Who Am I This Time?

with Susan Sarandon

Viewed May 29, 2008

Tonight's video, featuring a VERY YOUNG Susan Sarandon and Christopher Walken, triggered a lot of discussion about shyness and masks (Questions 1 through 3). We discussed how we sometimes need masks, in that they allow us to try on new ways of being, to "fake it until we make it." But we also noted that sometimes our old ways of being can stifle and "mummify" us, and that we often need to remove those old masks in order to discover who we truly are. And several of us were at points of transition in our lives, such as retirement or other life changes, and those points of transition challenge us to look beyond our previous roles and responsibilities and start looking within ourselves more.

In fact, the very title of the movie triggered some discussion, because we realized that we not only need to know what role we're assuming at any particular moment ("Who am I this time?"), but also what we are like at the actual core of our being ("Who am I really???"). And that's true even though we all do keep growing and changing, and so our "true self" can sometimes be a bit of a moving target.
(This video was reviewed by Bob McGarey)

Feel free to come and share your own personal insights sometime; the Saturday Night Video and Discussions here in Austin, Texas are a lot of fun and fascinating. (They're free, too.) Here are the questions the group came up with, based on the personal growth themes in the movie:

WHO AM I THIS TIME?

  1. How do I overcome shyness?
  2. How have I approached others who have been shy?
  3. How many masks do I have?
  4. How have I handled it when I've tried to share happiness with somebody and they didn't "get it"?