In popular culture
Game of Thrones series and television adaptation of George R. R. Martins A Song of Ice and Fire:
The Lannisters have been deemed a "family of narcissists". Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) Colleen Jordan has said the incestuous twins Cersei and Jaime have a combination of borderline personality disorder and narcissistic personality disorder, and their younger brother Tyrion is an alcoholic narcissist. Additionally, a clinical psychologist posted as Redditor Rain12913: "People seem to be falling into the trap of thinking that Cersei really does genuinely love her brother and her (late) children. While she certainly says that she does quite a bit, and while her behaviour may seem to suggest that she does, it is highly unlikely that such a narcissistic character is capable of true love." About the familys patriarch, Jordan observes that "Tywin Lannister is actually the worst of them". Of Lord Petyr Baelish (nicknamed "Littlefinger") Jordan observes: "If you look at Littlefinger, we know hes not remotely personally interested in Lysa, but he likes the attention. And he needs her. Narcissists use people for functions, which he does." Suzanne Stone-Maretto, Nicole Kidmans character in the film To Die For (1995), wants to appear on television at all costs, even if this involves murdering her husband. A psychiatric assessment of her character noted that she "was seen as a prototypical narcissistic person by the raters: on average, she satisfied 8 of 9 criteria for narcissistic personality disorder... had she been evaluated for personality disorders, she would receive a diagnosis of narcissistic personality disorder".
The NPD label may be misused colloquially and clinically to disparage a target for the purpose of buttressing ones own self-esteem, or other motives that are detrimental for the person receiving the label. Finally, the rise in popular interest in NPD is not accompanied by hypothesized increases in narcissism among recent generations despite widespread assumptions to the contrary. Controversy
The extent of controversy about narcissism was on display when the committee on personality disorders for the 5th Edition (2013) of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders recommended the removal of Narcissistic Personality from the manual. A contentious three-year debate unfolded in the clinical community with one of the sharpest critics being John Gunderson, who led the DSM personality disorders committee for the 4th edition of the manual.The American Psychiatric Associations (APA) formulation, description, and definition of narcissistic personality disorder, as published in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Ed., Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR, 2000), was criticised by clinicians as inadequately describing the range and complexity of the personality disorder that is NPD.