6 Pagesand face these reproductions of monsters throughout history. Criminals of all scales find themselves recreated in pop culture, even the most unsettling of characters, such as rapists and serial killers. Myra Hindley has found herself immortalized by the hands of Marcus Harvey in the mid-‘90s. And her portrait is an ironic one. The wide behind the Moors Murders becomes a larger-than-life collage of examples of her victims. Myra Hindley, accompanied by her husband, carried out a series of five childrenRead MoreHow Toppan Is Not Guilty For Insanity1290 Words   |  6 Pagesfour members of Davis clan included. This made her the Poisonous Female Serial Killer (Ramsland, 2006). This made her the most prolific serial killer in the history of America. Toppan would change poison dosages to elongate patients suffering, sometimes over some weeks. In covering her crimes, she at times climbed her victimâ€⠄¢s bed and embraced them in their death throes. Many people thought that she was a lust killer with extreme sexual psychopath personality that derives pleasure from killing.Read MoreCharacter Analysis of Emily Grierson in A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner757 Words   |  3 Pagesis left feeling sympathetic to Emily Grierson because in spite of her highly respected social status, she is never truly able to fit in with the town of Jefferson. In short, the Canadian Social Science article entitled, â€Å"Analysis of the Changing Portraits in ‘A Rose for Emily,’† more simply demonstrates how the people of Jefferson viewed Miss Emily Grierson in the following quote, â€Å"[f]or the townspeople, she was very proud, odd and mysterious. No one knew how her life was exactly like,† (Qun 67)Read MoreEssay about Enriques Journey Analysis611 Words   |  3 Pagesshe started writing, she had to find the perfect child that could represent the hardest and toughest r eality migrants live through. She had to find the right places, the ones that exposed the cold, dead malign personality of robbers, rapists, and killers. The way she arranged for her security, it shows that she had an organized plan, prone to sudden changes, as I’m sure it happened numerous times. I can see, just from reading the prologue, that the journey won’t be easy at all. That tough reality