The Aviator is a film about a man named Howard Hughes and his eventful journey through the sky and fame. This whirlwind adventure takes us through the mind of a man who is a perfectionist, with a slight problem. His phobia of germs changes his lifestyle causing him to be seen as a crazed and emotionally unstable man. In addition to Phobia, the presence of Extrinsic motivation and Catharsis hypothesis effect Howard’s actions and ultimately the ending of the film.
Howard’s phobia is seen consistently throughout the movie, in multiple small moments. The main scenes that show the severity of his Phobia include always requesting milk bottles unopened, carrying his own soap around, and wrapping his plane steering wheel with saran wrap. His phobia
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However going out with multiple different women was actually a form of Catharsis. Howard used these woman to distract him from his stressful on going work problems and phobia of germs. This was beneficial up into the moment his relationships started backfiring and he was left alone, womanless. Howard then began to use other methods of Catharsis, spelling and repetition. One specific scene where these methods are useful is after Howard is faced with his fear of germs in the workplace. This interaction puts him in a frantic state and he begins to repeat “show me the blueprints, show me the blueprints..” (The Aviator, 2004). He storms out of the building repeating this in order for him to stay calm and not freak out. When he enters his car he begins spelling aloud words, the slow spelling takes his mind off the germs and slows his heart rate down so he can return to a state of peace. The Catharsis Hypothesis was accurately used in this specific scene when Howard began to spell aloud. His actions take him back to a peaceful memory during his childhood where him and his mother would spell aloud together, in a serene and clean environment. Howard meticulously distracted his mind enough for him to release his overwhelmed anxious anger and return to his normal sense of