Being John Malkovich

For this weeks theme of focus—Mythic Fiction and Contemporary Urban Fantasy—I watched Being John Malkovich directed by Spike Jonz. What ultimately struck me the most was the strangeness of the plot and they ways in which it is “resolved.” The man and two women that become most involved in John Malkovich’s life in relation to the mysterious portal that allowed characters to “be” him and witness his life in real time as if they were in his body fluctuate dramatically throughout the plot.

The idea of a portal into someone else’s life seems to be a solution to the desire that most people have at some point in their life to switch with another person and become someone else completely. It is interesting that the situation in Being John Malkovich is temporary, and provides an alternative experience while retaining the individuals true body and identity. However, this distinction becomes muddled as we witness the plot of lesbian lovers to live vicariously through Malkovich in order to satisfy their attraction, as well as the wife’s transgender feelings, simultaneously.  The husband of one of the women complicates thigns further in his rash actions of jealousy that his wife is the one who “caught” the woman that he was initially attracted to.

The complications of this plot and the overarching themes of the movie reflect a critical aspect of what fuels scifi, fantasy, and horror: each genre displays different approaches to empathetically experiencing a different life (even if it is momentary). This difference can derive from varying emotional states (getting some kind of rush/satisfaction/engagement from being frightened), or heightened imagination (placing yourself in the lives of wizards, fantasy worlds, an environment with completely different rules. I suspect that this quality of scifi, fantasy, and horror serves as an escape from real life for some, and a pleasant break for others. Regardless of motivation, Being John Malkovich  is a suitable demonstration of these genre’s ability to transcend our personal lives.