Narcissism in Film and on TV

clearskies84 wrote:People often claim Walter is BPD as well.

I see that too. It's hard to believe he was a meek, timid, boring school teacher all those years, leading a boring life. Kind of a background existence. His nerdy, low-key nature seems even a little effeminate to me. Since BPD is associated more with females, that might be why I can see his character being B. But, it doesn't seem like he has emotional volatility with his family prior to going off the deep end.

What looks N to me is how he isn't just content to fit into the criminal underworld, just make some dough to leave for family. He wants to be the guy. (The power-play meeting in the desert: "Say it. Go ahead. Say it. You know my name. You want to be me. Just say may name.").

I got the impression his wife was N. Maybe Walter was inverted? She seemed to wear the pants in the family. I remember when he stood up to her it seemed like a breakthrough moment for him.

Flashy in Action!

http://youtu.be/klnAMIWN3T0

-- Fri Jun 19, 2015 8:10 am --

Flashy in Action!

http://youtu.be/klnAMIWN3T0

NimplyDinply wrote:

creative_nothing wrote:

Esquire wrote:
Frank Underwood is probably a Malignant Narcissist, and actually a pretty good representation of one. He is calm, highly calculating, strategic, paranoid, and a megalomaniac. I would differentiate his type of NPD from the Narcissism of Leo DiCaprio's character in Wolf of Wall Street, who was a good example of someone on the NPD/AsPD crossover portion of the spectrum. Note how DiCaprio's character is very high-energy, likes to take risks, needs a lot of stimulation, etc. Those characters are both Narcissistic and sociopathic, yet they seem to be on completely different parts of the spectrum.

Why do you think Frank Underwood is a psychiatric case.

Sure he is a bit sociopathic/narcissism, but does that make him a psychiatric case?

I doubt he is just "a bit". If he took the Dark Triad test, I bet he would score very high on it

He is extremelly machiavelic, but that doesnt make a PD.

Is he paranoid? Yes, but on his field paranoia is adaptative.

He has a wife that loves him, is sucessful in what he does, and never been in trouble with the law(at least on the episodes I've watched).

He is on the border of psycopathy and an agressive personality, but he doesnt seem to cross this border IMO.

Talking about Kevin Spacey, what do you think of him as an actor and of American Beauty in particular?

Was there a role he played that involved an emotional character? Or does he always play characters with a little degree of constricted affectivity.

His wife on American Beauty, seens also to be a case of NPD? what do you think?
But what about him? Is it just some dysthimia, or was there something more going on? Narcissistic withdraw, maybe?

A kick up the 80s!

http://youtu.be/SYfOmupcI_w

creative_nothing wrote:His wife on American Beauty, seens also to be a case of NPD? what do you think?
But what about him? Is it just some dysthimia, or was there something more going on? Narcissistic withdraw, maybe?

I heard rumors of Spacey aggressively coming onto guys, but I don't know whether it's true, though I also recall hearing some strange things about his Father, so who knows.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLdkvEziZUc (Amy Bouzaglo on Gordon Ramsey's show)

fergi6777 wrote:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLdkvEziZUc (Amy Bouzaglo on Gordon Ramsey's show)

Wow. That was good! I could see myself in Amy. Her interaction with Chef Ramsey reminded me of how I interacted with a "company shrink."[1] I was exactly like her. Not as outwardly emotional and aggressive. I was more passive-aggressive and dismissive, haughty. But, I'm serious, it was the same combativeness, resistance, outright denial. Non-stop for 2-3 hours.

At the end of my session the therapist was beaten down and exhausted. I felt like I won.

However, at the very end, while scribbling notes he said: "I see people like you in my practice every day." I asked what he meant, with a bit of furiousity in my voice. He said "Oh, they come to me all the time. They're usually older. They can't make it work anymore. You know. What you're doing."

I had a strange mixed emotion."I'll prove him wrong, I can make this work. I beat him down didn't I?" But, I knew what he was talking about. And, I knew the last 2-3 hours felt like holding sheets of plywood in the wind while standing on a ladder. I knew something wasn't right. You can't be like Amy and not know.

I always remembered that guy's seed. When things collapsed for me, having that in my mind made it a softer landing. It was that seed that caused me to occasionally trait-surf through the years. As a N, I'm all about self-sufficiency. I knew that shrink was telling me something. So, I acquired a working knowledge of the subject. I had the vocabulary -- except, somehow I never looked at NPD. (I dismissed it due to the stereotypical grandiosity which was not me.). But, I had enough to make it a year until I finally discovered covert NPD.

Seeds like that were really valuable. That's why I always encourage nons going no contact to try to plant one. (You see how it worked at the end of the movie, Social Network. At the end, the lawyer tells Goldberg he's not an Ahole, he just works hard trying to be. That triggered Goldberg to remember his girlfriend who planted a seed when she broke up with him.). For me, those bits and pieces were invaluable when it hit the fan. I don't think I could have handled it without the working vocabulary and the preparedness for what I knew was there. I just didn't know if/when it was coming.

Anyway, I guarantee Amy felt that same precariousness in her mind while putting up such a show of strength. It's amazing to see myself in her. It makes me realize: Whatever we're running from must be frightening that we would choose to put up that level of false bravado to avoid facing it.

I wonder what happened to her.

[1] An employer "team building" initiative. Everyone in the group had to go for aptitude evaluation, etc. It turned into a lab experiment for me. The shrink smelled me out. He began analyzing me.

http://youtu.be/YgbH05rQx1s

This doesn't need any explanation.

Re. the above post. My nephew caught Gordon Ramsey out in one of those "do you know who I am" moments when he couldn't wait on him quickly enough!

When egos clash! Within reason Ns should be like doctors and not condemn each other's methods of obtaining our narcissistic needs.

http://youtu.be/9FnO3igOkOk

bitty wrote:

Esquire wrote:Fawlty is the owner and proprietor of a bed and breakfast, which he treats as his own personal fiefdom, believing himself to be more important than he actually is, while also being extremely conflict-averse, and hiding behind his wife's skirt whenever confrontation is needed or whenever things go awry.

Esquire, why is it that we narcissists are conflict-averse, do you think? Just like Fawlty, I bounce from being bossy to being obsequious, but am absolutely incapable of being straightforwardly assertive, which causes me problems sometimes. I think that it is because I absolutely cannot stand being disliked by anybody. Or, being responsible for upsetting them, because then I'm in trouble, and will have to dig myself out, as you've said elsewhere.

(Sorry, solstice, I'm derailing the thread again. In answer to the question of narcissism in film and on tv, what about Stewie in Family Guy?)

Stewie a definitive moderate N. I can answer the question about conflict avoidance. Humanity is divided into - mere mortals/mortals/-/heroes (like my Alpha brothers)/---/various status demi gods (like myself)/gods and the children of God and finally God himself. I can handle the morals pretty well. In fact they're fair game. I can't handle the Heroes, who I have to deploy a passive aggressive shield of rage against. I sense their stronger egos. I don't like having to do that. My sadistic superego doesn't approve. The gods hold up a shield against me because they sense my stronger ego. But I want to be a god! The only higher up I can't deal with is God himself! Can you see Basil Fawlty in me? 30 years ago I had a paranoid chap shaking in front of me because I asked him for a £10 contribution to an electricity bill. The shaking is an expression of his rage. He used to beat his codependent girlfriend black and blue. Poor girl! She had a go at me for discussing it with my housemates and we got into a battle of egos the pair of us! Back then I don't think the link between domestic abuse and narcissism was fully understood. I understood it though!!