The Origin of Identity

Written for Project Synergy’s Issue I: Origins. (2021). Revised Edition.

Who are we? Why are we here? These questions have troubled humanity for as long as history can record. As we attempt to answer them through philosophy, biology, psychology, the arts, or religion, we can only agree we don’t have a definite answer. But why is that? Probably since we are all different. We all have a different soul, a different physical appearance, different emotions, and social skills. So, I ask you a far more critical set of questions: Who are you? Why are you here?

As many areas of knowledge have tried to answer these questions in a plural manner, a branch of psychology, Positive Psychology, employs a slightly different approach. This field of study explores what makes life most worth living, and it was created to understand how to improve our quality of life (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000). Within this branch of psychology, an alternate theory to Sigmund Freud’s Personality Theory was born called the Self-Concept Theory, which only aims to explore and answer the question: Who am I? Carl Rogers believed there are three different parts to the Self-Concept: the Self-Image (how you see yourself), the Self-Esteem (how much you value yourself), and the Ideal-Self (how you wish you could be) (Carl Rogers, 1963). So, in this essay, we will explore the origins of identity and try to understand what yours is through the analysis of Disney Pixar’s characters: Anton Ego from Ratatouille, Jessie from Toy Story 2, and Joe Gardner from Soul.

In the movie Ratatouille, Anton Ego rediscovers his identity by transforming his Self-Image. Throughout the film, we perceive Ego as a bitter and arrogant food critic. As his job is to judge other people’s work, the sense of superiority he feels has inebriated him with power. The audience understands this as Ego becomes infuriated when Gusteau’s, a restaurant he negatively reviewed, regains its popularity, leading him to say: “That is where I left it, that was my last word. The last word… Then tell me, how can it be popular?” (Ratatouille, 2007). The way Ego questions Gusteau’s latest review, made by an equally reliable food critic, reflects his god-complex, where his opinion has a higher value in society. Ego’s character development further explores this as he returns to Gusteau’s, challenging the new chef with threats, saying, “Pray you don’t disappoint me.” (Ratatouille, 2007). At this point, the audience has identified Ego as the film’s antagonist, whose only purpose is to destroy what Gusteau has rebuilt. However, as Ego arrives for the final encounter and the audience expects him to be humiliated due to his inability to tolerate defiance, we find ourselves emotionally invested in him. This effect occurs as Ego explains, “They have rocked me to my core” (Ratatouille, 2007), as his eyes light up when he tastes Ratatouille, a dish that reminds him of his mother and childhood. Here, the audience feels sorry for Anton as they ask themselves, why was he like this? Making them understand how being transported to a happy moment in his life and being unleashed from a position of power created a moment of vulnerability. This allowed him to be inspired and embrace reality, as he reflects, “Not anyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere” (Ratatouille, 2007), defying all initial perspectives the character had on talent and life. Hence, as his Self-Image transformed, he became a merrier and more truthful version of himself. He now uses his passion for food to enjoy life and has become an investor in a small restaurant where he can appreciate and relish life. Thus, Anton’s journey demonstrates how returning to your roots and reflecting on how you see yourself can help us answer: Who am I?

Another critical component of identity is Self-Esteem, as it allows the persona to value themselves and what they can accomplish. A Pixar character who explores the importance of this is Jessie in Toy Story 2. When we first meet Jessie, we set eyes upon a character who depends on others to know who she is. The audience realises this as she hyperventilates and screams, “It’s you! It’s really you!” (Toy Story 2, 1999) when Woody enters the room. Her excitement is created because Woody is the missing piece of a toy collection. Now that it’s complete, she has a family and will no longer be stored in the dark. However, Woody tries to escape several times as he wants to return to his owner, Andy, making Jessie constantly anxious, stressed, and angry. At this point, the audience understands why Jessie’s identity suffers and depends on this toy collection, as Randy Newman’s song “When She Loved Me” guides the audience through a story of abandonment, grief, and loneliness. As the lyrics develop, it illustrates how “When somebody loved me, everything was beautiful” (When She Loved Me, 1999), making the audience realise how Jessie’s previous owner, Emily, grew up and donated her, as “The years went by (...) and she began to drift away” (When She Loved Me, 1999).

How Emily abandoned Jessie created a void in her, as she lost her only family, making her Self-Esteem go downhill as she felt abandoned in the dark. But this changes as Woody offers her to return with him to Andy’s home. Jessie hesitates at first, as she wonders, “What if Andy doesn’t like me?” (Toy Story 2, 1999), but as the film unfolds, she accepts the offer. This frees her from the trauma she experienced and allows her to discover she is a brave, friendly, and unique cowgirl. As Jessie arrives at Andy’s room and fills the emptiness she had, she joyfully screams, “Bullseye; we’re part of a family again!” (Toy Story 2, 1999). The journey Jessie embraced made her Self-Esteem fluctuate, but it was only through this journey that she learned who she was. She now understands that her identity isn’t the same as her purpose: to bring happiness to a kid. Understanding this allows her Self-Esteem to rise, making her value herself for what she is, not for what others want or need her to be.

The last component of one’s identity is the Ideal-Self, which creates goals and a vision of who we wish to be. Joe Gardner, from Soul, suffers from his Ideal-Self, making him lost on his journey through life. Joe is a frustrated jazzist, as he finds himself only living to achieve one goal: to perform on a stage as a professional musician. He highlights this by illustrating: “I could die a happy man if I could play with Dorothea Williams” (Soul, 2020). Unexpectedly, Joe gets a gig with Dorothea Williams, one of his idols, but unfortunately, he goes into a coma after a tragic accident. Being in a coma, Joe is transported along with the audience to the Great Before, where a soul is born, and the Great Beyond, where a soul dies. As we navigate through these spiritual scenarios, the audience learns how each one of us is just a soul within a vast world, making us reflect on how our lives are just for ourselves. But a further important concept is explored: the lost souls. These souls are the ones “Obsessed by something that disconnects them from life” (Soul, 2020), like workaholics, overly ambitious people, or getting caught up in “the zone”, a place where you explore pure happiness by being so invested in your passion.

So, as Joe experiences and journeys his way back to his body, the audience understands his obsession with achieving one goal, as he makes comments like, “Once I get on that stage tonight, all my problems will be fixed” (Soul, 2020) or how playing jazz is “My reason for living” (Soul, 2020). Joe is so fixated on who he wants to be that he isn’t enjoying all the little things 22, the soul he is trying to teach why it’s worth living is enjoying. Ultimately, he manages to return to his body and play the gig, allowing him to accomplish this Ideal-Self he’s been pursuing his whole life, but when the gig ends, he describes how “he thought he would feel different” (Soul, 2020). Dorothea Williams proceeds to tell him an anecdote about a fish:

“I heard this story about a fish. He swims up to this older fish and says, “I’m trying to find this thing they call the ocean”. “The ocean?” says the older fish, “that’s what you’re in right now!”. “This?” says the other fish, “this is just water. What I want is the ocean!” (Soul, 2020).

Joe lost himself in his ambition to become his Ideal-Self. He became so invested in a single goal that he forgot to live. So, when he remembered how important it is to appreciate the little things in life, such as savouring a pizza or watching the sky, he realised his Ideal-Self has a new mindset for his life: “I’m just gonna live every minute of it” (Soul, 2020). Thus, the audience learns that it’s fine to be ambitious and have an Ideal-Self; just don’t forget to live as you chase it, so you’ll never forget who you truly are and who you are becoming.

As we conclude the analysis of our Pixar characters, we understand the importance of working and constantly reflecting on our self-image, Self-Esteem, and Ideal-Self. These three components are essential to the origin of our identity. Even though all characters achieve them through entirely different journeys, we can all agree that the only way they experienced those journeys was by living. I came across these questions when I decided to take a gap year and delay my university’s first year from September 2020 to September 2021. In this gap year, I’ve learned that I am a storyteller at the bottom of my soul, and my favourite medium of communication is music, creative writing, and photography. I’ve also learned that I want to dedicate my life to telling stories and helping all the people I can with them. Still, even though I’ve gathered such knowledge about my identity, I have much left to explore about it. These have probably been the most challenging questions I’ve ever faced: Who am I? Why am I here? So this is a cathartic essay, as it’s given me a deeper perspective on who I am, and I hope it’s helped you, too.

A character’s journey is no different from a human’s journey. Each of us is the protagonist of our story, just as the characters analysed become when they understand who they are. Identity chases everyone, no matter where you come from or how old you are. It’s fine to get lost, as we have learned it’s part of the process, and as long as we’re able to get back on track, we’ll always end up knowing who we are. So, I leave you with a final reflection on a famous quote by Oscar Wilde: “Be yourself, everyone else is already taken”, and ask you one more time, Who are you? Why are you here?

From Wix Media (2021)

Rogers, Carl R. “The Concept of the Fully Functioning Person.” Psychotherapy: Theory, Research & Practice 1, no. 1 (1963): 17–26. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0088567.

Sarah McLachlan. When She Loved Me. CD. Toy Story 2. Sarah McLachlan and Randy Newman, 1999.

Seligman, Martin, and Mihaly Csíkszentmihályi. “Positive Psychology: An Introduction.” The American Psychologist 55 (February 1, 2000): 5–14. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.5.

Soul. Film. United States of America: Pixar, 2020.

Ratatouille. Film. United States of America: Pixar, 2007.

Toy Story 2. Film. United States of America: Pixar, 1999.