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Alice in Wonderland (2010 version)

In this new version of the classic Alice in Wonderland based off of Lewis Carroll's book, Alice's identity is questioned. The movie begins when Alice is a little girl and has awoken from a dream where she was in Wonderland/Underland. She tells her father all about it. Then (years later), when Alice is at a party and is being proposed to, she runs away. She falls down the rabbit hole, and the adventures in Wonderland begin again. The White Rabbit, the Mad Hatter, the March Hare, the Doormouse, and all of the other members of Wonderland/Underland question if she is the right Alice. The Mad Hatter and Absolut, the catepillar, are certain she is the right Alice. The right Alice has been prophesized to return to Wonderland/Underland, slay the Jabberwocky, and replace the Red Queen with the White Queen. Alice must discover who she is, find the right Alice within herself, and discover that this is her second visit to Wonderland/Underland. As a teenage girl, Alice represents the common identity crisis that all adolescents have. She is unsure of whether to marry the man who proposed to her, whether she is the right or wrong Alice, and whether her dreams about Wonderland/Underland were really dreams. Throughout her journey in Wonderland/Underland, Alice must discover her true identity.

North by Northwest

Alfred Hitchcock's thriller is a classic case of mistake identity. In the movie, a mysterious, dangerous organization mistakenly identifies an innocent man as their target. When Roger Thornhill, whom the organization believes is George Kaplan, escapes his captors, a transcontinental pursuit ensues. Despite his numerous attempts to convince authorities along the way of what is happening to him, no one believes his story. Additionally, his pursuers refuse to believe that they are after the wrong man. In the film, the only characteristic of identity utilized to justify the Thornhill's capture is the mistaken name. If our only determining feature was our name, we might be as shallow as this movie appears.

A Beautiful Mind

John Nash is a brilliant mathematician who works at a university. He married one of his students, Alicia, and the two have a baby together. John's college roomate, Charles, has a niece, and he and his niece visit John often. Because of the Cold War, the United States is paranoid about the Communists in Soviet Russia. When John has a job to decode a message from the enemy, he begins to become paranoid that the Russians are after him. He starts working for a secret group to decode various messages. One time, when the man with whom he was working drives him somewhere, the Russians come after him and begin shooting the car with a shotgun. John returns home and locks himself in a room, completely frightened and scaring Alicia, too. He gives a speech one day in front of a group of people. Partially through his speech, he notices two men in the back of the room. John, fearing they are Russians, tries to hide from them. He ends up running out of the room and being forcibly taken by these men. Soon after, when Alicia comes to visit him, we learn that John is schizophrenic. His friends had noticed this for a while. Alicia is surprised, but she accepts this. Charles and his niece never existed; John roomed alone in college. The man for whom John decoded some of the puzzles from the Russians never existed. John at first resists this information, but eventually, he comes to accept it and takes his medicine. However, the medicine impairs his mind, so sometimes John does not take it. After a while, Alicia asks John to give the baby a bath. He puts the baby in the bathtub with the water running, but he thinks he sees the man that asks him to decode the puzzles. After John goes off for a while, Alicia finds the baby drowning in the bathtub and saves it. She is furious with John and begins to call the doctor. John thinks he sees the man trying to hurt Alicia, and he tries to save her by striking the man. However, because the man does not exist, he ends up striking his wife. Frightened, she takes the baby and drives away. At this point, John has an epiphany; while Alicia, the baby, and his friends grow older, Charles, his niece, and the man stay the same exact age. John realizes that Alicia, the baby, and his friends are real, while Charles, his niece, and the man are figments of his imagination. He runs out to stop Alicia and explains what he has just discovered. John is able to ignore those people and only communicate with the real people. In the second half of the movie, John has to determine who is real and who is a delusion. Schizophrenia is an identity disorder that John and Alicia have to face together.

Boys Don't Cry

Based on the true story of Brandon Teena, Boys Don't Cry is a film about a transgender man who falls in love with a young woman. After the couples' male acquaintances find out that Brandon is an anatomic female, they physically brutalize him. Lana, Brandon's girlfriend, comes to accept his sexual orientation, but the discriminatory male characters eventually take Brandon's life. This movie teaches that identity is based not only on biological makeup, but also on personal, emotional, and psychological aspects of a being's character. Lana's choice to continue loving Brandon even after finding out the truth shows that the power of love is stronger than the need to conform to traditional gender roles. This also shows us that people are attracted to others based not only on their sex but also on their souls. The anger and violence displayed by the Brandon's killers speaks to how society can treat people who express traits of the opposite sex. The ideas of masculinity and femininity are held up for examination in this movie.

Mask

Rocky was born with a condition that made his face appear differently than usual. All throughout his life, he has had to face stares and being seen as the guy with the different face. It takes people a while to get used to him and be able to see what is beneath the skin ("beauty is not skin-deep"). Rocky is a very smart kid with friends who like him for who he is. When Rocky's mother tries to get him accepted to a regular middle school, the principal labels him as a special education child with mental retardation. He wants to send Rocky to a school that satisfies his needs. Rocky's mother stands up for her son, arguing that basic academics are her son's needs. Rocky attends the school and does well. While at first his classmates did not know how to treat him, Rocky joked around and used humor to ease his way into the school. His biker mother has dated a motorcycle gang, and the whole gang forms Rocky's family. All throughout his life, Rocky's mother has always supported him and tried to keep his life as normal as possible. She is sad to see him go when he accepts a summer job at a camp for the blind. It is at this camp that Rocky falls in love with a blind girl. She cannot see his face, and she therefore is able to "see" past what he looks like. Rocky teaches her the meaning of visual words, such as red, by handing her something hot. When her parents come to pick her up at the end of the summer, they are horrified at their daughter's boyfriend because of his looks. The two never see each other again. Rocky lived a difficult life because of what he looked like. Even though society claims to be very accepting, many people in Rocky's life were unable to see past his skin. Although he did earn friends, his only girlfriend was a blind girl whose parents hated him. Rocky was always identified as the different one. Just as in My Sister's Keeper, where the family was identified as the family with the sick daughter/sister, Rocky and his family are always identified as the different one. These labels take away from what should be people's identities: the sameness and continuity of their personalitiy and values.

Beauty and the Beast

In this classic Disney movie, Belle and her father, Maurice, have just moved into the town. The rest of the town think that they are strange because Maurice is an inventor who sometimes gets carried away, and Belle sometimes keeps to herself. Gaston, though girls follow him around in awe, only has eyes for Belle, but she will not marry him. One day, Maurice goes to a convention to show off his invention. He gets lost in the woods and enters a strange castle where all of the appliances are alive and can speak. His horse runs off to go and tell Belle. Belle and the horse go to the enchanted castle where her father is being held captive by the owner. Belle begs him to let her take her father's place. He agrees, and then he shows Belle his true identity: a beast that can speak. Belle is locked in the room, while the appliances urge the beast to woo her. The beast used to be a prince, and the appliances used to be real people. When an elderly lady approached the prince's house, he turned her away because of her looks. He was unable to see past the age and wrinkles to the needy woman who needed some help. The old woman then transformed into a young, beautiful, powerful witch who cursed the house by turning all of the members into appliances or animals until the prince found true love. She gave him a rose that marked the time he had to find true love until the spell became permanent. Now, with a young lady in the house, the appliances notice the wilting flower with only a few petals left. After inviting Belle to dinner and receiving hostility in return, the appliances teach the beast how to be patient and make Belle fall in love with him. Over time, she does, and just as the last petal falls, she saves him as he is dying because Gaston went to kill him. The two live happily ever after as human beings. The prince, over time, was able to realize the true meaning of beauty and what is important in a person. Belle is able to fall in love with a beast because she learns to see who he really is underneath the fur. Her love for him is strong because it is based on a connection that the two share for being outsiders and labeled as the "different ones". Even as he changes back into the prince, she is able to recognize the beast in the human body. They are both able to see past beauty and outside appearances to see the true person underneath the skin.

The Crying Game

This 1992 drama set in Belfast, Ireland and London, England, explores themes of racial, political, and sexual identity. In the film, Fergus, an IRA agent, captures Jody, a black British army officer. Although Jody knows that Fergus will be ordered to kill him, he begs Fergus to look after his girlfriend Dil, in London once Jody is dead. Following Jody's death, Fergus travels to London and soon falls in love with Dil. A major twist in the movie occurs when Fergus finds out that Dil is a transexual woman. Although initially repulsed, Fergus eventually returns and keeps his promise to Jody. The movie shows how emotions such as love, guilt, and compassion can transcend sexual, racial, and political differences. In this way, the traditional concept of loyalty based solely on identity is challenged and refuted. The film teaches that natural feelings can defeat the rigidity of societal gender roles. A person may outwardly express opposition to a lifestyle choice because it has been rejected by his culture. In actuality, however, that person may have been afraid to express their inner feelings. It also leaves one feeling hopeful about the possibilities of conflict resolution as the characters begin to understand other points of view.

Batman

In most superhero movies, the identity of the hero is unknown to the majority of the characters, especially including the civilians that he or she saves. Batman's true identity is perhaps the most interesting among the popular heroes because when he is not fighting crime, he is Bruce Wayne, a billionaire industrialist. What is also peculiar about Batman is that he does not possess any superpowers. He uses his intelligence to stay one step in front of the villain and uses his wealth to his advantage by obtaining high tech weapons. Batman gives people hope that you don't have to necessarily be "super" to be a superhero. His fighting skills came from years of physical and intellectual training. The persona that he built was based on good morals, with a vow to bring justice to Gotham City. The identity that he created has been one that many fans have looked up to for decades. In the scene above, Batman follows through on the oath that he made as a child, after his parents were murdered, to take revenge on criminals. This oath was backed up by an unmatched vengeance.

The Bourne Identity

The Bourne Identity is about Jason Bourne, a man who is seeking his identity. The government had used him as a project but it had malfunctioned and now he is their biggest target. Bourne now must try to piece together clues about his past while eluding the company that had used him. Because he has lost him memory, he does not even know his own identity. This film instills the fear of what it might be like to completely forget who you are, not to mention doing this while trying to stay alive. In this scene, Bourne questions the man about the project, known as Treadstone and asks the vital question, "Who Am I?"

Catch Me If You Can

Catch Me If You Can is based on the real story of Frank Abagnale Jr.'s life. In the movie, Frank runs away from home at the age of 16 after his parents' divorce. Frank idolizes his father, who is in trouble with the IRS, and wants to compensate for his family's losses, one of which includes the repossession of their house. Within the next 3 years, Frank successfully impersonates a pilot, doctor, lawyer. He cashes over 2.5 million dollars in fraudulent checks and lives a life of adventure and lavish. Throughout the film, he avoids arrest by Carl Hanratty, an FBI agent. The two characters develop a bond between each other even though they are enemies. Frank seems to know that his luck will eventually run out and that he will be arrested. However, the thrill of running from the FBI is even more enjoying than the money he steals. He never seems satisfied with what he has and therefore, knows no limit to his crimes. In the end, he is caught by Hanratty in France, where he was making fake checks at a huge printing factory. Because of the many identities that Frank takes on during his grand scheme, he lost a sense of self and forgot what really mattered to him. He got caught up in the fast track lifestyle he was living and neglected following the law. He was not a bad person and did not even care about the money. He had been emotionally damaged by his parents' divorce and was seeking an entirely different way of life, that included creating numerous false identities.The real Frank Abagnale Jr. was hired by the FBI after his arrest to track down counterfeiters like himself. His keen eye for spotting fake checks became a profession and he was hired by several companies to create unforgeable checks, a job he gets paid millions of dollars a year to do.

"New Volvo Commercial"

In this commercial for the new Volvo, there are two girls in identical convertible cars. One car has the hood on, and the other has the hood off. The blonde girl, in the covered car, is with the man who goes inside to get coffee. The other girl, the brunette, wants to be with the man, so she convinces the blonde to trade everything with her from clothes, to hair, to top of the car. In the end, when the man returns, he enters the car of the brunette who now looks like the blonde girl orignally did. The man who was with the brunette then returns from the coffee shop to see the blonde girl and is very confused. The girls almost change identities; they change their appearances and their dates. The man who started out with the blonde does not know his girlfriend well enough to recognize that her hair is blonde, and the car has moved. The brunette's boyfriend does recognize the difference and is confused. Clearly the man who started out with the blonde could not identify his girlfriend; meanwhile both women purposefully switched roles and stepped into each other's shoes for a while.

"Glee": Episode 18, Season 2: Born This Way

    In this episode of "Glee", the McKinley High school students are struggling with their true identities. After Finn breaks Rachel's nose when they were dancing, the doctor recommends that Rachel get a nose job while her nose is broken. Rachel says that she is happy with the way she looks, but the doctor suggests that it could improve the quality of her singing voice, appealing to Rachel's interests. She thinks about this and seeks the advice of the Glee club. Many people are surprised, but Santana reminds them that they too are unhappy with different aspects of who they are. Tina says she is happy with who she is, and Rachel should, too. Mike then reminds her that she wears blue contacts everyday. Mr. Scheuster then talks to Ms. Pillsbury about wanting to help the students love themselves for who they are. Meanwhile, they are polishing Ms. Pillsbury's grapes before she eats them because she has OCD. Mr. Scheuster suggests that Ms. Pillsbury talk to someone about her OCD, but she states that it is a part of who she is as a person. Kurt, who was bullied because he was a homosexual, is happy at his new school but misses his old friends. Santana, in order to get elected as prom queen, decides to pair up with Karofsky, Kurt's bully. If she convinces him to apologize to Kurt and convince him to come back to McKinley High, then everyone will admire her and vote for her. This goes according to plan, though Kurt knows about this plan. McKinley is happy to have him back, and both Santana and Karofsky keep their homosexuality a secret. Meanwhile, Quinn Fabray, a cheerleader, is also running for prom queen with her boyfriend, Finn as prom king. After Lauren, the new overweight member of Glee club, decides to also run for prom queen with her boyfriend, Puck, Quinn feels threatened. Quinn confronts Lauren; in order to sabotage Quinn, Lauren does some research on her. She finds out that Quinn's real name is Lucy; Lucy, as a middle schooler, was not so attractive. After being teased, Lucy changed her look, her name, and her school. This is revealed to the whole school, but it just makes more girls respect Quinn for being just like them, almost like a rags to riches story but with popularity. Mr. Schuester asks the students to sing Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" and wear white tee-shirts with one word printed across: this word is what the students dislike the most about themselves. Ms. Pillsbury sees a psychaitrist, begins to take medication, and prints "OCD" on her shirt. Rachel cancels her nose job appointment, and the Glee club accepts who they truly are.
    This Glee episode is about accepting one's true identity. Kurt has always been self-accepting and came out of the closet in one of the first episodes. Santana has begun to accept her homosexuality, and Karofsky is working on it. Brittany had made a tee-shirt for Santana, but she wrote Lebanese instead of lesbian because she cannot spell. Quinn's hidden identity has just been revealed, and Finn and Lauren help her come to terms with it. Rachel and Tina learn to like the way the look and know that they should love who they are. Ms. Pillsbury accepts that her OCD is harming her identity and works to change her condition. With the tee-shirts, all of the Glee club members can proudly state what they do not like and know that that is what makes them different, what makes up their identities.
    I could not find these videos on youtube, but I did find them on hulu and cut the parts that I thought best represented the themes. I could not put them on the website, so I have put the links on the website. Here they are, in order:
1) Rachel at the rhinoplastic surgeon
2) Santana and Tina discuss acceptance and Rachel
3) Mr. Schuester and Ms. Pillsbury discuss self-acceptance
4) Tina and Rachel discuss Rachel's nose job
5) Glee Club sings "Born This Way" in their tee-shirts

"Spongebob Squarepants": Hidden Identity

    In this episode of "Spongebob", Spongebob fears he has lost his identity. Most adolescents, which Spongebob appears to be less than in maturity though he has a job, go through an identity crisis. They are not sure of who they are and what they want to do in life. However, Spongebob has another reason for losing his identity: he cannot find his name card. Squidward, the cashier at the restaurant where Spongebob works lets him know they have time. Just then, Mr. Krabs, their boss, announces a uniform inspection later that day. Squidward suggests that Spongebob retrace his steps to try to find his name card. Spongebob re-enacts his whole day, but he repeats it several times because of a simple error. With time running out, Spongebob and his best friend, Patrick, search the dumpster for Spongebob's name card. (Spongebob had been thrown into the dumpster earlier that day.) When Spongebob turns around to sift through the garbage, Patrick sees Spongebob's name card on the back of his shirt. He tells Spongebob that he sees the name card, but when Spongebob turns around and the name card is no longer within sight, Patrick forgets. This process repeats a few more times, until Patrick makes a comment that Spongebob's shirt is on backwards. Spongebob then connects the dots, and the catastrophe is avoided.
    This episode of "Spongebob" pokes fun at the idea of an identity crisis. A name is a major part of an identity, as it is how people refer to a person. However, Spongebob has not lost his name; he has simply lost his name card, which shows his identification. He tells people he has lost his identity because he feels that his name card is a central part of his identity. While he goes through his day repeatedly, we learn that Spongebob had his identity the whole time. He simply had his shirt on backwards. The fact that his friend helps him to find his identity is symbolic of the fact that friends often do help people in an identity crisis to find their way. Friends and family are important people who help to influence one's identity. The fact that Spongebob always had his identity is symbolic of the fact that even though friends and family are there to help one and influence one's identity, one's true identity is found within oneself. One simply has to turn around and look for one's identity which has never left.
    To view this episode, click here.

"Hannah Montana": Episode One: Lily Knows

Miley Stewart has a double identity: she is a normal teenage girl, Miley, and a famous pop star, Hannah Montana. As Miley, she leaves her hair brown and goes to school with her best friends, Lily and Oliver. On stage, she wears a blonde wig, and her father wears a mustache. Lily and Oliver do not know about her hidden identity because Miley fears they will not treat her the same. In this first episode, Lily finds out that her best friend is Hannah Montana, and she asks Miley to reveal her identity to the mean girls at school. Miley worries that she will not be a normal girl anymore, and in frustration, Lily calls Miley "Hannah". It is very confusing for Lily to separate between these two identities, and she needs some time to think about the news. In the end, Lily and Miley work it out, and Lily takes a second identity with a wig, too. She becomes Lola, and Lola and Hannah go to Hannah's Hollywood events together.
Miley Stewart is a perfect example of duplicity. She has two identities and is an impostor. Although she is not impersonating anyone in particular, she takes on an identity that is not her own. It takes some time for Lily to come to terms with this news, but her relationship with Miley is more important than her wish to be popular. Throughout the multiple seasons of "Hannah Montana", Miley hides her identity in order to be a normal teenager. People like Oliver and other close friends eventually find out her true identity. Which one is her true identity, though, Hannah or Miley?

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