The Identity Thoughts and Trauma in I Am Thinking of Ending Things Movie

Abstract

This study applies Norman Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to I’m Thinking of Ending Things (2020) to examine the interplay between identity, thought, and trauma. Through textual analysis, the film’s fragmented dialogues, monologues, and temporal shifts are shown to mirror the protagonist’s unstable sense of self and intrusive reflections on relationships and mortality. Discourse practice highlights trauma as both an isolating and shared experience that challenges viewers’ perceptions of reality, while sociocultural analysis situates the film within broader cultural discourses on gender, relational norms, and mental health. Findings suggest that language in the film—through silences, hesitations, and ambiguities—serves as a marker of trauma and identity crisis, with narrative disruptions functioning as discursive struggles over meaning and authority.