Who Am I?: Meditation on the Self (In the Context of International Cinema . . . and Beyond)

Abstract

As an organizing principle, I will frame this discussion of myself in relationship to particular European and Asian films that I felt breathed substance into my life perspective. Some of the greatest discoveries of my college years were these films. I discovered Fellini, Truffaut, Ozu, Antonioni, Fassbinder, Tati, Bergman, Renoir, Ophuls, Bresson, and Dreyer while studying in Kalamazoo. The films I discuss in this work are, not representative of a definitive list of my favorite films, a list that would include many American films as well. If this were the case, I would include such masterworks as Persona, Ali: Fear Eats the Soul, The 400 Blows, The Earrings of Madame de ... , Decalogue, The Rules of the Game, and I could add many other films to such a list. The films I chose simply worked well structurally and contextually. They reflected what I wanted to say.