Research Paper on Exploring Psychological Elements in Film: Insomnia & Personality Disorders

Abstract

This research aims at discussing the psychological aspects. The dissertation analyses the film and derives various characters that exhibit different psychological elements. Among the elements that will be described in the paper are insomnia and personality disorders. The research will further describe the causes, symptoms, and the treatment of the disorders and relate them to the plot of the movie. The research has derived its information from scholarly sources. The academic references have provided credible and reliable information that relates to the instances in the movie. A critical analysis has been conducted on the sources to ensure the provision of credible information concerning psychological disorders. The dissertation concluded that the Fight Club movie significantly portrays characters that suffer from insomnia and personality disorders. The research also finds that the film is an essential element that adequately represents the causes and symptoms of the diseases. As a result, the film production industry can be effectively used to educate people about various psychological issues that affect individuals in society. Ideally, the dissertation conclusively shows that the Fight Club movie is an educational tool that educates people on different psychological aspects in the community.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Key words: insomnia, personality disorder, psychology.

Psychology in "Fight Club"

Film production is an industry that uses its elements such as the plot and characters, to portray various perceptions, events or stories in real life. The filming industry effectively utilises its features to deliver specific messages and information to the audience. Psychological aspects of individuals are among the elements that filmmakers use to pass particular messages to the audience. Fight Club, for instance, is a film that portrays various psychological aspects that relate to the real-life of individuals in society.

The Fight Club is an American film that is derived from the novel written by Chuck Palahniuk. The film features individuals such as the narrator, who has insomnia disorder. The narrator is a travelling specialist who deals with automobile recall services (Linson & Fincher, 1999). Additionally, the movie features Tyler Durden who is a soap salesman who, together with the narrator, opens a fight club to help them recover from psychological disorders (Linson & Fincher, 1999). The idea is generated after the narrator meets Tyler at a bar to ask for help following the destruction of his properties by an explosion. The narrator engaged in fist fighting to control his stress as well as his sleeping disorder.

The fistfight attracted men from the bar, thus leading to the formation of the fight club. Such fight clubs were formed across the nation and more members joined the organisation. As a result, the narrator and other members met routinely for a men fight for recreational purposes. In the club, different men with various psychological disorders met and fought to help them reduce the effects of the illnesses (Linson & Fincher, 1999). The movie, therefore, mainly features characters with insomnia as well as personality disorders. The psychological aspects highlighted in the film relate to the real-life issues that affect individuals in the present day in society.

Insomnia Disorder

Insomnia is a psychological disorder that is significantly portrayed in the Fight Club movie. The disease is mainly described as the inability to acquire enough sleep that is needed for an individual to wake up, having refreshed and rested (Devi, Samreen, Kumari, & Sharma, 2018). Insomnia is determined by the amount of sleep that an individual gets and how they feel after sleeping. Insomnia is a psychological disorder since it tampers with the mind and its functions. The body of an individual requires adequate sleep to ensure proper production of hormones and rejuvenation of the mind that result in the effective functioning of the brain (Devi et al., 2018). Therefore, the lack of adequate and quality sleep results in malfunctioning of the body parts as well as the brain. As a result, an insomniac individual exhibits various symptoms of having inadequate sleep. In the Fight Club movie, characters such as the narrator are used to portray the different aspects of insomnia that are evident in a real-life situation.

Causes of the Disorder

Insomnia is caused by various internal and external factors that affect the life of a human being Physical and psychological factors are among the significant aspects that contribute to the illness. Among the physical factors that contribute to the disease is the day-to-day activities of people that result in fatigue (Singh, 2016). The tiredness results from the engagement of humans in difficult and time-consuming tasks. Consequently, people fail to have a quality sleep that would result in rest, hence causing insomniac conditions among the people. Ideally, insomnia is caused by difficult tasks that deprive the quality sleep of individuals.

In the movie, the insomniac narrator conclusively shows that involvement under challenging tasks can cause insomnia to individuals. For instance, the narrator is involved in the recall services in an automobile company (Linson & Fincher, 1999). Therefore, he is engaged in challenging tasks of recalling vehicles to ensure effective customer service in the industry. As a result, he gets home fatigued, thus leading to failure to having a night of adequate sleep. Primarily, the movie passes the information on insomnia disorder by showing how fatigue contributes to the illness as expressed by the characters.

Excessive travelling is another physical issue that contributes to insomnia disorder. Most insomniac individuals suffer from the disease due to travelling that is triggered by the nature of their work. Travelling across various time zones using multiple means of transport disrupts the circadian rhythms of the body (Signh, 2018). The circadian rhythm is responsible for controlling the activities of the body systems such as the sleeping cycles, body temperature, and metabolism. As an individual travels to different places and for hours, they are likely to interfere with the sleeping cycles that result in insomnia. Primarily, individuals involved in excessive travelling are more likely to suffer from insomnia disorder.

The Fight Club movie effectively portrays travelling as the cause of this psychological disorder. The narrator has insomnia since his work conditions require him to travel from one region to another. The character carries out the recall services for an automobile company. He is, therefore, engaged in many business trips in different time zones (Linson & Fincher, 1999). Additionally, the character travels to different countries worldwide, thus spending most of his time travelling. As a result, he has his sleep-wake cycle disrupted, hence triggering the occurrence of the disorder (Linson & Fincher, 1999). Consequently, the narrator is unable to have a night of adequate sleep and enough rest that result to his insomniac psychological disorder. The movie effectively shows the psychological effects of uncontrolled traveling among working individuals in different careers.

Insomnia is not only caused by physical factors, but also psychological aspects. Among the psychological causes are mental health problems such as stress. Stress results from excessive concerns about issues such as finances, properties, and work. As a result, an individual keeps the brain active during the night, thus failing to get enough sleep. Loss of capital is among the significant causes of stress among people in the society. Individuals who have lost properties through theft, disaster, or natural and artificial calamities are likely to suffer stress due to overthinking (Singh, 2016). As a result, people have increased concerns on the strategies to regain the lost items. Consequently, their minds remain active at night, thus losing their abilities to acquire quality sleep.

In the film, the narrator's insomnia is perpetrated by the stress that he gains after the loss of his property. On one occasion, the character returns home from a business trip only to find his property damaged by an explosion (Linson & Fincher, 1999). The narrator values material items; thus, the destruction caused him emotional distress. As a result, he suffered stress that resulted in him having a night of inadequate sleep. Therefore, he seeks help from Tyler, the salesman he met on the flight on his way back home (Linson & Fincher, 1999). Primarily, the stress of loss of property is among the main psychological aspects that are portrayed in the movie by the narrator.

Lack of emotional support is another psychological cause of insomnia disease. Emotional support enables individuals to share their problems with other people, thus reducing the levels of stress (Signh, 2016). Therefore, individuals that lack an active support group to share their issues have difficulties in handling their problems. As a result, they are at a higher risk of suffering from insomnia since they are overwhelmed by the stress. In other words, individuals who have limited access to emotional support are likely to suffer from insomnia.

In the Fight Club movie, the narrator's insomniac condition is worsened by failing to have emotional support. Upon losing the property in an explosion, the character fails to find emotional support from Marla Singer, a member of the support groups in society (Linson & Fincher, 1999). As a result, the condition worsens, thus leading to critical insomnia. Primarily, the film effectively develops and portrays the theme of psychology by showing the impacts of stress on the sleeping behaviour of an individual.

Symptoms of the Disorder

Insomniac individuals portray various behaviours that depict that they have a problem in gaining adequate and quality sleep. The movie shows multiple characters that exhibit the signs and symptoms of insomnia in a real situation. Among the evident signs of restlessness in the film is increased irritability. Individuals suffering from the disorder are more likely to be irritated easily. The brain requires enough resting time to enhance the reactivation of the neurotransmitters that enable individuals to handle the pressure of their day to day activities (Choueiry et al., 2015). Upon lacking adequate sleep, the mind remains active, thus exhausting the neurotransmitters, resulting in an inability to carry out their daily activities. As a result, the individual develops irritable behaviour towards the operations and the people around them. Ideally, irritability is among the characters...