Dollhouse and the Construction of Identity
The moral case for making sure you know what your identity actually is and how it came about.
Who are you exactly?
When you look in the mirror, what is it that you see? Is it you? What part of the thing you see is you? Is it the entire body reflected back? Just the head? The face? The eyes? Or is it what's behind the eyes? The brain? Or the neurons firing which allow you to see in the first place? Maybe it's something else entirely. Despite the claims of many, it's not really possible to know exactly which part is you and what part isn't. People can't really be sure though they have a lot of theories. Very few people would dispute the idea that you actually have one though. At the very least they know they have their own and by extension, most people assume others do as well.
But the existence of this identity is a deep mystery to even people who are aware of theirs. People are often surprised when they act in a way they didn't expect, or they find that someone they love does a strange thing. It becomes almost impossible to know if anything you did know about your own identity was actually real. You might even come to believe that someone else has entered into your body and taken control. Made you do things you had no control over. Almost like you're an entirely new identity every time something like this happens.
This is even more confusing when you're meeting someone else. Not just for a more intimate relationship but generally making friends and even relating to your immediate family. They can create a whole identity for someone they care about to try and make themselves into the kind of person you think will make them want to stick around. Which is part of what makes getting to know people so difficult. You can never be sure if the identity they're showing you is real or just an elaborate construction they want you to see.
Dollhouse is very much about the idea of a constructed identity. Echo, as played brilliantly by Eliza Dushku, is a complete blank when it comes to her own identity. She has none of her own identity in part so that other people can give her whatever identity they want her to have. They want her to be completely without any mystery, at least not one that they didn't create themselves. It takes the mystery and uncertainty out of the relationship they create in her, even if it's all built on a lie. They can at least pretend that it's not. For them, it's the truth in the moments they have with her. Because of that, it feels a lot more real to them.
Yet even as a vessel for whatever other people want, Echo can't help but try and create her own identity. Some small part of these constructions never completely leave her. She can use these little pieces as part of an incomplete puzzle of some kind. No matter how much those in charge of implanting these identities might want to keep it from her, they just can't.
It's a fascinating process, so do yourself a favour and explore the construction of identity by checking out Dollhouse as soon as you can.
You can watch Dollhouse on Hulu as well as Amazon.