If any characters in Nicolas Cage movies had Social Anxiety, the below three scenes would not have happened.
One of the most bad ass action hero’s of the 90’s is Nicolas Cage. I mean, even his name is super bad ass. How many times have we seen this man beat up bad guys and drive off into the sunset with a pretty girl? Pretty much every time he was ever in a movie. But as cool as the characters are that he plays, would someone like Nicolas Cage ever have Social Anxiety Disorder? Below we look at three scenes from three different movies and breakdown potential Social Anxiety triggers.
Being Nicolas Cage is really cool. But what isn’t cool is Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD). So unless you’re about to boost cars, take down a plane full of convicted criminals, or save a city from poison gas, you should click here to learn more about SAD.
Three Social Anxiety scenes in Nicolas Cage movies
Movie 1: Con Air (1997)
Nicolas Cage character: Cameron Poe, U.S. Army Ranger turned convicted felon
Scene: While dancing with his wife at a restaurant/bar, Cameron Poe playfully puts his head to his pregnant wife’s belly pretending to have a discussion with his unborn daughter.
Con Air, 1997
Anxiety Provoking Event: Putting his head to his wife’s belly while talking to her belly in a public place causes people to stare.
It’s one thing if you are super excited about having a baby and want to talk with your unborn child through the walls of your wife’s belly. It’s something completely different if you have that discussion in public while other people are starring. That’s exactly what happened at the beginning of Con Air. Cameron Poe is dancing with his wife at a restaurant and decides to do something attention grabbing. He bends down, puts his head to her belly, and has a loud and public conversation with her belly.
Considering that there are so many people around Poe, this can be a huge social anxiety trigger. Even his wife looked uncomfortable as she was looking around to see who was staring. The stares and whispers about his behavior could cause an extreme level of discomfort, especially if Nicolas Cage (Cameron Poe) has Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD). If he had SAD, his face would instantly turn bright red and would start to sweat quite heavily. People would start to notice and may actually comment on his Red Face. This would just lead to brighter red blushing and more profuse sweating. It’s really humiliating. Poe would end up stopping the dance and going to the bathroom to rinse in face with cold water. He wouldn’t dance again for the rest of the evening.
Result
Cameron Poe did not develop Red Face. His face color didn’t change and was fully dry. He also seemed to be completely unconcerned about the people around him. That is a strong sign that he doesn’t have SAD.
Movie 2: Gone in Sixty Seconds (2000)
Nicolas Cage character: Memphis Raines, retired car thief who unretires to save his brother’s life.
Scene: Detective Castlebeck enters Otto’s garage where Memphis Raines and his crew are plotting to steal fifty cars, including trying to hide an already stolen car containing heroin.
Gone in Sixty Seconds, 2000
Anxiety Provoking Event: Memphis Raines (Nicolas Cage) is forced to lie to an authority figure in front of his entire team, while the proof of his guilt is right in front of both of them.
There is something to say about the leader of a team. For Memphis Raines (an expert car thief), he steals the most difficult car (Eleanor), he built his team from scratch, and he saved his younger brother from death. He is looked up to and is seen as a role model by everyone in his crew. So naturally, he must be the one that handles the nosey detective who is poking around. After Detective Castlebeck makes a surprise appearance at the worst time, Raines thinks of a clever lie to get rid of him.
Gone in Sixty Seconds, 2000
It’s important to realize that Memphis Raines is being looked at by everyone in his crew, has heroin on the floor of the stolen drug car behind him, and has a really annoying detective just itching to throw him in jail poking around. There is a lot of pressure, anxiety, and social anxiety to consider here. For people with Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD), speaking with an authoritative can be triggering. But when you lie to an authoritative figure, the anxiety trigger is much worse. You’ll end up with the dreaded Red Face (blushing and sweating), trembling hands, rapid heart rate, etc. Not to mention, you’re the role model to everyone on your team so you must maintain composure. Having Red Face definitely makes it look like you lost composure.
Social Anxiety = Dishonesty?
The question then becomes, “would Detective Castlebeck really believe Raines if he saw his red, sweaty face?” Of course not! He is a detective and the Red Face is a sign of dishonesty. Even if you are being honest, people will typically think you’re lying if you blush and sweat. No one would think that it’s just social anxiety. That’s a real problem in today’s society.
Result
Memphis Raines does not develop Red Face, trembling hands, or rigid posture. He visibly maintains composure and gets rid of Detective Castlebeck without problem. He doesn’t have social anxiety disorder.
Movie 3: The Rock, 1996
Scene: Stanley Goodspeed (Nicolas Cage) is explaining how to disarm the VX Gas Rockets to FBI Director Womack, Agent Paxton, Commander Anderson, and the navy seals.
The Rock, 1996
Anxiety Provoking Event: Presenting information to a room filled with authority figures, and then being cut-off and told that Goodspeed will join them in battle. Anxiety heightens when Goodspeed’s reaction shows that he doesn’t want to go, but cannot say no.
Presenting critical information to a group of authority figures is never easy. It can cause performance anxiety, which is fairly normal and common. However with performance anxiety, social anxiety can easily sneak in, particularly if you’re being called out by someone.
Stanley Goodspeed (a chemist for the FBI) was presenting instructions to disarm the VX Gas Rockets when surprisingly, FBI Director Womack told him that he should stop presenting because he’ll be going into battle with the Seals. Goodspeed’s reaction clearly showed that he didn’t want to go, but he had no choice and couldn’t say no. This can be a huge trigger for social anxiety disorder (SAD). Being publicly cut-off in front of others during a presentation by an authority figure can cause Red Face. But when publicly cut-off, then told to do something you don’t want to do, your brain chemistry goes haywire. In people with SAD, the chemistry leads to a rush of heat straight to the face which then causes bright red facial blushing, and heavy sweating. It’s a very uncomfortable feeling and everyone can see it.
Result
There were no visible signs of Red Face on Stanley Goodspeed. No blushing, no sweating, no trembling hands. He went to the bathroom to vomit afterwards, but that was because he was scared. He doesn’t have SAD.
Conclusion- Nicolas Cage characters don’t have Social Anxiety Disorder
Playing the role of action hero is one of the coolest, life saving characters a person can be. But as we saw, if Nicholas Cage had Social Anxiety Disorder then saving the day as a convict, car thief, or chemist for the FBI won’t save him from Red Face. Thankfully for Cage characters, they don’t have SAD. If they did, I would advise them to avoid triggering events like the scenes we just saw. Otherwise they’ll be in one of the most uncomfortable social situations imaginable.