Narcolepsy is portrayed in many Hollywood movies such as My Own Private Idaho (1991), Bandits (2001), Deuce Bigelow: Male Gigolo (1999), Moulin Rouge (2001), and The Sopranos. It is important to note that these depictions of narcolepsy are not completely accurate. What is shown is usually some sort of blend of cataplexy and EDS. If you’ve ever seen any of these movies, you’ll notice that usually what happens is that the person is completely awake and normal and then all of a sudden collapses in slumber. This sudden collapse would be indicative of a cataplectic attack. This is interesting though because the character also appears to fall asleep. This is not consistent with cataplexy, in which there is only a loss of muscle tone while consciousness is retained. The sleep aspect that is portrayed would imply EDS, and while it is true that there is a sudden urge to fall asleep, there is no sudden uncontrollable lapse into sleep. For example if someone is driving a car and feels the urge to sleep upon them they will be able to pull over to the side of the road or into a parking lot and take a short nap. It is very uncommon that they will just fall asleep at the wheel (note the living with narcolepsy section). So it would seem that Hollywood exaggerates the symptoms of narcolepsy, and while this may be more entertaining to watch, it is important to understand that this in not a completely accurate portrayal and must be taken with a grain of salt.