Therapists need to track if patients' levels of contrition are sufficient to afford them true redemption.

The film "Tony" portrays a character who isn't sorry for being narcissistic, self-destructive and thoughtless.

Many of us go to the cinema to see sympathetic characters become better humans.

"Tony" delivers a happy ending that isn't earned.

Many of us go to the cinema to witness sympathetic characters overcome external and internal obstacles and become better humans (or tragically die trying). There are archetypal heroes' journeys—and now there are fresh archetypal heroines' journeys emerging, too. These narratives inspire us to be more authentic, to the be heroes and heroines of our own lives.

A bildungsroman is a novel of formation that tracks a young protagonist through the shedding of childish illusions as they individuate and gain a mature understanding of themselves, life, and the world. Unlike a typical adventure, a bildungsroman insists that its hero pays for growth in genuine psychological currency: confusion, failure, grief, humiliation, and the process of taking accountability for one's own mistakes, transcending one's failures, and insuring that the same mistakes are never made again.........

© Psychology Today