User:MUpsych/Narcissism in popular culture

Like many personality disorders, narcissism has been commonly depicted in popular culture. Examples of narcissism can be found in film, television, comics, literature, video games, and real life. Since narcissistic personality disorder and antisocial personality disorder are highly related and overlapped, this article may contain examples of the latter as well.

The DSM-IV-TR diagnostic criteria for narcissistic personality disorder is the following:

A pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behavior), need for admiration, and lack of empathy, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following:

(1) has a grandiose sense of self-importance (e.g., exaggerates achievements and talents, expects to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements)

(2) is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love

(3) believes that he or she is "special" and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people (or institutions)

(4) requires excessive admiration

(5) has a sense of entitlement, i.e., unreasonable expectations of especially favorable treatment or automatic compliance with his or her expectations

(6) is interpersonally exploitative, i.e., takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends

(7) lacks empathy: is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others

(8) is often envious of others or believes that others are envious of him or her

(9) shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes 

Film

• Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) in American Psycho is a sociopathic serial killer. He is obsessed with power and kills women as a means of achieving it. At one point in the film, he admires his reflection in the mirror during sex.
• Scar (Jeremy Irons) in Lion King stops at nothing to achieve his fantasy of ruling The Pride Lands, even killing his own brother, Mufasa. He is shown to be completely devoid of empathy, even towards family members, acting entirely out of self-interest.
• Bond villains tend to be arrogant, self-centered, and devoid of empathy. Auric Goldfinger, for example, is an extravagantly wealthy man without the slightest hesitation to harm those who oppose him.

Television

• Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons) in The Big Bang Theory displays textbook narcissistic behavior, such as believing he is more intelligent than most people, and an inability to empathize with others, even though he has shown improvement in the latter during the show's progression.
• It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is about a group of self-centered friends who run a bar in South Philadelphia.
• Walter White, the main character of Breaking Bad, displays more and more narcissistic traits as he rises to power. He becomes more self-centered and less empathetic, eventually going as far as to poison a little boy to further his own plans.
• Stewie Griffin (Seth MacFarlane) in Family Guy was obsessed with world domination in the earlier seasons of the show.
• American Horror Story has had numerous narcissistic characters over the seasons, most notably Coven.
  • American Horror Story: Murder House
    • Tate Langdon's (Evan Peters) sociopathic tendencies are an important plot point of this season. He carries out a school shooting, after which he is killed by the police, and comes back as a ghost. He receives psychotherapy from Ben Harmon (Dylan McDermott) for his antisocial tendencies. He is cunning and manipulative, often demonstrating himself as a vulnerable person to Violet (Taissa Farmiga) in order to get his way.
    • Hayden McClaine (Kate Mara) frequently resorts to verbal and emotional abuse as a means of preventing her lover, Ben Harmon, from leaving her. Her fears of abandonment overlap with borderline personality disorder.
  • American Horror Story: Asylum
    • Dr. Oliver Thredson (Zachary Quinto), a court-appointed psychiatrist, reveals himself to be a serial killer halfway through the season. He was abandoned by his mother at infancy, leaving him obsessed with skin contact. As a result, he kills women and uses their skin as furniture material. He expertly conceals his antisocial tendencies by adopting a caring, altruistic outlook in the asylum.
    • Sister Jude (Jessica Lange) displays narcissistic traits in her position of power as the head nun of the asylum, talking down on her subordinates and inflicting cruel punishments on inmates. This changes as her character develops, however, as she becomes considerably more vulnerable and helpless after becoming an inmate at the asylum she used to run.
  • American Horror Story: Coven
    • Delphine LaLaurie (Kathy Bates) appears as a main character in this season, a fictionalized version of the real person. LaLaurie tortures and murders her household slaves.
    • Madison Montgomery (Emma Roberts) is highly flamboyant and cunning in behavior. Not only does she verbally abuse and talk down to others, but she's willing to inflict harm to get her way. She attempts to kill Misty Day (Lily Rabe) in order to become the next Supreme. She also refuses to acknowledge her faults, most notably when she lashes out at the council for failing to complete the Seven Wonders test.
    • Fiona Goode (Jessica Lange) is obsessed with her youth and beauty. She is willing to do harm and manipulate others in order to preserve it. At one point, she even agrees to harm her own daughter.

Comics

• The Riddler demonstrates a variety of personality disorders, notably narcissism. He leaves riddles at crime scenes in an attempt to get the law enforcement's (and Batman's) attention. He is obsessed with proving to Batman that he is more intelligent than him, despite continuous evidence to the contrary.
• General Zod, one of Superman's main enemies, is notorious for his arrogance and megalomania.

Literature

• King Claudius, the main antagonist of Shakespeare's Hamlet, cold-bloodedly kills his brother in order to become the king.
• Greg Stillson in Stephen King's The Dead Zone is the prototypical narcissistic politician. He is very good at manipulating an ignorant community, despite his complete lack of empathy. In the beginning of the novel, he remorselessly kicks a dog to death.
• Gilderoy Lockhart in Harry Potter series is notoriously vain and grandiose. He boasts about heroic acts he never actually did, and seems to overestimate his worth as a wizard.

Video games

• Vega in the Street Fighter series is obsessed with his beauty to the point of wearing a mask while fighting, so as not to damage his face.
• Albert Wesker, one of the primary antagonists of the Resident Evil series, is a ruthless man obsessed with power and domination. He attempts to wipe out the human race through biological weapons, such as viruses and plagues.

Everyday examples

Narcissists tend to be drawn to professions that offer narcissistic supply, which is a pathological need for attention and admiration. These professions include: CEOs, politics, media, fashion industry, policing, law, clergy, and sales. It's also the hallmark trait of many serial killers.

Politics

• Donald Trump's narcissism is one of the most well-known hallmarks of the 2016 United States presidential election.
  • He openly insults and belittles other candidates. During CBS' Republican primary debate, he called Ted Cruz the "single biggest liar."
  • He boasts about his wealth. During a live television segment, he said his father gave him "a small loan of a million dollars."
  • He refuses to acknowledge mistakes, despite contradictory evidence. In 2011, asserting that Barack Obama was not in fact born in Hawaii, he allegedly hired private investigators to retrieve Obama's birth certificate. This prompted Obama to release his birth certificate. "I don't think I went overboard. Actually, I think it made me very popular... I do think I know what I'm doing," he told ABC News' John Karl in 2013.
• Adolf Hitler is notorious as a megalomaniacal dictator. He refused to acknowledge the existence of any race that was different from his, and attempted to wipe out the Jewish race. He was also notably charming and persuasive, exemplifying charismatic authority.

Media

• Kanye West has become well-known for his narcissistic behavior. An infamous example is his interruption of Taylor Swift during the 2009 MTV Music Awards, when he took the microphone from her and said: "Yo Taylor, I'm really happy for you, I'mma let you finish but Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time!"
  • During a concert in Sydney, he refused to begin the song until everyone in the audience stood up.
• Miley Cyrus uses a lot of sexual imagery, perhaps most notably in "Wrecking Ball." Her extravagant and flamboyant behavior points to the attention-seeking aspect of narcissism.
• Kim Kardashian takes a high number of selfies, and once tweeted a nude selfie of her backside.

Other

• There is a forum dedicated to narcissists in Psych Forums, called Narcissistic Personality Disorder Forum.