How Birdman’s Enigmatic Ending Demonstrates the Dangers of an Icarian Complex in the 21st Century
"Never regret thy fall, O Icarus of the fearless flight For the greatest tragedy of them all Is never to feel the burning light" - Oscar Wilde.
Never doubt the lasting power and influence of the texts from ancient Greek mythology. Although the famous stories were written around 700 BC, everything from the themes, characters, and stories have been ingrained in different facets of modern society like media, astrological signs, architectural designs, and even modern day psychology. In Alejandro González Iñárritu’s 2014 best picture winning film, Birdman, we see a psychological complex named after the ancient mythological character of Icarus represented and reflected in the film’s main character.
As Riggan Thompson (Micheal Keaton) is launching a Broadway play he hopes will revitalize his once successful acting career as a movie superhero, Birdman, a cast member, is injured as opening night looms. Riggan hires a replacement actor, Mike Shiner (Edward Norton), who’s personality transforms the play on all fronts. As Riggan makes artistically speculative choices to prove he is not a kaput has-been, he deals with the troublesome relationships he has with his daughter, ex-wife, girlfriend, and the twisted abyss of his own psyche.
The story of Icarus is one of the most remembered tales from Greek mythology. Icarus was a character who tried to escape a life of imprisonment, and was warned that in order to free himself he must not fly too close to the sun or sea. In a tragic and vain attempt to emancipate himself, Icarus flew too close to the sun and the wax from his wings melted, allowing the feathers to drop into the sea alongside Icarus. In essence, the story represents the dangers of hubris.
The Icarian complex is a term coined by Henry A. Murray, and is a psychological complex used to describe over ambitious people and characters. An Icarian complex is usually accompanied by the characteristics of narcissism, asenium, and a powerful craving for immortality. People with an Icarian complex struggle to understand their own limitations and take risk taking to new heights which often harms others in the process. People with an Icarus complex usually have a variety of mental battles reflecting a strong imbalance of desire for success, achievement, andb with a large gap between their idealized goal and their reality. All of this combined creating a greater chance at failure for their goals.
Riggan Thompson of Birdman is one of the most comprehensive and nuanced representations of a character with an Icarus complex seen in modern day media. Throughout the film, Riggan deeply struggles with his reputation and his existence, which serve as some of the main themes of the film alongside celebrity arrogance and artistic integrity.
From the very beginning of the film, we are introduced to the fact that Riggan feels as though his reputation is on line, and that his Broadway production can either salvage or endanger it. Riggan believes he is a victim in a world he has aged out of, and that his play is a way for him to earn respect. He craves immortality as we see throughout the film through his hallucinations. His hallucinations are varied, some are auditory and some are visual. These illusions prove his vast desire to ascend; ascend in his professional career as well as personal life. Riggan struggles with the gospel that as his daughter screams at him, “We’re not important” and is challenged by the concept that our time in the spotlight and on Earth is temporary. The film is quite vague, but a key moment we see the Icarus complex get the best of Riggan is when he openly critizes society for using social media as a cheap way to get famous, yet panics though times square in underwear causing a scene. Riggan is upset and confused by people’s natural, and unequivocally modern day reactions to film him. This scene proves that Riggan’s arrogance and lack of understanding of contemporary inventions like social media are entwined.
As the film advances and the play inches closer to its inception, Riggan’s hallucinations worsen, and the audience is further left unsure of what is real and what is delusion. It isn't until the film’s ambiguous ending that spectators are truly left disoriented with Riggan’s fate. The film’s final scene takes place with Riggan in the hospital after he replaces a prop gun with a real gun and shoots off his own nose on stage opening night of the play. He wakes up to his face covered in bandages that look eerily similar to that of the Birdman costume that he wore in the height of his fame. After seeing the positive news that his play was a success and that he finally reached the artistic achievement he always dreamed of, he takes off his bandages, looks up at the birds in the sky, and proceeds to climb out the window. When Riggan’s daughter comes to his room through an open window, the final shot of the film is her looking up and smiling.
This ending is obscure, confusing, but proves the importance of the icarus complex throughout the film because all interpretations of Riggan’s fate prove the power this complex has over a person. Many chose to believe that Riggan died when he climbed out of the window, and that his daughter was gazing up at the same birds Riggan gazed up at moments before his leap. Many have arugued that throughout the film his death was foreshadowed because of the emphasis on celebrity George Clooney’s death and Riggans own suicide attempt. Viewers who believe Riggan died in that moment believe that his jump from the hospital window was his final escape, directly mirroring the story of icarus. To contradict that theory on the film’s ending, other viewers believe that Riggan started his life over in that moment, and that his daughter was gazing up at him as she sees him for his true artistry. The theory that Riggan was reborn shows the positives to an icarian complex while the theory that Riggan died shows the negatives.
As an optimist, I like thinking that Riggan was reborn, but both theories are strong and neither are correct. The overall direction, acting, cinematography, sound and set design enhance this movie’s gripping themes. My expectations were absolutely exceeded.
