Whale Rider
Pai was born into a patriarchal society and was a descendent of the first Whale Rider. The first born son in this lineage becomes the leader in her village and becomes the new whale rider. Despite her close relationships with her grandfather, Pai deals with disappointment at being a girl when they needed a male. As her grandfather attempts to find a leader among the boys in her village, she seeks to change her grandfather's views.
Bend It Like Beckham
Jesminder, "Jess", is Indian and the daughter of practicing Sikh's. She loves the sport of soccer (football), but because of her culture and that she is a girl, her parents do not allow it. She befriends Jules who invites her to play for the local team. This movie explores finding your identity apart from the culture in which you grew up in, as well as themes of sexual orientation and ethnic identity.
Finding Forrester
Jamal first meets William Forrester, a reclusive writer, when he attempted to sneak into his apartment. They eventually form a friendship and Forrester helps Jamal with his writing. Forrester helps Jamal realize what his aspirations are when he enters a essay contest, and Jamal forms a solid moral identity after building a relationship with Forrester
Quinceañera
Quinceañera features Magdalena and Carlos, both estranged from their families because of different reasons. Magdalena is an unwed, pregnant teenager while Carlos is estranged because he is gay. A Quinceañera is an ethnic celebration and many aspects of this movie deal with ethnic and cultural identity. Carlos also struggles with his sexual identity and Magdalena will soon discover a new form of identity-that of being a parent.
Mean Girls
Cady has never lived in the United States, growing up in Africa her entire life. She stays by herself, at first in the new school, but is quickly adopted into the clique known as the Plastics. She tries to conform to the cliques rules, including wearing certain clothes on a particular day of the week or faking that she is not good at math. Will she ever learn to just be herself? Who is, really?
Shrek
Shrek is an ogre living comfortably by himself in a swamp until, one day, all of the other fairytale creatures have been imposed on his swamp, exiled from the kingdom. He goes on a quest for the king to save a princess in order for the exiled fairytale creatures to be removed from his home. Shrek is a great example of narrative identity. He explains that he is "like an onion" to Donkey, and that he is happy who he is. Princess Fiona learns, through Shrek, to love herself for who she is and she decides who she wants to be by the end of the movie.
movies
Choosing. Experimenting. Playing. Making. Being different. Thinking differently. Growing. Changing.
Movies about making decisions and how hard it can be.
Selena
Based on the life of Selena Quintanilla-Perez, Selena chronicles the tejano singer's life from her childhood in Texas to her rise to stardom. Selena struggles to fit into her father's mold of who she should be as a young woman and a singer, dealing both with being a female in a male-dominated genre and attempting to appease both Mexican and American music with her songs and personality. She is someone who can sing in Spanish but can't speak it, who wants to be an American pop star but isn't blonde, or skinny, or American enough. With the the love and support from friends and family, however, Selena finds a way to come into her own.
Saving Face
Wilhelmina Pang knows about having different identities – in her Chinese-American community, her success as a doctor makes her a source of pride for her family, but they have no idea that she is also a lesbian. Wil is content to stay in the closet, but when her widowed mother Gao becomes pregnant and moves in with Wil after being kicked out of her parents’ home, the closet may no longer be an option. This film follows both women as they struggle with their secrets – Wil’s new romance with a dancer, Gao’s own affair with an inappropriate lover – and the realization that, in order to make everything right, they may have to reveal everything.
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
This rock musical explores gender, sexuality, and love in all its complicated, messy forms through the story of transgender punk musician Hedwig Schmidt. As she tours with her band, she reflects on past relationships and choices, wondering how exactly she came to be the woman she is now – and if her identity is as firm as it seems to be.
putting
it
together