The Spell of Inferiority

The movie is about the struggle of Riggan in transforming his identity from the celebrity actor Birdman to a true Broadway artist who sacrifices himself to his role on stage. Riggan believes that his authentic existence lays in being an artist, not the character Birdman worshiped by the society. When he faces obstacles in becoming his true self - funding, willful and uncontrollable fellow actors, public opinions and the contempt of the critic, another part of himself, the Birdman, keeps trying to persuade and intimidate him to go back to Hollywood and be in his comfort zone, where fame is assured. Riggan eventually overcome this inner voice and acts an authentic show on stage, shooting his nose off. However, when he appears on the front page as he wishes and wins the applause of the crowd and silents his former self-the Birdman, he seems to be lost without exhilaration.

Absurd and alienation are themes I see in this movie. It is impossible for the public to know one for one's true self, as selfish opinions and assumption are always imposed on a public figure, whether he is an entertaining celebrity or lofty artist/craftsman. Riggan's effort in breaking his comfort zone is notable, but he fails in the last step in that he seeks proof of his existence from the crowd, from the appraisals and the critic, from being loved, while one's true self can never be fully understood and loved by the mass. He neglects people who truly care for him (his wife and daughter), and is stubbornly self-absorbed in the conviction that his way is the right way. He quits Birdman because it is painful for him to recognize the one who is loved by the crowd is the mask he wears, not the person under the mask; and that is what prompts him to change his character. Sadly, when he's new self is again acknowledged by the crowd, he realizes that this is not what he wants either. And, ironically, he shot his nose off to be authentic to his role, to the audience, but the new nose he has looks very much like that of Birdman's. For the open ending, given Sam's simile, Riggan is definitely free. However, I think he can be free in two senses: either he literally breaks free, or that he is tired of and despair about this world where public opinions always exist, he frees himself from the mortal frame.  It is likely that by offering his bare self to the public, instead of breaking free, the shackle of the public holds even more tightly on Riggan. So he choose to jump off the window and be free of this world.

    

While Riggan is consciously pursuing his true-self, his mistake is that he is looking for the prove of his authenticity from the crowd, from his audience, who ultimately disappoints him. He cannot break the spell of inferiority, the fight to be relevant as it is put by Sam, the spell that is cast on all human beings as a specie of social animal. It is easy to say, as we always do, that we should not care about others' objections and be confident in going our own way. But the truth is that this might be the hardest thing ever.