Vicissitudes of narcissism in the cinematic autobiography.

Examining how Joe Gideon in All That Jazz and Sandy Bates in Stardust Memories approach relationships with significant figures in their lives, how they deal with the mid-life crisis, and how they struggle with the knowledge of the inevitability of personal death provide insights about the vicissitudes of narcissism at a particular point in the male adult life-cycle.

Abstract

We have discussed two contemporary cinematic autobiographies in which narcissistic struggles are presented in the protagonists. Whether Bob Fosse and Woody Allen are themselves suffering from narcissistic character pathology is unknown to us and is not the point of our thesis. Narcissistic issues are presented as predominant life difficulties for the major characters in the movies, and an examination of these narcissistic themes can enlarge our understanding of the current cultural and intrapsychic narcissistic phenomena. By examining how Joe Gideon in All That Jazz and Sandy Bates in Stardust Memories approach relationships with significant figures in their lives, how they deal with the mid-life crisis, and how they struggle with the knowledge of the inevitability of personal death provide insights about the vicissitudes of narcissism at a particular point in the male adult life-cycle.