Freedom

So today was officially my first day of my Spring Break and to celebrate I watched Being John Malkovich, which, by the way, I recommend to anyone who cares. The movie brings up major issues regarding authentic identity construction. I certainly think this was a bit of a stretch by me (you can just suspend your disbelief for a moment if you think so - you definitely need to if you plan on taking me up on my recommendation), but the movie made me wonder, again, what college will bring in the context of who I am. In my debate class we are currently discussing slavery in Sudan, where people from the south were kidnapped and brought to the north as slaves. Now the second generation of southern slaves has begun to form a new identity incorperating their northern surroundings. They have no idea who they are in the context of their heritage but their parents are appalled that they have lost their connection to the past. At TASP, for better or for worse, I was a very different person, I think, than I am here in San Marino. I'm not too ashamed of my TASP self, so that isn't a direct cause of fear: what really scares me is I have no way of knowing what my college self will be like. I certainly am grateful that I have not been kidnapped and shipped off to the north of Sudan, and though the lack of control I fear will most definitely be nothing when compared to the effects of the physical slavery of the Sudanese, I still feel justified in thinking about it. Being John Malkovich is about a portal which can be used to live someone else's life and the whole movie revolves around the question of control, control of one's body and control of one's thoughts, emotions, and identity. The ending is really haunting me right now. Of course, my uncle, whom I have been thinking a lot about since he died earlier this year, went to college and, struggling with his sexual identity, became an alcoholic. Anyway, the movie is quite funny at times and has a nice scene with people climbing through John Malkovich's subconscious which reminded me of Drew's post regarding Eternal Sunshine which in turn reminded me of TASP.

While I am on the topic of film recommendations (don't worry, this one won't take as long), I also fairly recently saw a film called The Spanish Prisoner which plays off of Hitchcock's plot formulas quite well. It is a very good hommage to Hitchcock, who I'm sure would have enjoyed the lead, Cambell Scott (?), Steve Martin, great in a non-humerous role, and David Mamat's perfect screenplay. I'm not sure if I mentioned this to anyone at TASP or if you just happened to know it, but Hitchcock had his bellybutton surgically removed.

I also heard the Shubert 9th at a concert and have been obsessively listening to Strauss' "Four Last Songs" and Verdi's "La Forza del Destino" (which I am seeing in the summer at the opera festival in Verona...w00t). All are recommendations in the music category, and probably pretty much cover what I will be occupied with much of this week of freedom.