Apply psychological theories to a contemporary film (title wasn't provided by client) (Essay Sample)

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How easy is it to define personality? This essay will look to answer that question by using the character, Donnie from the film Donnie Darko as a case study. By applying Freud’s model of the psyche and Eysenck’s model of personality this character will be analysed to see how well these theories work at defining such a complex character.
Donnie Darko (2001) follows the story of Donnie, a high school on medication for paranoid schizophrenia. One night as he is sleepwalking he meets a giant rabbit called Frank who tells him the world is going to end in 28 days. Whilst he is sleepwalking a jet engine falls through the roof destroying his room. As Donnie tries to decipher Frank’s messages and countdown to the end of the world he must also endure the teachings of motivational speaker, Jim Cunningham who believes that all actions can be defined as being out of fear or love.
Although this essay will look at the character of Donnie and how these two theories can be applied to his personality, in order to explore some of Donnie’s actions it is important to consider the personalities of some of the characters around him. For the context of this essay the other characters that will be explored will include Frank (the hallucination that Donnie talks to) and Jim Cunningham (the motivational speaker that breaks human behavior into two categories).