Identity

The last couple weeks have been filled with themes of identity. I stopped into a bookstore to kill some time before a dinnner with family and ended up reading a philosophy book that had to do with identity theory. The chapter I was into was kicking around a few different theories of identity, one is that when we loose memories of something we have become a different person, another was that the brain completely regenerates every seven years so we are a new person every seven years or so.

I rented some movies to enjoy while house sitting and ended up once again reflecting on ideas of Identity. The JCVD movie & Chrysalis both dealt with identity in different ways. JCVD was about VD being misunderstood and seeking to set himself apart and in some ways find himself. Chrysalis is a crime-thriller with the story of a couple European police intertwined with a mother & daughter who have both experienced loss & tragedy. Both are involved with an ex secret agent who has a memory modification machine which creates plenty of drama as the detective (David) losses his memories and the mother is trying to save her daughter’s memories. After losing his memories David begins to make discovery's to figure out what he can do or who he is. My favorite line in the movie is when the detective admits to being afraid of the person he use to be and in a symbolic act turns down access to stolen memories that hold the key to his past and his identity. He walks away making the statement we can always change or recreate who we want to be.

One theory of identity is based of memories we retain and another I encountered is based off biology & our brain's ability to regenerate. I like what David in Chrysalis was doing to find or create his identity, making discoveries about himself. It sounds odd and maybe it isn't as natural as going by memory or biology but when it comes down to it...you definately remember and are shaped by the things you discover. As I continue to grow and change I may lose some memories and my body will slow down and fail but I hope to never stop making discoveries!! That is key to who I am...or who I want to be.