Identity In A Sorrowed Identity

Kristine Yabumoto
Professor Henry Sivak
POS 160
2 December 2016
A Borrowed Identity’s Connection to IR The movie A Borrowed Identity by Eran Riklis shows a Palestinian young boy named Eyad from a small town. Eyad later moves to college in a different city-Jerusalem. This is a new experience for Eyad, as he has never been out of his city and on his own. This is a difficult situation for any high school bound student, however, even more so for Eyad. The circumstances Eyad is placed in by moving to a high school in Jerusalem makes it difficult for him to make friends, be trusted, and get a job. His experience away from home was far from what he was used to and this made it difficult for him, but because of poststructuralism, he was able to adapt

Eyad, realizing the unfortunate truth that no one will hire him if he’s Palestinian, decides to use Yonatan’s identification card as his own. He gets a job as a waiter and uses all of Yonatan’s info. The check ends up coming in the mail at Yonatan’s house and his mom, instead of getting upset, tells Eyad that it’s okay as long as no one finds out. This was risky of Eyad, but he knew that he had to find a way around his circumstances so that he could take care of himself. Eyad’s family wants him to have a wonderful life, and Eyad feels the same way. Being that his family couldn’t afford college or couldn’t continue on, their idea of a prosperous and successful life is to go to school and study to become a well-known doctor. However, Eyad’s idea of a good life isn’t the same. Some aspects of his idea of a good life are parallel to those of his parents, however, outside factors such as a new location, new people, and maturing effect his idea of what course his life takes. Eyad is okay with dropping out of high school and his parents are not. This is because of their different upbringings and outside social factors. Harcourt continues that one “...Gives meaning at every moment. He defines himself at every moment-by his acts and by his signification” (10). First one works with the set knowledge that they have. After this, one can create structure and sculpt their ideas and knowledge. Eyad

Following this big move, he faced being made fun of by others and also was exposed to history he hadn’t entirely known about. There were a lot of changes he had to adjust to. This is the theory of poststructuralism; having our own knowledge but absorbing what comes to us. Not saying we accept this new knowledge or that we don’t but simply acknowledging that it is now a part of us. Eyad continues to evolve his norm by meeting new people and adapting and learning about their norms. The movie successfully explicates how being on one’s own can take affect. Prior to moving to the high school, Eyad most likely wouldn’t drop out or steal his friend’s identity. Moving to another place and changing routines can cause outcomes such as these. Watching this movie exemplified this theory and also broadened my view of the ideology of poststructuralism. It was somewhat unclear what poststructuralism was, but now I feel as though I have a better understanding of it. Poststructuralism is truly all around us, in everyday situations. It is quite interesting to spot where this theory takes effect in life, and Eyad’s experience has definitely defined this for