Portrayal of Insomnia in Movies: Critical Analysis

The movie tells the story of how an office worker Edward Norton meets an eccentric man named Tyler Durden and how both start a secret fight club that evolves into a secret underground cult. The big twist is that Tyler is actually not real. He is a figment of the imagination of the author. The writer and director of Split, M. Night Shyamalan, professes to have been intrigued by dissociative identity disorder, commonly known as split personality disorder for a lifetime. The protagonist of the movie undergoes a serious condition of insomnia and through that many other stereotypes are built upon as well, portraying how illnesses in the real world are dealt with. Usually, insomnia is dealt with multiple different types of medication and support groups which is shown in the movie, however, as Edward Norton, tries to deal with insomnia through support groups, he finds himself to come in contact with other people who become an important part of his life. Edward Norton and Brad Pitt also known as Jack decide to take matters into their own hands and form a strictly regulated fight club in which rules and associations would be dealt with through them. Tyler, the main character, is soon attracted to a female named Marla whose role is played through Helena Bonham Carter. This not only somewhat diverts Tyler’s attention from the underground fight club they created, but also develops into a coping mechanism for his illness. Through multiple characters and multiple interactions, Tyler and his “close friend” go through many obstacles due to their bodies inability to regulate a consistent sleeping schedule.

In the movie, the character finds a way to relieve stress in a day resulting in him sleeping at night time. Insomnia may be caused by anxiety. Insomnia Dissociative fugue and Dissociative identity disorder are psychological disorders that narrator suffered from in this movie.

In the real world and as shown in the movie, insomnia can be treated, even if everyone’s solution may not be the same. To keep it working properly, sleep is important, but chronic insomnia can interrupt how information is normally sent by your body. Deprivation of sleep also has a negative effect on your mental and emotional capacity. You may feel more anxious or prone to changes in mood. Chronic insomnia (sleeping trouble for three months or longer) can also lead to mood changes, lack of motivation and energy. Tyler worked several night jobs which could also lead to fatigue and tiredness, which overall can make his symptoms more drastic.

Insomnia affects Marla as a character because Tyler is seen to be sleeping with her multiple times throughout the movie. This not only affects Marla but also affects Jack as he is also associated with the fight club. The effect of this disrupts the fight club as it pulls the attention away from the club itself to something more insignificant. The day Marla decides to take those pills and call Jack and Jack does not really show any attention, that shows what the insomnia disorder was doing to Marla. Later in the movie she questions Jack and asks her why he stopped coming to the support groups and when Jack tells her that he found his own way of coping through insomnia since neither the support groups or the doctor he was visiting were of any help. The plot of the story changes from Jack and Marla make tradeoffs on which support groups they will both attend to something more independent in a sense where each person ends up doing their own thing. At the end of the movie the audience is let in on the movie’s biggest twist where the creator shows Tyler and Jack as the same person and Jack’s alternate personality. This makes Jack realize that its been him whose been having sex with Marla since he is Tyler. As the creator of the movie unveils the plot, the character Jack is seen to be as a dynamic character since his ways of coping and his relationships with other people progressively develops into something much more complex.

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In modern society, Insomnia is dealt with in some cases, intensive therapy, where the person diagnosed, sits with a health professional and discuss ways to dissect the cause of insomnia as the reason for being diagnosed is most likely different case by case. A minor case of insomnia can be dealt with at home through some counseling by a friend or a trusted family member. Most causes for insomnia include some prevailing negativity that keeps bothering someone, such as regurgitating some bad memory or concept which causes one to lose sleep. In the movie from the audiences perspective the level of severity was somewhat high. The movie showed the audience an unknown way of coping through insomnia, it was through roughhousing at some fight club established by two people (Jack and Tyler) on the spot with really strict rules. This mechanism of coping would not be typically recommended by doctors in the real world because of the violence involved but Jack and Tyler make it work and through that fight club they end up finding more members which discourages one of them because that would have to mean that one of them is breaking the code. Although the climax of the movie is towards the end when Tyler is revealed as Jack himself, the movie shows an unusual way of coping through insomnia which is not typically seen in society today as it is dealt with medication and intensive therapy sessions.

Stick to a regular weekly sleep schedule of seven days. Workout for at least 30 minutes a day for most days of the week. Evite intense workout morning or afternoon. Until bed, more relaxing exercise can be done, such as these yoga poses to help you sleep. Get plenty of access to natural daylight. Open your blinds in the morning and get out during the day. You can even try using a light box in the morning on dark winter days to help your brain wake up and control your body's rhythms. Take a warm bath or shower before bed, set up a regular, relaxing bedtime routine.

The way that insomnia is shown in the movie is an accurate representation of how insomnia works in real life. Insomnia is one of those disorders that does not just go away, it takes time and effort and not everyone deals with it the same way. In the movie, Tyler’s disorder affects his everyday life but also brings upon unwanted changes to the lives of those around him. In reality, this is how this disorder, along with many others, work. Each disorder has its own stereotypes and whether those can be met or not depends on each individual person. It is hard to realize how badly insomnia affects someone’s life, until one has gone through it on their own. Marla starts a relationship with Tyler and at first, she was all hands on about helping him get through it. As it started to affect her own life, she slowly became frustrated with not only Tyler, but her choice in being with him in the way she was.

Personally, I do not know anyone with insomnia, but watching this movie and analyzing different parts of it has given me a general idea. I will be honest and say I am not one who disregards stereotypes altogether, but I do believe in cases like this, stereotypes do more harm than good. Disorders are not things people wish to have, they are things they have to learn to live with. As easy it may seem to get over time for the ones actually going through it, the amount of patience and effort required is incomparable to anything else. If I were in Marla’s place for example, and I loved the girl I was with, I would do anything to help make her life easier even if it made mine harder because in the back of my mind, I know hers is a lot worse. I would be there for my person and help them through it because their pain is not complaining, it is just one of the ways they can be open about what they are going through, since I can not experience for my own. Tyler has a trigger to where his personalities split and when this happens, it is not up to him to decide. So overall if I were in this position, I would make sure to help the person as much as I can, to the point where I can at least make a difference in their life, if not everyone else’s.