Wayfinding

collage of formal elements.

 

Dissociative Identity Disorder: Fight Club

The movie Fight Club introduces the main character as a diagnosed insomnia patient, that reserved unsuccessful medical treatment from his doctor. Then later on the movie, while the main character is undergoing confusion (so is the viewer), it reveals that he has DID; which is mis-portrayed in the movie. He undergoes signs and symptoms that is not realistic for an actual DID patient. Also the movie shows “secret” signs that leads the viewer to think that the DID is what the main character really suffers from, not insomnia. The movie shows a very fantasy like representation of Dissociative Identity Disorder.

Fight Club movie is based on a dark comedy novel. The main character plays the narrator, as if he is telling his story to the people from a third perspective. He was not provided with a name until later on the movie (Jack). Unsatisfied with his job, Jack desperately joins support groups for patients with terminal diseases wanting to relate to others. In his business flight, he meets Tyler (separate personality) and become friends after having a fistfight. Together, they made the Fight Club, which is a secret non-materialists and non-corporate club, where people fight as a radical form of psychotherapy. Jack get in a fight with Tyler (his personality), and then other personalities shows up and impacts his life, and it looks like almost all the people that are surrounding him are just one of his many personalities. Then Tyler tries to hint to Jack that they’re the same person, so they get in a fight, Jack attempts to kill Tyler by pointing the gun on his own head, saying that he is pointing it on “our head,” he shoots, Tyler dies but Jack is alive? Holding one of his character’s hand that he loved, and watching everything gets destroyed around them.

The movie didn’t portray those diagnosed with DID correctly, though there were some symptoms that correlate to the DID criteria; unable to recall events, memory lapses, and auditory hallucination. Generally, the primary personalities (Jack) does not communicate with the alters, though auditory hallucinations can be common, switching between alters is usually instantaneous, but in the movie it is often drawn out for dramatic effect. The portrayal seems unusual, but some symptoms correlate to the DID criteria. The narrator only focuses on one character, but does bring up different “entities” at different times, “I am Jack’s cold sweat”- could be relating it to other personalities. Treatment also portrays an unrealistic form of treatment, those diagnosed with DID, long-term psychotherapy could help reintegrate their personalities.

 

classmates’ brainstorming sketches.

 

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