Imaginary Personas in Film

In our discussion of our Persona we've addressed the question of whether or not the two characters are really one person and it got me thinking about the concept of split personalities or imaginary alter egos in film. Film seems to be the best medium for expressing this concept because in film, unlike literature, we are able to see through the eyes of the characters and see what they see. Even when what they see is not what is actually there. Coincidentally, a recently saw another film about a related concept. "The Machinist," a 2004 film starring Christian Bale, tells the story of a man with extreme insomnia. After a long period without sleep he starts to meet new co-workers that none of his previous co-workers have ever heard of. The movie is presented in a way that we can't tell if he's hallucinating or if these people actually exist. I won't give away the ending, but I wanted to point out that film is a medium that can effectively create this confusion between real and imaginary characters. As audience members we tend to assume that characters we see are real characters, and film makers can exploit this trust in our senses.