fight club & its depiction of the alter ego.

The Alter Ego. Latin for "other i".

Wikipedia describes the alter ego as "an alternate self; distinct from a person's normal or true personality."

Fight club is one of my favorite movies. The storytelling, the cinematography, the character arc, and the ending? chefs kiss.

Quick synopsis about Fight Club: a guy lives a somewhat cookie cutter life in corporate, has major insomnia, and is seeking excitement and change. After going out for a drink with someone he met on a plane who he instantly connected with, they start fighting in front of the bar. Not just for fun, but to feel something. Unbeknownst to him, he slowly creates a sort of organized crime syndicate/brotherhood. Also known as Fight Club. 

The lack of sleep, and simultaneous lack of confidence in himself, has made him out of touch to a dangerous degree. Not just with reality, but with his entire being. In his search for self, he subsequently creates this new version of himself. Which is everything he (thinks he) wants to be. Yet, this new version is something he tangibly views outside of himself. A mixture of sleep deprived hallucination while also being a metaphor for seeing characteristics and personality traits that are already within as us something unattainable or something only reserved for others. To be so sleep deprived and desperate to become a new person that your mind creates an alter ego unintentionally is impressive when you think about it. 

Why do alter egos feel that way when they exist within us, which would mean they are us? Why would something feel foreign to our central self, but be conjured up by our own mind involuntarily? Does something within us FAR in the back our minds know that we could be exactly who we want to be? I think so.