One's Identity In The Movie 'The Sapphires'

'Our identities are not fixed – they are ever changing.'

Our identities are constantly evolving throughout our lives to adapt to certain people and environments. Lars Fr. H. Svendsen states “Self-identity is inextricably bound up with the identity of the surroundings” One’s morals and characteristics are forever changing and these self resolutions are influenced by the encompassing aspects of life such as significant events, environmental revolutions and one’s relationship with another. Due to factors sometimes beyond our control, one’s self prowess is merely an expression of their own prior experiences which conclusively preserve and maintain a state of fluctuation for one’s character. A similar concept is evident in the film ‘The Sapphires’

In the text ‘Desiree’s baby’, Desiree’s identity is impacted after she gets abandoned by her husband Armand. Before the abandonment, Desiree was loved by Armand which can be discovered in the quote ‘When he saw her at the gate, swept along like an avalanche, or like a prairie fire, or like anything that drives headlong over all obstacles’. The use of simile communicates that when Armand saw Desiree, he fell in love with her at first sight. At that moment, he loved Desiree and nothing would stop his way. Soon after Armand found out that the baby is mixed race, he abandons Desiree and the baby. In the quote, ‘Do you want me to go?’ ‘Yes, I want you to go’. The dialogue communicates that Armand wants Desiree to go away or leave him which reveals that he does not love Desiree anymore. In the text, Desiree’s identity has positive to negatively changed from different events or experiences she goes through in her

In the film, ‘The Sapphires’, Gail identity changes after he develops a relationship with Dave. At the start, Gail is very hostile towards Dave and this can be seen in the scene where Gail is unwilling to give up her dominance over the group. The use of mid shot and camera flicking between the Dave and Gail allows the audience to recognise that they are in a conversation and to see their facial expressions and emotions the characters are conveying. Throughout the war, their relationship positively develops as he exposes that he has another side, where he is caring and trustworthy. This can be exhibited in the scene where he tells Gail that she is the mumma bear and the others girls are the baby cubs. The close up shot of Dave focuses on him and his facial expressions which exposes that he is being serious about he is saying, also revealing that he is able to show empathy in the right situation. When they return home from Vietnam, Gail’s evolve in identity can be portrayed and her relationship with Dave have further developed. This is evident in the scene where they are seen to be joined by the hip and kiss each other. The use of mid shot allows the audience to see their body language which displays and juxtaposes Gail’s actions and feeling towards Dave from the start. Overall, Gail’s identity has evolved from the influence of her development in her