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By Ramsha Rizv
Construction of Identity
It is to be noted that ‘identity’ is knowing your strengths, weaknesses, understanding your role and assessing yourself as much as one can. This progress takes into account the values, people, culture, and society of the individual. In other words these are the factors that can affect each individual differently such as a reciprocal relationship. (Côté, 2002)
On the other hand, identification is an elaborate term of identity which means having different types of relationships with a media character regardless if they are from a film or a cartoon. It is to be noted that identification as that the media character and one’s self has similar taste and has certain similarities to each other (Tamar Liebes, 1994), whereas it is also believed that identification is living through another person’s point of view. This means that certain people hold certain characters very dearly and they consider themselves being in the shoes of the character. (Livingstone, 1998) However, there are times when one identifies with the story rather than the character as one feels as though their lives are being shown due to what they have experienced. (Götz, 2016)
I will be discussing how a character's identity and the life they are living in the movie, Little Miss Sunshine (2006), compares to mine and what kind of identification do I feel.
Summary of the movie
Little Miss Sunshine (2006), directed by Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton, is about the Hoover family of six which consists of Sheryl, the twice married mother, Richard who is her husband and a college lecturer, Richard’s father, Frank - Sheryl’s suicidal and homosexual brother, her antisocial fifteen year old son, Dwayne, and Olive – the six year old bubbly child. When Olive gets awarded first place in the regional beauty contest the family must travel, by car, to California for her to compete in the state finals. During this ride the family will learn to rely on each other while learning new things about each other and themselves.
Dwayne Hoover, played by Paul Dano, is one of the most relatable character in this movie. We are first introduced this character in his room where he is working out. Dwayne may seem as the normal one in his family as we see the tension between his parents, his grandfather being addicted to drugs, him sharing his room with his suicidal uncle, and his beauty contest obsessed sister. However, we learn that this is not the case. Dwayne has taken a vow of silence where he would not speak until he joins the Air Force hence him carrying a notepad and a pen and using it to say what he wants.
This vow of silence is inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche’s ideology of nihilism. Nihilism means that everything is meaningless and nothing can be communicated or known (Leonard, 2019). Dwayne uses the excuse of nihilism as a reason to not like anyone and his behavior towards others. However, it seems that he misunderstood Nietzsche as his thinking of nihilism is questioned when he finds out that he is colorblind. He finds out that due to this condition he cannot join the Air Force which causes him to have a breakdown and point out the problems and flaws his family has which was a last resort to separate himself from his family one last time while going through all five stages of grief at this point which are denial, anger, depression, acceptance and bargaining. The flaws being a divorcee, bankrupt, suicide and a loser as stated by Dwayne. But nihilism was not a rejection of life but an affirmation of an authentic life unbound by false values. (Sohn). However, it is to be noted that Nietzsche spoke out against keeping silent, a point that very much highlights how Dwayne's silence is not in line with Nietzsche's thinking as he is being quoted saying, “Silence is worse; all truths that are kept silent become poisonous."
When Dwayne has a conversation with his uncle Frank, he understands that he does not have to give up on his life but rather be determined to do what he wants to do hence his dialogue, “If I want to fly, I’ll find a way to fly. You do what you love and fuck the rest.” Furthermore, he understands that one should not try to fit in the society’s rules and the idea of beauty as seen in his dialogues, “Fuck beauty contests,” and “Life is one fucking beauty contest after another.”
Construction of my identity compared to Dwayne’s identity
I would like to highlight the fact that I would like to agree with (Livingstone, 1998) idea that of identification which was relating to a character’s story more compared to the other factors. I relate to Dwayne’s story on many levels, one of them being that he worked so hard towards his goal before knowing about his condition. He went to such lengths as taking a vow of silence for almost a year for something he wanted. This showed his dedication to what he wanted. I would like to compare his dedication for joining the Air Force to my dedication to lose weight where I used to not eat for days straight. The problem with both of these dedications is the same as this character and I both put false values in our lives. We did not have to be so hard on ourselves to achieve our goals.
Moreover, I would like to talk about Dwayne’s breakdown when he finds out he is colorblind and cannot join the Air Force due to this medical condition. The break down he experiences is something very close to me as I do have many but unlike him these are in private where I cannot call out the problems of others which impact me. I do want to separate myself from people, mostly my family; however, I cannot due to the norms. Just like Dwayne I do know that one does not need to conform to society’s values and norms but it is so ingrained in Pakistan’s society that it is hard to change it. The norms are changing but gradually.
Even though his has issues with his family, Dwayne has a soft spot for them and we see this through his interactions after his breakdown and little interactions from the start. Just like him I as well have problems with my family but at the end of the day family have your back as shown in this movie as well. Furthermore, I would like to point out that Dwayne does not let his colorblind define his life as he plans to still do something with his life and embraces it. I relate to his story more compared to any other character is because as him I also feel as though I am a lone in this world and no one seems to understand what I have to say or what I want. However, I would not let this define me or my anxiety that I have. I will and I am trying to find a way to overcome my problems.
Conclusion
It could be said that one’s identity depends on various aspects. One’s identity could be that of a stereotype (Lemish, 2016). It is to be kept in mind that identity could also matter on how one is brought up etc. On the other hand, identification is a further step of identity where one could relate and identify as a character in a film or in a cartoon where the appearance or certain characteristic is similar to themselves. Furthermore, the story of a character could be relatable to a person which feels as though they are part of a bigger world. It is to be noted that the identification could be done with any character regardless of the gender.
Thus I identified with the character of Dwayne Hoover in Little Miss Sunshine (2006). Even though he is a male, his story and characteristics are what I identified within myself. Dwayne Hoover may seem like a complex character, however, he is the most relatable character in film. What Dwayne’s character is implying is that no matter how hard gets and pushes you down you should pull yourself back up and try to do your best. By identifying with this character makes me feel comforted to a certain extent as it seems as though I am being heard and seen by someone, as though I am not alone in what I am feeling.
Identifying with a character is what matters the most as it sort of shapes a person’s lives and makes them feel included which is needed in this time and age of the world as people feel as though they are heard.
Works Cited
Côté, J. E. (2002). Identity formation, agency, and culture: A social psychological synthesis. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.
Götz, M. (2016). How children negotiate their identity development with television. London: Televizion.
Lemish, D. (2016). Boys, girls, and their media experiences THE CONSTRUCTION OF GENDER IDENTITY. Televizion.
Leonard, D. L. (2019, September 23). Finding Purpose Through Nihilism. Retrieved from The Havard Crimson : https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2019/9/23/leonard-finding-purpose-nihilism/
Livingstone, S. (1998). Relationships between media and audiences: Prospects for audience reception studies. London.
Sohn, J.-Y. (n.d.). How Does “Little Miss Sunshine” Reflect The Philosophies Of Proust And Nietzsche? Retrieved from The Take: https://the-take.com/read/how-does-little-miss-sunshine-reflect-the-philosophies-of-proust-and-nietzsche
Tamar Liebes, E. K. (1994). The Export of meaning : cross-cultural readings of Dallas / Tamar Liebes, Elihu Katz. New York : Oxford University Press.
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