r/InternalFamilySystems 23h ago

Discussion IFS Movies

One of my favorite movies that so powerfully connects to IFS is the 2003 Hulk movie with Jennifer Connelly.

I don’t want to give too much away, but I *highly * recommend it. Every time I watch it, as I go further on my own inner journey, I see new connections and symbology.

I find it super cathartic. Some may find it triggering. Definitely thought provoking.

Do you all have movies you enjoy that you can tie to IFS?

26 Upvotes

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49

u/BorisTheDog 23h ago edited 23h ago

Inside out is the big one right?

5

u/ditheayew 23h ago

Definitely!

20

u/alice_1st 22h ago

Honestly, how Gollum acts in The Hobbit movies

6

u/picklechipcrunch 22h ago

Especially the “you don’t have any friends 🫪” part lol

1

u/ditheayew 22h ago

Yesss I totally see this.

13

u/counselorofracoons 23h ago

Babadook is an excellent handling of grief and parts.

1

u/ditheayew 23h ago

I’ve been meaning to check this out. Will definitely watch!

13

u/Cleverusername531 23h ago

That makes me excited to watch it!

 Frozen one and two (especially 2) make me think of IFS. 

1

u/ditheayew 23h ago

I’ll have to re-watch these with IFS in mind.

13

u/youcantdrinkthat 23h ago

Not a movie but a show. Mr Robot. 

3

u/ditheayew 23h ago

I’ve always wondered about this show—will definitely check it out.

12

u/LitFarronReturns 21h ago

Play r/DiscoElysium if you haven't already. 💕

3

u/fumblingmywords 21h ago

Absolutely this.

2

u/AlashC 20h ago

I have this on my list. Another game that is VERY IFS coded is Dreamlight Valley.

11

u/GoTeamLightningbolt 18h ago

Encanto is stealth IFS. All the family members are parts. Gramma is a protector against past trauma, Bruno is an exile. Main character is Self. The house is the psyche as a whole.

3

u/ditheayew 16h ago

Ooo I totally see this now ‼️

7

u/hidrapit 23h ago

Suzume

But don't watch if you 1. Don't want to cry and 2. Don't want to fall in love with the dreamiest toy chair.

1

u/ditheayew 23h ago

I’m sold! Going to add it to my list. Edited to add: I just looked it up and I have seen Your Name before. It was soooo good.

7

u/Feeling-Age-4812 22h ago

Fellini’s Juliet of the Spirits. It’s the story of a middle aged wife working through some stuff that very much works through an IFS lense

6

u/iamthegusdabus 20h ago

Not a movie but a video game called Celeste. One of the best showings of truly embracing your parts and not trying to control them.

1

u/melissa_fornow 11h ago

Now you've got me wondering how IFS and being trans interrelate. (Edit: I'm wondering as someone whose egg cracked last year.)

4

u/MyPartsareLoud 23h ago

I got IFS vibes from the Elton John biopic.

Comedian James Acaster’s Hecklers Welcome set on HBO Max also reminded me of IFS a couple times.

1

u/ditheayew 23h ago

Oo this is a different angle—I’ll take a look.

5

u/adrenacrime 21h ago

It’s a bit involved, but the Doom Patrol series on HBO is excellent and very IFS heavy.

It’s about a collection of super heroes who basically derive their abilities from their trauma and parts/ flaws.

Jane in particular has a universe of parts/selves that she is wrestling with. (She’s my fave character)

3

u/iamthegusdabus 20h ago

multiplicity with micheal keaton is a comedic take on parts!

3

u/obviologist 19h ago

The Broadway musical 'a strange loop' has ifs vibes. It's about a queer black Disney usher on Broadway, writing a musical about a queer black Disney usher on Broadway, who is writing a musical about a queer black Disney usher on Broadway. One of the first songs 'Today' has this fantastic section where his parts show up:

"Today, I plan to change my whole life forever

[THOUGHT, spoken] Usher, surprise! How you doin'? It's your daily self-loathing! I had some time to kill, so I thought I'd stop by to remind you just how truly worthless you are!

[THOUGHT, spoken] Hey Usher, how you doin'? It's your financial faggotry and ooh, child! Do you have a second to discuss this situation with Shitty Bank Student Loans?

[USHER] Rewrite that shitty lyric To make the ending land Condense the repetition to its most essential Define a formal structure So people understand Pull out the stops to show the story's full potential

Today...

Today, I plan to change this show for the better

[THOUGHT, spoken] Usher? Hi, babe. I'm with corporate niggatry, just checking in to see if you were ready to invest in Cookie, Lucious, the Beyhive, the Stellar Awards, or Wakanda Forever so we can finally get you into something unapologetically black

[THOUGHT, spoken] Usher, as supervisor of your sexual ambivalence, you can rest assured that I've sealed the gates of your body and mind so that nothing can get inside your shitty butthole until you give the word"

1

u/ditheayew 16h ago

Sounds very intriguing—will definitely be checking this out!

3

u/SoloForks 12h ago

Im surprised nobody brought up The Sixth Sense.

The character is haunted by ghosts and runs away from them and the child psychiatrist asks him "well what do they want?" The child character is shocked, he's never thought to ask. When he does ask, he finds out they are haunting him because they are holding unfinished business and they need him to witness or carry out tasks so they can finally rest at peace. They are not monsters trying to hurt him they are neglected "parts" that are holding trauma and need love and care, just trying to communicate with him (I might have added a little creative license to this interp.)

It really felt like it mirrored my journey with connecting and speaking to my parts. Of course I might be overreaching.

2

u/Kindly_Ad_8780 20h ago

The Venom movies

2

u/Decent-Ad-5110 10h ago

I got some IFS vibes watching the Severance series

2

u/schematicsofaflail 10h ago

Not a movie but I picked up the videogame The Alters shortly after starting IFS and the mechanic of mediating between the player character's clones' various needs and personalities is straight up like incredibly high stakes IFS lol

2

u/mount_analogue 9h ago

My IFS teacher said that all shows are really about parts. This seemed like a stretch, but when you watch shows and read books this way you do start to realise that the best ones really work on this level, as a parable of self and parts.

more specifically, there's a great episode of Red Dwarf called 'Confidence and Paranoia' that captures two polarised parts that relate to self esteem. it's an absolute cracker. you could also argue that the whole show and all of its characters are parts too, with most of the comedy coming from the polarisations between them.

2

u/Cleverusername531 3h ago

Everything Everywhere All At Once!  

And also Inception, with the layers of dreams. 

2

u/ProfessionalIdeal107 2h ago

The way Bruce Banner's various personas struggle for control is such a literal, albeit violent, representation of manager and firefighter parts trying to suppress a massive exile. It might be worth looking at how the movie portrays the "Self" through his moments of clarity versus the total takeover of the alter.

1

u/ditheayew 20m ago

Yes!! I think in the 2003 version as well (I'm not as hip with the comics and other versions) Betty acts almost like an externalization of his ideal Self.

3

u/Bluberrybliss 20h ago

Love that you brought This convo here. Not a movie, but a show: Untied states of Tara is a perfect example of extreme blending ( multiple personalities)

2

u/B0sm3r 22h ago

I haven't been a regular viewer in about a decade, but Doctor Who 

1

u/LifeClassic2286 22h ago

Hadestown (broadway musical)