Identity Thief
Objective Review:
This movie had many big scenes that captured the main message of the film. The first is at the timestamp 1:25:02 to 1:28:23. This is when Sandy and Diana are at a fancy dinner. Sandy thanks Diana for teaching him about "getting what you want and you taught me about confidence. People have been hard on me my whole life and I don't want to feel like a chump anymore, and you showed me that"(Gordon, 2013). Even though Diana completely messed up his life she also helped him find a better version of himself. After Sandy thanks Diana he asks her who she actually is, but he still thinks she is lying to him. After a while of Sandy pushing her for an answer, she answers that she doesn't know her actual name. She explains that she was abandoned as a baby at a fire station and after growing up in multiple different foster homes she had been given at least six different names, so she truly does not know who she is. This scene helps the audience better understand Diana and why she does what she does. Another big scene in this movie is at the time stamp 1:45:30 to 1:46:45. This is when Sandy is visiting Diana in prison and he tells her he has found her birth certificate. Sandy says "It's you" to which Diana responds "Thanks sandy, but, uh, I already know who I am." (Gordon, 2013). This scene encaptures the main message of the movie, that you can be whoever you want to be, regardless of your name, your circumstances, and where you are from.
Reaction:
I really liked this movie, I have seen it a few times before but I never deeply watched it like I did this time and I have developed a deeper connection to it because of that. The unlikely friendship between Sandy and Diana that develops throughout the movie is very heartwarming. The character development of Diana as well as Sandy is inspiring. Diana starts the film as a woman who does not care for anyone except herself and as the movie goes on you can see her start to change for the better. Sandy hated Diana when he first met her and rightfully so, but as they traveled to Denver together you could see that he started to understand Diana better and his hatred turned into friendship. The very ending of the movie was my favorite part, I really liked how Sandy went out of his way to find out who Diana actually was, it showed that he does genuinely care for her, he knew how important not knowing who she was to her and he wanted to help her get that knowledge. Overall it was a funny and heartfelt movie and I would definitely recommend people to watch it and or rewatch it.
Interpretation:
People's identities are such a complex and hard thing to understand fully, many things go into making someone who they are. This fact is clearly seen throughout the course of the movie. One of the best ways to try to understand one's identity is through subjectification, also known as maturation, developed by Jacques Lacan. Lacan believed that "linguistic and ideological structures organize not only our conscious but also our unconscious lives"(Felluga). This explains that our relationships and language help build one's identity. Daina, also known as Dawn, is a great example of this. Once the audience learned Diana's background it was easier to understand why she did what she did. She lacked human connection because she grew up knowing her parents abandoned her and she had no one to rely on except herself. So instead of trying to connect with people she replaced people with material goods. When that was not enough she tried to buy people's affection, this can be seen in the scene at the beginning of the movie when Diana, who at the time went by Sandy, bought the whole bar drinks because she wanted them to like her. She never truly knew who she was so she stole people's identities and became them so she could be someone. Her lack of human connection was also why she never felt bad for ruining people's lives. That is until she developed a friendship with Sandy and even Sandy's family.
The three registers are also a tool that helps better one's identity, this was also developed by Jacques Lacan. " For Lacan, human beings exist in three dynamically intertwined registers - the Symbolic, the Imaginary, and the Real" (Catlaw and Marshall, pg 101). Using the three registers it is easier to understand Diana. Her Imaginary identity is the one she fabricates when she steals an identity, she makes herself whoever she wants to be. Her Symbolic identity is portrayed when she wants to fit in better, like when she purchased the whole bar drinks, she wanted to fit in so she thought the only way to do so was the buy their friendship. Her Real identity is what she tries to hide from the world. A woman who does not know who she is and who is alone. This part of her identity stems from her childhood and being abandoned, people's real identity typically stems from trauma, which is exactly where Dianas came from.
Citations:
Felluga, Dino. "Modules on Lacan: On Psychosexual Development." Introductory Guide to Critical Theory. <http://www.purdue.edu/guidetotheory/psychoanalysis/lacandevelop.html>.
Gordon. S. (Director). (2013). Identity Thief (film). Universal Pictures.
Catlaw, T. J., & Marshall, G. S. (2018). Enjoy Your Work! The Fantasy of the Neoliberal Workplace and Its Consequences for the Entrepreneurial Subject. Administrative Theory & Praxis, 40(2), 99–118. https://doi.org/10.1080/10841806.2018.1454241
I agree; as Catlaw and Marshall argue, our outward projections of self live in the symbolic (2018). At the beginning of the movie, she tried to relate to others and gain connection through the purchasing of drinks. In this scene, she is joyful and surrounded by other people. However, as you discuss, it is a false sense of community that she buys for herself momentarily. Diana's use of economic means to find a sense of self is a continuation of the argument Catlaw and Marshall make, that we tie our sense of self closely to our work and, as a continuation of that argument, our economic status. They attribute this to a breakdown of the Symbolic (2018). Diana does the same, creating herself through her purchases. Her sense of self steps further from the Imaginary and closer to the Symbolic. I wonder, then, can we as individuals fully portray ourselves without the assistance of inanimate objects in current society?
ReplyDeleteEllis, I really enjoyed reading your interpretation of Identity Thief. I totally agree with your analysis of the Three Registers in the case of Sandy. I also agree with Sarah that Catlaw and Marshall's idea of work becoming your identity is relevant in this film. Along with that idea, Catlaw and Marshall also claim that as work becomes your identity, it becomes harder and harder to break away from work (2018). However, at the end of the film, Diana (or Dawn) was able to break out of this toxic cycle that Catlaw and Marshall point out. Part of this was because Sandy helped her find other parts of her identity that she could focus on that were not a part of her "work." The outside source I pulled in this week was about "moral identities" and I think that Dawn being able to see into Sandy's life, marriage, and kids, made her realize what she was doing to people, and she was able to focus on morality and pull herself out of the work she was doing.
ReplyDeleteThe first thing I thought of reading your reaction was of Follet's law of the situation, and that the situation Diana and Sandy find themselves in changes them (and those around them). Honestly, I didn't love this film, but I appreciate your positive take on the characters' growth journeys. At times, I wandered into more negative territory thinking of Sandy having Stockholm syndrome in the trust and affection he began to demonstrate for Diana. So to lean into your persuasive interpretation of Catlaw and Marshall, thinking about Sandy's symbolic, imaginary, and real! I think for Sandy, his family is clearly the portrayal of his real, and his professional life is symbolic (most notable in his promotion). Any thoughts of what we might characterize as Sandy's imaginary identity?
ReplyDeleteI also used the three registers in my analysis as I think it is a good way of describing her behavior and growth throughout the movie. You do a good job in describing this change and how the void that was causing her deviant behavior is eventually filled. As you mention, after being presented with her actual name, she claims that she already knows who she is. It wasn’t the lack of a name itself that was causing her distress, it was instead the feelings of not being known or cared about by anyone. We see her start to realize that connection with others is possible, and because of this she starts to treat Sandy better.
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