I'd really like to discuss Jace's narcissism. As someone who grew up with a narcissist (my father) it is something which really interests me.
First of all it's worth noting that many narcissists aren't as transparently narcissistic as Jace is, they are often very charming. This makes me wonder how Jace acts in the real world. In some of his videos where he's in public (the one where he's shopping for air soft guns) he still seems to act the same. It's quiet obvious that Jace is awful socially, but I think this may have worsened over time. When he was still in school I doubt went as far as to proclaim himself God, say he's always right or expect the kind of unadulterated admiration he does, but obviously we don't know this for sure.
It seems like as Jace has become more involved with the internet he has become more transparently narcissistic, he is willing to say that he honestly believes he is right about everything. It's actually quiet fascinating as it's a glimpse into a mindset that is usually far more complex and difficult to see through. It took me years to figure out what was wrong with my father, but once I heard about narcissism I knew immediately that's what he had. Narcissists do believe they are always right, are perfect and that everyone is jealous of them, (for example in the FlyAwayNow call where Jace accused him of being jealous, as if anyone would be jealous of Jace's life) but most won't admit it as they know it would make them appear bad, they know it's socially unacceptable. Jace doesn't seem to give a shit anymore, he's on the internet where no one can question him to his face (when Tyce is around he acts different, albeit still narcissistic) and this allows him to live out the fantasies most narcissists keep within their own minds. Obviously this is fueled by his "fans". There seems to be something about talking to a camera which bring narcissism out too, watch something like the Elliot Rodger videos and you'll see what I mean. Narcissists seem to be far more willing to "open up" to a camera.
It's actually an extremely difficult thing for someone who's never had a close relationship to a narcissist to fathom. It's a very strange condition, they literally cannot believe they are wrong, it can't even enter their minds. Often when they have appeared bad they'll come up with stories and effectively rewrite their own history, but what's most disturbing is they genuinely believe these rewritten stories, they forget the originals so in their mind they appear perfect. When a narcissist is questioned or "disrespected" they will often explode into anger too, just like Jace.
A list of narcissist symptoms from a psychology site, literally all of them apply to Jace. Actually, they apply to Chris too, but I think we all know he's a narcissist. Also, Elliot Rodger.
- Reacts to criticism with anger, shame or humiliation
- Takes advantage of others to reach his or her own goals
- Exaggerates own importance
- Exaggerates achievements and talents
- Entertains unrealistic fantasies about success, power, beauty, intelligence or romance
- Has unreasonable expectation of favorable treatment
- Requires constant attention and positive reinforcement from others
- Disregards the feelings of others, lacks empathy
- Has obsessive self-interest
- Pursues mainly selfish goals
Sorry for the long post, there's a lot more I could write but I think this is enough, the final thing I'll say is that there is no cure or treatment for narcissism. There's a lot of argument about what causes it, but nothing for sure, however one of the main reasons I've heard is childhood neglect.
