Adele's Postmodern Self-Identification In Spatial Contexts In Blue Is The Warmest Color

The question of who we are has always been a trouble for human beings since the renewed recognition of humanity in Renaissance period.Nonetheless,with the predominance of globalization and the sweeping effects of consumerism,The fixed concept of identity is challenged by deconstructionism that calls for fluidity and changeability.Therefore,identifications of human beings undergo tremendous changes from rationalism of modernity to chaos and fluidity of postmodernity.Hence,the postmodern era marked by these uncertainties trigger issues of identity crisis that bothers people from acknowledging their true selves.Postmodern society witnesses not only this disorder but also recognizes the significance of space.The promotion of ‘Spatial Turn' in 1960 s justifies the position of space as an important agency of human life,thus,placing strong links between aspects of social life and spatiality,such as sexuality,gender,race,etc.Based on the theories of space,this thesis intends to delve into the issue of postmodern self-identification in spatial contexts,using the Palme d'Or winner Blue is the Warmest Color as an example.Textual analyses are included in the thesis,together with applications of cultural theories and some film languages.Five sections are included,with the first and the last being introductory and concluding parts.The remaining three sections are devoted respectively to the discussions of the protagonist Adele's self-identification in different spatial contexts.Chapter Two makes detailed analysis on Adele's living and working experience in educational spaces in her adolescence and her early adulthood.Structured within patriarchal system,Adele's lesbian desire is forced to be closeted in the darkness.Thefact that her being a sexual minority makes her marginalized in the group,always remaining alone in the crowd.Chapter Three continues the research on one of the spaces that is colored with heterosexual patriarchy.Home spaces of Adele's parent home and Emma's lesbian home influence Adele in different ways.Experiencing between heterosexuality and homosexuality in these spaces renders Adele a confused lonely heart.Nonetheless,the more she suffers,the stronger she becomes.Chapter Four gives a fine-grained analysis on Adele's strategic self-identification in spatial contexts of streets,the sea,and the art gallery.Falling to gain certain self-identity in the end,she manages to negotiate and finds herself peace and strength in the Thirdspaces she creates for herself.Fluid and changeable though,the inherent stability of Thirdspace itself does help retain and promise more reasonable choices for Adele,prohibiting herself from falling into traps of void.She manages to put herself together during the years of their separation and builds her own lifestyle.On illustrating Adele's self-identification process in fluid and negotiable ways,the thesis attempts to deconstruct essentialism that advocates the authority of center and speaks for the power of the marginalized.Those who live on margins are able to articulate their voices through negotiation in the fluid and changeable Thirdspaces with comparatively stabilities in postmodern society.