“Trainspotting” is a film directed by Danny Boyle based on the novel by Irvine Welsh, which has the same title. The film is set in Edinburgh, Scotland. It focuses on a group of heroin addicts at a time when Scotland was going through an economic depression. The film follows the lives of these heroin addicts. These heroin addicts are: Renton, Spud, Sick Bo, Tommy and Begbie, the protagonist being Renton. For this essay, I will discuss the theme of personal identity in the film “Trainspotting”. This is a very important theme throughout the film, as each character struggles with their own personal identity in their own way. They let their heroin addiction take over their own identity, making it difficult for them to find themselves, leading them to a passive way of living their lives. Say no to plagiarism. Get Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get Original EssayTrainspotting is a great example of cinematic realism because it depicts the reality of heroin addiction and how difficult it is for people to find motivation when they are. in the State, while fighting against a society experiencing economic depression, “it points to the existence of certain groups of discourse and refers to the status of discourse within a society and a culture”. This leads the group of heroin addicts to live an apathetic lifestyle. Heroin gives them little motivation to undertake beneficial activities, which forces them into a rut in society, forcing them to question their own personal identity. Being Scottish is part of their personal identity, each character in the novel struggles to find valuable factors in being Scottish, which again makes them feel like their personal identity is somewhat worthless, as the Scottish nation is revealed to be worthless and unnecessary, especially under British rule. They all go through a period in the film where they try to give up heroin or at least try to get away from it, this proves more difficult than expected, leaving most of the characters giving in to their addiction, leaving them to have their identity taken again. ended with dependence. The film represents a subculture in Scotland, which is not often talked about, people who are drug addicts, who thrive on stealing and are bad people, the heroin addicts in this film are very much part of that subculture. The subculture where "their world achieves meaning derived from this subculture created by drugs, music, and a shared sense of helplessness" is evident in each character's identity. Renton, the protagonist of Trainspotting, at the beginning of the film, shows viewers how he chose this life path, representing his own identity, the opening speech, reflects the era of Renton's character. He presents himself as a man who knows what he wants in life and who has confidence in himself. In reality, he is addicted to heroin and leads a passive life, leading him down a destructive path. The film follows Renton as he attempts to give up heroin while trying to stop being influenced by his toxic group of friends. The fact that the film is narrated by Renton shows the distance between him and his group of friends. In the opening scene with Renton narrating, “I chose not to choose life, I chose something else.” And the reasons? There are no reasons, who needs reasons when you have heroin? The opening sequence and narration show how Renton's identity is taken over by the heroine, he sees heroin as a necessity in his life and works his life aroundthe heroine. One of the most degrading scenes in the film is "The Worst Toilet in Scotland", which shows how desperate people can become when it comes to getting high. This scene shows how addiction has taken over Renton, he ends up going into a toilet covered in feces to get back the drugs he lost, this scene shows the harsh reality of what addiction can do to a person, the despair trumps disgust, just as heroin trumps addiction. Renton has no respect for himself or his identity during this scene, as he participates in disgusting actions without thinking of the repercussions. This scene alone resonates with viewers in that it shows the desperate measures addicts will take to get their fix, "Renton's panting surface after his dive, his extraction of himself from the toilet and its contents (in which he finds himself both literally and metaphorically covered) gradually returns the audience to the social realism that the stage triumphantly left behind. This scene shows how heroin is still a part of Renton's identity, even though he no longer uses drugs. Danny Boyle, the director of the film, wanted to give a realistic portrayal of drug use and how it affects a person. “There’s half of the movie that’s obviously considerably darker. If you prolong the experience with drugs, your life becomes darker. The film does not seek to hide this, but neither does it seek to obstruct moral consensus.” Drugs seem to take over the character's identity in this film, it's the first thing they think of, in any situation, one of the harsh realities of addiction becomes clear in the scene where baby Dawn is found dead, in this scene Renton is again narrating, they do not know the cause of the babies death or how long she has been dead, it is a heartbreaking scene that comes from neglect due to their heroin addiction: “She maybe yelled for a week for everything I did.” knew. I heard someone talking, although surely someone must have said something all this time, surely to fuck someone, it's necessary.” It's the height of their heroin addiction, it's clearly the highest priority in their lives, after Allison sees Renton "cooking", her mind wanders away from her dead baby and back to the heroin. After this scene, the characters begin to change and focus more on other activities than the heroine, such as baby Dawn due to neglect due to heroin addiction. Renton himself is taking a step in the right direction, deciding to go cold turkey, it's tough, but he's doing it in an effort to reclaim his identity, which in recent years has been taken over by his heroin. dependence. Being Scottish is also an integral part of the character's personal identity, it influences his actions and beliefs, although he has no respect for being Scottish, he finds it degrading and he is in a state of dissatisfaction with the character. with regard to his identity. Scotland. Tommy takes Spud, Sick Boy and Renton to the Highlands, where he expresses how proud he is to be Scottish. Renton strongly disagrees with this statement. Renton expresses his disgust at the idea of ​​his identity being tied to Scotland: "It's shit to be Scottish!" We are at the lowest of the lowest. The scum of the fucking Earth! The most wretched, wretched, servile, pathetic waste that has ever been thrown into civilization.” This is a clear identification of how Scottish society viewed itself at this time, being Scottish is part of their.. (2019).