Characteristics of Malcolm Rivers

Characteristics of Malcolm Rivers

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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…; 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…

Characteristics of Malcolm Rivers