Thanks to the COM352 students for contributing a bunch of new pages! I'll be moving these pages into the main area of the wiki soon.

From UMassWiki

Identity is constantly in flux. It is hard to define just what it is that identity means, if only because it can change quicker than the prevailing winds. Identity at one minute is something completely different than it was an hour before, even a minute. It is for this reason that I feel it is necessary to try and give a general meaning to the word identity before I try to impart my own. To me, identity is a state of mind. It is fixated in the present, for, as I have said, any number of different stimuli and situations can change my identity of the Now into a completely different identity of the Then. Identity is a fragile image that I drape over myself. Many would say that identity is something deeper, something connected with your mind and your background. I will agree with only one of these. My identity is concerned with the mind, but the mind is too impermanent a thing to stay in one place. Thus, my identity cannot be permanent either. Identity is an image or idea of myself fostered and developed because of a certain situation recently lived through, or perhaps a certain song just listened to or a certain film just recently viewed. My identity is as much a part of the world living right outside my skin as it is a thing in my head. For me, identity is greatest affected by works of art or artistic undertakings. Whether a song, a film, a good book or something related, if it truly connects with me I could be changed and shaped for days. Many people would say that the identity cannot be so fickle, that one piece of art should not be able to grip ones’ mind to the point of overhaul and change their very identity. To these nay sayers I would say that the identity is subjective. One person’s identity could be a solid, unchanging thing shaped long ago and consistent to this day. For others, the identity could be shaped by something as simple and transitory as the weather. Identity, by its very nature, is something heavily individualized. In this way, identity can be shaped by anything for anyone, and can be completely different in nature from anyone else’s. I feel that the most profound changes in my identity are raised through literature. I have been a huge reader since a very young age, and this love has never gone away. Literature, to me, is an escape from the every day and a wonderful way to move into an adventure without ever leaving your room. This in itself might say something of my identity. I have always read science fiction or fantasy books for the most part, although recently my interests have branched out and I enjoy a much larger base of fiction writing. The book that helped shape my identity the most, as far as I can remember, was the book The Amber Spyglass by Phillip Pullman. This book centers around the struggle of a young girl Lyra, who has inherited a magical device that grants immense knowledge and thus power. This book helped to shape my identity because it was through the overall metaphor of the plot that I realized there is more to power than mere strength. Knowledge and confidence are as much a part of power as any other factor. I have already said explicitly that identity for me cannot be shaped permanently. However, I can take out of a reading a certain aspect and use it within my own life from that point forward, and, although it has not become a constant part of my life, my identity will be affected. Thus, I have since shaped my life with the power of knowledge and confidence in mind. Also, the book ends on a sad note, as the two main characters realize that they are in love but must part. Even though they know they cannot be together and share this feeling, it still stays strong within both of them. When I was reading this, I was a teen in my first year of high school. I had had some recent near successes in my love life, but they had each ended in failure. It had started to seem to me that love was an impossibility. I was, of course, being naïve and living under the impression that love must always be successful in order to even be considered love. Taking this theme of love lost from the text and into my own life, this book helped me to realize that not everything works out in such a fairy tale manner. Since then, I have expanded my outlooks on love, and thus broadened my horizons. I have had more success in my love life due to this disillusionment, and I thank The Amber Spyglass in large part. The next book that affected me in such a manner was the book On The Road by Jack Kerouac. This book tells the tale of a man who has lost his interest in the every day life he leads. He cures this boredom and discontent by taking a trip cross country, with nothing more than clothes and a thumb to hitchhike with. My identity was most deeply complimented by the idea of this plot more than any specific facet of it. I have always been a person wary of too much control, and uncomfortable with being in any one place for too long. This book illustrated those feelings which I had always felt, and, in reading, solidified them into a definite emotion that I use in conjunction with my identity constantly. The book also shows, in the main character, the desire to be true to oneself and not the values and norms of anyone else. The main character becomes bored and disgusted with the life he is presented with, and takes matters into his own hands by moving across the country. I admire this free spirit and the ability to drop everything and undertake a perilous journey, all in the name of self discovery and satisfaction. This idea fermented in my mind for quite some time after reading the book, and has become a principle that will forever affect my identity, if not permanently become part of it. Another form of art that is constantly relevant in my life is the visual art of film. Film has been a staple of societal entertainment for decades, and thus many might overlook it as too superficial or pop-culturized at this point to be a defining part of a person’s identity. Anyone who says this is, as you might guess, ignorant to the many subtleties and wondrous elements of film. A film can evoke with a simple camera sweep crushing fear or exultant joy or majestic pride. Any medium with the power to do such things certainly has the power to shape a person’s identity. The film I must name and give credit for working in tune with my identity would have to be my favorite film of all time, American Beauty. This film tells the story of Lester Burnham, played by Kevin Spacey. Lester has become disenchanted towards his ideal life, and finds himself restless in his work and his home and every other aspect of his life. He overhauls his entire existence, but, in the process, also starts in motion the wheels of a cataclysmic finale. This movie resonates powerfully with me because Kevin Spacey is one of my favorite actors and because the movie is wonderfully directed. However, it shaped my identity for a very different reason. Lester represents, to me at least, the rebellious nature that can develop in any of us when we are dissatisfied and the world seems suddenly dull. He carries this idea to the extreme, doing as he pleases and saying what he wants to whoever he wants. Although I can never afford this freedom in my own life, I can certainly respect it, and perhaps work towards it, if at a slightly smaller intensity. After viewing this film, the idea of the importance of my own freedom rang through just as clear as when I had read On The Road, and I once again realized that a large part of my identity is affected by the ideal that I should never compromise my own happiness. In the same vein, Lester’s rebellious discontent taught me to never take anything lying down. If I am in a situation I can’t stand, I will not simply move on and act as though nothing is wrong. I will voice my dissatisfaction, and I will fight against whatever it is that holds me within the bounds of the problem. This facet of my personality is also a credit to American Beauty. As can no doubt be seen, identity to me is something that is not defined by the person who owns it. Identity belongs to a place in time. Every minute of every day, our identities are changing, morphing from one stage to the next due to outside stimuli, musical scores or perhaps as little as a look or smile. Identity is ever changing, and it changes in different ways and because of different things for different people. My identity is greatest affected by the subtleties of artistic expression, whether through film, music, literature, or a host of a thousand other things. Another’s identity might be changed and shaped by what they wear, or by where they are, or by who they meet that day. Identity is impermanent, to be sure, and it is this transitory nature that makes the world as varied and beautiful as it is. It is only through understanding the subtle themes of art that I am able to glean from them their most resonant meanings, and thus use these principles and lessons in my life. I may not shape any lasting part of my identity, but, to me, that is not the identities’ purpose. The identity is a tool, a certain aspect of yourself that you use to interpret the things around you and judge what is important or how you feel about a subject. I cannot control or change it for myself, but I can take ideas from the things around me and use them in accordance with my identity and my life to make me who I am. Theandrewreynoldsshow 11:45, 10 October 2006 (EDT)