A lot of the research I have been doing into altered states has been about dreams, sleep, and the idea that dreams are different realities, what determines dreams, alternate states of consciousness, etc.
But the other day I was watching Fight Club for the first time, and it made me begin to think about the extreme opposite, and how insomnia can also become an alternate reality in itself in a way.
Scene from Fight Club where the narrator talks about his experience with insomnia
Falling asleep is a link between two general states of consciousness, but with insomnia you’re never really asleep, and you’re never really awake (to quote Fight Club). The drift between both sleep and wakefulness is a state in itself, as some people who suffer with insomnia can see hallucinations, and it can cause disorientation/paranoia.
I personally have had insomnia since I was a kid, and because of this I know it’s a very misunderstood topic, as most people who can sleep normally don’t know what it’s like to be constantly exhausted, and not be able to focus/concentrate on things as well. That’s why I connected with Fight Club’s story, as the narrator suffers from insomnia, and goes to extreme lengths to try and cure it, (he joins different support groups with people suffering from cancer, so he can cry and it makes it easier for him to sleep). The desperation to try and help it is something I can definitely relate to as I feel like I have tried everything in the whole world to try and get my brain to rest.
Scene from Fight Club where the narrator talks about his experience with insomnia
The films’ portrayal of insomnia in general was interesting to watch, as it was the first time I’ve watched a film that focuses part of their storyline around it. It was also comforting in a way, to know I’m not the only person incapable of performing one of the only tasks humans are wired to do.
Because of this i decided to research different films which portray insomnia/sleep in different ways. Some of the films I watched are accurate in their portrayal of sleep, while others are completely fictional, or draw inspiration from real-life cases.
Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
Nightmare on elm street is one of the most obvious films which has a storyline purely based off of dreams and reality. Wes Craven manages to make sleep, something that every single person does, scary. Freddy Krueger, the movie’s villain and monster, invades and kills people in their dreams, thus killing them in real life. Craven was intrigued by several Southeast Asian refugees, who suffered from severe and disturbing nightmares and refused to sleep. Some of these refugees then died in their sleep during their nightmares, inspiring Craven to write the screenplay.
The most memorable moment, and ultimately the scene which shows that Nancy's dreams are also real is when she manages to grab Freddy's hat and bring it out of her dream. She also has injuries like scratches and burns from where Freddy attacks her in her dreams. This shows the alternate state in between both dreaming and being awake.
The facts he can control her dreams also could lead to the idea of lucid dreams, when you are aware that you are dreaming, and can control what happens in them.
Scene from A Nightmare on Elm Street where Nancy grabs Freddy's hat in her dream
The Machinist (2004)
The Machinist is a film which puts its audience in the mind of Trevor Reznik, following him throughout his work at a machine shop and personal life while trying to make sense of his extreme insomnia and various bizarre occurrences. Right from the start, he experiences numerous audio and visual hallucinations.
The film shows a very extreme case of insomnia, which isn't a very realistic portrayal of what most people suffer with, as he claims he 'hasn't slept in a year'. Trevor himself is severely underweight due to it, and the film pushes the idea that his hallucinations are secondary to extreme insomnia, however there is evidence that he sleeps frequently without realising it.
One day when he is about to fall asleep at work, Trevor meets Ivan, who claims to be a co-worker. Later on in the film it is made clear that no one called Ivan works there, and that Ivan doesn't actually exist. At the end of the film it is shown that Ivan is a physical representation of Trevor's guilt, hence why he shows up when Trevor is lighting a cigarette in his car, as it was the thing which caused him to be distracted and lead to the accident. This was probably a trigger for his mind to project his guilt in the form of Ivan, which stops him sleeping. We see Ivan driving away in a red Pontiac, later revealed to be the car that Trevor once owned.
A scene from The Machinist where Ivan stops Trevor from sleeping
I like the idea that Trevor can't fall asleep because of the guilt that haunts him, until the end of the film when he hands himself in for the crime he has committed. Because he no longer has to pretend and live with what he did, he is finally free of the guilt that stops him sleeping, and he can rest.
The final scene in The Machinist where Trevor finally falls asleep
Overall, these are just a couple examples of films which portray sleep and sleep disorders in different ways, as well as also expressing the ideas of altered states in the form of hallucinations and lucid dreams.
References:
Int J Yoga (2015), Healing altered states of consciousness, International Journal of Yoga, Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4479903/ (Accessed 13/12/21)
Cvetkovic, D (2011), Sleep Onset Process as an Altered State of Consciousness, Springer Link, Available at: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-642-18047-7_7 (Accessed 13/12/21)
(2019), Popular movies and their portrayals of sleep, Sleep Education, Available at: https://sleepeducation.org/popular-movies-their-portrayals-sleep/ (Accessed 13/12/21)
Potter, J (2012), The Machinist: Two Perspectives, Mental Health Clinician, Available at: https://meridian.allenpress.com/mhc/article/1/10/261/36891/The-Machinist-Two-perspectives (Accessed 14/12/21)
Holmes, T (2021), THE MACHINIST: PLOT ANALYSIS AND ENDING EXPLAINED, THiNC, Available at: https://taylorholmes.com/2021/01/04/the-machinist-plot-analysis-and-ending-explained/ (Accessed 14/12/21)
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