Abstract
Philippe Petit walked across the twin towers in 1974 on a tightrope. He was 24 years old (Calhoun, 2020). This true story was depicted in Robert Zemeckis’ 2015 film The Walk. Leon Festinger’s theory of cognitive dissonance is used in this study to provide interpretation on the historical event as told in the film. The theory carries around a rich assortment of cognitive elements such as attitudes, perceptions, knowledge, and behaviors (Littlejohn & Foss, p. 95). The main character deals with dissonance and it causes mental discomfort, tension and stress. It’s played out in the psyche of the character and his desire is to reduce the dissonance. The situations explored here are forced compliance, decision making, effort, free choice, and belief disconfirmation.
Details
Presentation Type
Theme
KEYWORDS
DISSONANCE, COGNITIVE, BALANCE, HARMONY, CHARACTER
