As a quite different example of postmodern character fragmentation, Sam Lowry actively escapes to his subconscious as a coping mechanism against the constricting bureaucracy of “Brazil”, a dystopic, pseudo futuristic parody of a 1980’s British welfare state. A setting which is reminiscent to that which Gilliam himself grew up in. (Alsayyad, 2006, 87)Presented with the theme of terrorism, and/or suspicion of terrorism, the viewer essentially sees Sam trisect into three separate personas.  The first and most obvious personality is Sam as the meek slave of this capitalist system. In this role he presents himself as being neither ordinary nor extraordinary but rather as existing in a state of self imposed limbo at the “Records” department of the Ministry of Information. Through a plot line of multiple coincidences, the city is eventually able to inflect action on this primary character. He is pressured to date, he is moved up the corporate ladder against his will, he becomes a victim of his own apartment infrastructure and is ultimately held in custody, thought to be coercing with terrorists. Instigating and supporting this cacophony of influence and circumstance is Sam’s second persona. This is Sam emergent as a superman, his exact alter ego. Placed in an abstracted cityscape (quite un-placeable but still reminiscent of an archetypal late twentieth century urban condition), and filled with demonized charactures, he confronts his repressed pressures and the restrictions of Brazil as an actual city fabric head on. It is also in the world of his dreams that he can act out on his desire to find his “dream girl” Jill. The dichotomous shifting between, and eventual blending of, characters is important for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, it must be shown in order for the plot to remain in motion and the ambience to remain chaotic, Gilliam must present a protagonist that is somehow in a reaction state against his oppressive “modern” city. But more importantly it acts as a commentary on the need for escape from a contemporary culture of consumption, self interest, and superficiality. Once again, Alsayyad claims that “space can be brought to life, only by the double, the technologically enhanced figure of the cyborg who can fight against the all-oppressive power of the state or monopoly capitalism” and that the subsequent reactions can inhibit a postmodern existence (Alsayyad, 2006, 92). The Final persona that is offered to the viewer is of Sam as a torture victim, a synthesis of his previous two charachterizations. Although only shown for a brief moment at the end of the film, the ambiguity brought to light by his hallucination of being resuced leaves the overall plot shattered, wide-open for debate as to whether any of the action really took place.  Like “Clockwork Orange” the paranoia theme may stand counter to Harvey’s initial description of the fragmented individual, but the dream within a dream scenario highlights both a sense of mental instability and the self-referentiality and intertextuality found commonplace in postmodern media.