Nell Movie Analysis 1

Wild Child

Salwa Abd-alal

Father Michael Goetz Secondary School

HSP3U1 Psychology

Ms. De Las Casas

November 1, 2023
Nell Movie Analysis 2

Nell is a secretive young hermit woman who lives alone in the woods in North Carolina.

When she is first found, she is isolated alone in a cabin where her twin sister and mom passed

away. Although no one has actually seen her sister Mae, who is thought to have died away at a

young age, the mother is discovered by a delivery man who was bringing groceries to the cabin

and reports the incident to the local physician, Dr. Jerome Lovell. At that point, Dr. Lovell begins

to have doubts about the situation while discovering something quite intriguing in Nell. Jerome

visits the cabin frequently in order to gain further insight into this mysterious woman because he

is eager to know more about her. Over time, the physician learns that Nell's phobia of people and

daytime activities comes from a childhood trauma involving the sexual assault of Nell's mother.

Nell learned to keep out of sight and that her mother was raped, therefore she described "e'al

do'ers" (evildoers) as the reason behind this.

Nell is not like other people. She is able to communicate, but it is in a language that no

one had ever heard of. It is later discovered that, prior to Mae's passing, Nell and her twin had

created a language when they were young, based on the English language. Nell is not familiar

with civilization, but she is still able to talk, eat, dress and even swim on her own. She moves in

an unsettling manner and has an odd posture. She is called the "wild woman" because of her

unusual and strange behaviour.

The main objective of the institution is to study behaviour among people. Paula Olsen, a

psychologist, is also curious to learn more about Nell. In order to learn more about her actions

and habits, she wants to take her to the hospital because Nell has a potential to teach researchers
Nell Movie Analysis 3

more about the connection between nature and nurture in human development, which made this

institution eager to welcome her. However, Dr. Lovell completely disagrees with Paula and the

institution. Jerome thinks Nell is capable of caring for herself and taking responsibility for

herself on her own. He hides her from strangers and anyone who would try to get close to her.

Considering the disagreements on both sides, the court allows the two physicians three months to

observe and examine Nell in her surroundings before deciding whether or not she should remain

at the cabin or be placed in an institution. Slowly but surely, the two scientists work together as

they get to know each other and Nell better.

When it comes to isolation, it means being separated from others and being alone but in

psychology, this term is approached differently. In the field of psychology, isolates are children

who have experienced physical, social, mental, or emotional abuse in their early years of

development. Isolates are generally neglected between birth and the age of five years old so

children who reach puberty are not referred to as isolates since extreme damage has already been

done. The first characteristic of an isolate is physical abuse, physical neglect refers to the overall

health of a child, such as the ability to walk and be active or healthy weight. This characteristic

does not describe Nell because even though she has an unusual walk and movement, she is able

to walk, run and even swim without requiring any help. She has a healthy body as well.

The second trait, which is social neglect, relates to being able to have social interactions

with others. Since Nell lived alone for years, she has no social skills and does not know how to

interact with other people. Although Nell is able to speak, she speaks an unknown language that

only she and her twin can understand. By the end of the movie, Nell is able to repeat words that
Nell Movie Analysis 4

Jerome and Paula have said as well as saying simple sentences which means that she progressed

well. But, she still does not speak proper English which implies that her brain can not fully

develop. Additionally, Nell exhibits behaviours that are not appropriate in society, like

undressing in front of guys at the bar and swimming naked in the lake with Jerome and Paula.

Furthermore, mental neglect is the third aspect of this topic. This connects to the capacity

to learn, which includes the ability to speak. Nell can communicate, as previously stated,

however she and her twin sister created the language that she uses. Numerous terms show

similarities to the English language, suggesting that Nell could still be able to speak correctly if

she takes her time learning. Fortunately, since she is already an adult and her brain is still

developing like a six-year-old's, this is unlikely to happen.

Emotional neglect, or the inability to express emotions in a way that is acceptable to

society, is the last and most important trait. Nell expresses emotions and feelings in a way that is

socially accepted including laughing while recalling memories of her deceased sister and sobbing

when upset or afraid. Despite her ability to manage these things, a journalist approaches Nell’s

cabin frightening her with flash photography that she has never seen before, a sign of emotional

neglect. Moreover, at the end of the film, Nell gives Jerry a kiss on the lips despite the fact that

he is much older than her and already married to Paula, which is another instance of how

emotionally neglected she is. Given that she lacks moral discernment, it is implied that her brain

is still developing at the rate of a child's.

In every experiment, scientists and researchers must follow the five general principles of

ethics, according to the American Psychological Association (APA). The word "ethics" refers to

what is frequently called the "science" or "study" of morality. The five principles of ethics are

Beneficence, Responsibility, Bias, Justice, and Respect for People’s Rights and Dignity. The first

principle is Beneficence, beneficence is when psychologists must make sure that the participants

are secure and pleased. They must also avoid harming the participants in any way. This principle

is violated by the doctors because although they did not hurt Nell physically, they hurt her

mentally, forcing her to go to the hospital when she is certainly irritated since she never left her

cabin making her feel nervous, anxious and uncomfortable. Since then, Nell refuses to speak or

interact with any of the doctors, even Jerry who she calls her “guardian angel”. The second

principle of ethics is responsibility. According to this rule, scientists must assist their peers

during the peer review process. Prior to publication, this procedure needs to raise the work's

quality. This principle was not violated since no paper about Nell was published. The third

principle is bias, which is when researchers must refrain from giving data collectors hints that

will lead to the replies they desire. Additionally, they must avoid telling the respondents the

study's hypothesis because doing so could skew the results. This principle was in fact not

violated. Justice is the fourth principle. Justice is giving educators, students, researchers, and

everybody else free, unrestricted access to articles and studies. This principle was not violated as

well. Respect for human rights and dignity is the last guideline which states that individuals who

wish to participate in a social scientists’ study must provide written consent. Paula and her

supervisor, an established psychiatrist, wanted Nell to be studied in a lab setting because he

thinks she is incapable of living on her own, which is why this principle was broken. This

guideline is violated by the institution's and the psychologists' desire to take Nell without her
Nell Movie Analysis 6

permission. Paula's supervisor encouraged this to occur, but Dr. Lovell is the only doctor who

cooperated with the guidelines, as he pushes the facility to allow Nell to remain in the cabin. In

addition, he obtains a court order granting each side three months to closely monitor Nell before

determining whether to keep her in the laboratory or the cabin. To further ensure Nell's comfort,

he even drives her out of the hospital and settles into a hotel. Although not all principles were

violated, Nell is still human despite her circumstances, therefore the physicians had no right to

treat her any differently.

What did I learn from Nell ? Well, most people would assume that you can not learn

anything from Nell since she is different from us. However, we can not judge people based on

the way they behave before getting to know them first. This is really important and we see a big

example of this in this movie when Paula first discovers Nell and judges her quickly. But

throughout the movie, Paula gets to know Nell better and comes to regard her as a nice, genuine

person who does not need government assistance. What I took away from Nell and this film is

how beautifully she conveys her feelings, like at the end of the movie at the courthouse. She also

introduces Paula and Dr. Lovell to the joys of nature and their inner selves. After a disagreement,

Nell also brings them back together and allows them to talk about their personal lives. While

Nell is unique, she shares characteristics with other isolates that our class has discussed. She

resembles the introverted character Genie because, in a scene from the film, Nell enters a grocery

shop for the first time and demonstrates the fascination she is with the various things on the

shelves there, both by picking them up and exploring them. Similar to Genie, both had a funny

walk, moved in a halting way and picked up a lot of vocabulary from scientists around them.

Oxana is another isolate that we have discussed in class. Oxana is an isolate who grew up with
Nell Movie Analysis 7

dogs and acted like them. Although Nell's circumstances are different from Oxana's, both of

them are reclusive individuals who had a fear of people and did not interact with them. Taking

everything into consideration, this film shows how nurture, which is a learned behaviour

influenced by the environment, plays a huge role in Nell’s behaviour and actions, drawing back

to the debate of nature vs. nurture. It also imparts lessons on the value of socializing and the

consequences of failing to complete the socialization process. Nell and other isolates have not

been socialized, which is the process through which we acquire crucial social behaviours,

abilities, values, and beliefs. In order to be socialized, it must be taught, but Nell had no one to

teach her which explains why she acts the way that she does. This also has to do with how the

brain develops. Psychologists believe that abuse and neglect have an impact on a child's capacity

for learning. Every child has basic needs, and if those needs fail to be met, the brain may have

chronic effects. As indicated earlier, children who are neglected can be resocialized, but learning

sta language has a "critical period" in a kid's life. Only the years prior to puberty fall under this

time frame. Language acquisition is lost after puberty, which is what happened to Nell. This is

called the "Critical Period Hypothesis." In conclusion, the capacity to learn is innate in humans,

but it can be delayed if we are not raised in a nourishing environment throughout the years of our

development.
Nell Movie Analysis 8

References

Apted, M. (Director) (1994). Nell. [Film]. PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, 20th Century Fox.

Ms. De Las Casas’ Notes