Which is more powerful, the human mind or body? And, how can a mental illness like dissociative identity disorder effect the way we connect our mind and physical body? Malcolm Rivers, a convicted murderer in the movie Identity, is on death row, awaiting his execution for several brutal murders he had orchestrated. Due to that fact that Rivers had been diagnosed with a mental illness, D. I. D, he has no control and did not receive any medical/psychological help, he cannot be held accountable for his actions.
In the movie, Malcolm has blackouts which sometimes last for days at a time. These blackouts cause him to have no control over his mind or body. He believes that he is one of the characters that have been created in his head. An example of this would be when Dr. Mallick hands him the mirror to see his reflection, Rivers does not expect to see what he saw, he was expecting to see who he thought he was at the time (the cop).
This shows that he has no control over who he thought he was.
This also relates to control over his actions, if in his mind he was not who he believed to be, then he cannot be responsible for the actions portrayed by a fake internal personality. A second example which shows that he has no control, is when he fades in and out of character at random times. During the same mirror scene, Malcolm bizarrely fades back into the internal personality of the cop.
There is no mental or physical control over these fade backs, leaving Mr. Rivers helpless in the situation.
Mr. Rivers was not offered any medical treatments or help, meaning, Malcolm was helpless; he was definitely suffering mentally caused by many traumatic incidents he was put through as a child. In the beginning of the movie, for example, we hear (from the tape recorder) Dr. Mallick asking Malcolm about his childhood. The things that had been said about his mother being a prostitute and stories about his childhood where he was left at a motel, are sure to cause any child psychological trauma, and with no one to confide in or to speak to about his problems, he was bound to get D. I. D; this mental disorder proves that he cannot be responsible for the murders.
Dr. Mallick only helped to prove that it was the ten personalities controlling Malcolm’s actions, and not Malcolm himself, but he failed to help him seek treatment or psychological help before any of this happened. If only Malcolm had been given the attention he needed, he would not have built up all this repression. Furthermore, the last personality, timmy, who is like a reflection of his brutal upbringings as a child, turns out to be the real murderer.
Malcolm Rivers is not responsible for the murders and should not be held accountable for any negative actions done while his state of mind is in that of one of the internal personalities. Mr. Rivers is unable to control his mind and body; shown when he has uncontrollable black outs and fade backs into one of the made up personalities. Malcolm is not mentally stable and probably has post traumatic stress syndrome; He has not received any real form of psychological help, which is another reason as to why he is so helpless, and therefore not responsible
Remember! This is just a sample.
You can get a custom paper by one of our expert writers.
Get your custom essay
Helping students since 2015
Essay Writing Service Features
Our Experience
No matter how complex your assignment is, we can find the right professional for your specific task. Contact Essay is an essay writing company that hires only the smartest minds to help you with your projects. Our expertise allows us to provide students with high-quality academic writing, editing & proofreading services.
Free Features
Free revision policy
$10Free bibliography & reference
$8Free title page
$8Free formatting
$8How Our Essay Writing Service Works
First, you will need to complete an order form. It's not difficult but, in case there is anything you find not to be clear, you may always call us so that we can guide you through it. On the order form, you will need to include some basic information concerning your order: subject, topic, number of pages, etc. We also encourage our clients to upload any relevant information or sources that will help.
Complete the order form
Once we have all the information and instructions that we need, we select the most suitable writer for your assignment. While everything seems to be clear, the writer, who has complete knowledge of the subject, may need clarification from you. It is at that point that you would receive a call or email from us.
Writer’s assignment
As soon as the writer has finished, it will be delivered both to the website and to your email address so that you will not miss it. If your deadline is close at hand, we will place a call to you to make sure that you receive the paper on time.
Completing the order and download