Who are you?

Who are you, really?

When you look into the mirror, what do you see?

Perhaps your answers to those questions are simple.

“Who am I?” you muse, “well my name is so-and-so and I work at such-and-such and do x-y-and-z. When I look into a mirror I see myself, of course!”

If you answered those questions that way, or in a similar fashion, I would not say you are completely incorrect. Then again, I wouldn’t say you are completely correct, either.

Who are you?

Yes, you may know your name, but that is only one way to answer that question. In my opinion, I’d say that is an easy answer.

My petition questions your identity. An identity is more than your name.

Your identity (or should I say identities…but wait, I’m getting ahead of myself) answers the question “who are you, really?”

Now, the final question: When you look into the mirror, what do you see?

Your answer, “myself, of course” is not totally correct.

You do not see yourself. In fact, you have never seen yourself, properly.

Instead, when you look into a mirror, “what” you see is your reflection.

Wait for it…

You have never truly seen yourself. All you have ever seen of yourself is a reflection, an inverted mirror image of how you appear.

Who has seen your true form? Perhaps your parents, your best friends, or your spouse. Perhaps your dog, Sandy, has seen you properly. But you have never seen yourself. You don’t really know what you look like.

So, I ask you again, who are you?

Is it possible to ever know yourself?

I believe it is. Well, at least partially.

In my Communication classes, I show my students a short film clip from Disney’s The Lion King (1994). They tend to like this part of the class sessions mainly, I think, because I finally stop talking.  (side note: I will assume you have seen the award-winning film, so I will not provide a backstory. If you haven’t, first of all: shame on you! Second of all, spoilers ahead!)

The scene we watch in class is my favorite part of the story. It occurs right before the climax of the film. Simba is wandering around the savannah alone at night. He is tormented by his past and experiencing dissonance about his future. He is lonely and grief-ridden. He yells at the stars, where he believes his late father, Mufasa, watches down on him.

While he is pacing in anguish, Rafiki, the sagacious baboon, encounters Simba. Initially appearing as a pestering creature, Rafiki then drops a heartfelt truth on him. He tells Simba, “I’m not the one who’s confused. You don’t even know who you are!”

Simba retorts, “And I suppose you do,” before walking away.

Rafiki responds, “Sure do! You’re Mufasa’s boy!”

I love this scene because he asks the titular question of this blog in this scene. It is a moment full of gravitas in an otherwise animated Broadway cartoon.

In class, we dissect this scene by using Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham’s (1955) Johari Window. I draw the four-paneled diagram on the board or we use the image below. We create Simba’s Johari Window by deciding which aspects of his identity or identities goes in which panel. I’m going to assume you are familiar with the Johari Window, but, if not, here is a link to an article which may be helpful.

Open Self/ Arena	Blind Self/Spot
Hidden Self/ Façade	Unknown Self

In the Open self, we place: Male, Lion, Simba (name)

In the Hidden Self, we place: Heir to Pride Rock

In the Blind Self, we place: Scar killed Mufasa (and not Simba)

In the Unknown Self, we place: Simba will reclaim his throne and “live happily ever after”
I find that students enjoy using this text as an example to understand Identity. Not only will they have a memorable movie to digest the Johari Window, they also become more critical consumers of the media they consume.

After we complete this activity, I implore my students to consider which identities they have placed in each of their window panes. Finally, I advise them to go home and demand their parents/roommates/spouses answer the question: “who are you?”