Connections. Parallels. Echoes. Consider the following: take the film Birdman, directed by Alejandro Iñarritu, filled with the madness that is Riggan Thomson’s mind; and, next, consider the two-sided enigma that is Dr. Jekyll, from Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella, the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Through cinematic and literary close analysis, I plan on exploring how duplicity thrives within the confines of our own minds, and by showing how each author develops their protagonists' alter-egos--their "altered egos" as well. My focus shall be on Riggan Thomson and Dr. Jekyll, as I attempt to dig out, to bring to light, the ontological implications that these masters of art have woven throughout their works. In the movie Birdman,
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Jekyll and Mr. Hyde contains a prominent theme of the duality of human nature. Dr. Jekyll is a well distinguished doctor who lives in the Victorian Era. Living in Victorian times, people are judged based on their reputation. Dr. Jekyll has two sides to his character, a good and bad side within him, but due to the fact that he is well distinguished in the society, he can not do anything that would tarnish this reputation. He wants to embrace the darkness within him believing that he can control it. Dr. Jekyll tries to control the darkness within himself, but worried about the darkness within himself, he creates a potion to assist in controlling it. The potion releases the darker side of himself so he can fulfill his "sinister desires" without ruining his reputation. The potion he creates is meant to separate the light and darkness within himself, but in doing so, he accidentally creates a person called Mr. Hyde, who symbolizes all of his darkness. When Dr. Jekyll becomes Mr. Hyde, he does "hideous deeds" and commits crime for pleasure. He enjoys the ability of embracing the darker side of himself to the point where it becomes an addiction. He becomes so desperate to explore the darker side of himself that he becomes weakened to the personality of Mr. Hyde which becomes increasingly more prominent within himself. In the novel, Utterson and Enfield one day decide to visit Dr. Jekyll only to find he refuses to talk to them. This is because he is losing his good side to
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde contains a prominent theme of the duality of human nature. Dr. Jekyll is a well distinguished doctor who lives in the Victorian Era. Living in Victorian times, people are judged based on their reputation. Dr. Jekyll has two sides to his character, a good and bad side within him, but due to the fact that he is well distinguished in the society, he can not do anything that would tarnish this reputation. He wants to embrace the darkness within him believing that he can control it. Dr. Jekyll tries to control the darkness within himself, but worried about the darkness within himself, he creates a potion to assist in controlling it. The potion releases the darker side of himself so he can fulfill his "sinister desires" without ruining his reputation. The potion he creates is meant to separate the light and darkness within himself, but in doing so, he accidentally creates a person called Mr. Hyde, who symbolizes all of his darkness. When Dr. Jekyll becomes Mr. Hyde, he does "hideous deeds" and commits crime for pleasure. He enjoys the ability of embracing the darker side of himself to the point where it becomes an addiction. He becomes so desperate to explore the darker side of himself that he becomes weakened to the personality of Mr. Hyde which becomes increasingly more prominent within himself. In the novel, Utterson and Enfield one day decide to visit Dr. Jekyll only to find he refuses to talk to them. This is because he is losing his good side to