The Intricacies of Being John Malkovich

If you haven't watched Being John Malkovich yet, don't read this post. I don't want to ruin the movie for you!!!

Where do I even begin to examine this movie. Well first, wow. That film was exciting, interesting, completely insane and yet perfectly made sense all at the same time. I thought that it was absolutely wonderful. There are so many things that I could talk about but I suppose I will connect it to class.

Obviously, the big connection is performing as something that you're not. For Craig Schwartz, the portal to John Malkovich's mind/being was his way to escape the reality of his sad and unfulfilling life. This portal was his connection to something better than himself. It brought him joy, excitement, adventure and along with that, it brought sexual feelings as well. For Lottie, this brought about an entirely different social aspect to her life. Not only was she able to be someone else but it also brought about gender performance concerns for her.

This is extremely similar to M. Butterfly and the ideal of Song. With Song putting on his act a woman for twenty years, you can't help but think whether or not he wanted to be a woman deep down. That becomes a part of your body and along with that, it is extreme dedication. I cannot even fathom such an ideal. But in the end, I suppose that it brings a person closer to who they believe that they are. Ultimately, by being John Malkovich, Lottie Schwartz found that she was a lesbian. Yes, she went to multiple extremes in order to discover this but it was true. This compares to Song because as a reader, you can't help but wonder if deep down, he did have feelings for Gallimard. It's a never ending struggle to meet social norms (in Song's case) and maintain the life that has been established (in Lottie's case) with the comparison of what is truly desired deep down.

Ultimately desire is what drives the human mind. This is clearly shown through both M. Butterfly and Being John Malkovich.