Cultural depictions of Napoleon

Napoleon I of France, has become a worldwide cultural icon while Emperor of France, symbolizing strength, genius, and political solidity. Since his death, countless towns, streets, ships, and even cartoon characters have been named after him.

In Western culture, believing oneself to be Napoléon has become semi-synonymous with delusions and more particularly delusions of grandeur.

There are two reasons for this, firstly delusional patients often believe themselves to be important figures (see paranoia) such as Jesus or Napoleon (naturally the belief that one is Napoleon has declined in favour of more modern powerful people over time). In particular, the psychiatrist R. D. Laing in his book The Divided Self refers to a case of a paranoid schizophrenic who believes he is the reincarnation of Napoleon. Secondly, there is the psychiatric term Napoleon complex which describes an overly aggressive behaviour thought to be exhibited by some short men.

Thus, Napoleon has come to be used as a comedic shorthand for psychiatric illness:


 * Stan Laurel's first film Mixed Nuts shows him receiving a blow to the head, leaving him thinking he is Napoleon
 * In the 2001 film The Emperor's New Clothes Ian Holm plays Napoleon who stumbles into the grounds of an asylum and finds himself surrounded by other "Napoleons" - he cannot reveal his identity for fear of being grouped with the deluded
 * In the Bugs Bunny film Napoleon Bunny-part a man is dragged away by psychiatric attendants for being dressed as Napoleon
 * In Asterix and the Big Fight the druid Psychoanalix has a patient who adopts the posture of Napoleon.
 * In the film Highlander III a patient in a psychiatric hospital believes himself to be Napoleon (the credits list him as "Loony Napoleon")
 * In the film The Exorcist the priest says "Look, your daughter doesn't say she's a demon, she says he's the devil himself. Now, if you've seen as many psychotics as I have, you'd say it's the same thing as saying you're Napoleon Bonaparte."
 * In the Frank Capra film Arsenic and Old Lace one of the characters believes himself to be Theodore Roosevelt. The local sanitorium does not want to admit him because they "have too many Roosevelts" adding, "could you talk him into being Napoleon, perhaps?"
 * He appears as a character in the time travelling comedy film Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, wherein he discovers a fondness for ice cream
 * Also appears in Terry Gilliam's Time Bandits.
 * In the popular British sitcom Dad's Army Captain Mainwaring is nicknamed Napoleon due to his short stature and imperious manner.