So, in class today I started going on about Cast Away. Probably because I'd seen it really recently and it's still fresh in my mind. What concerned me was the problem of recognition.

This is different from the problem of NOT recognizing. Entirely different. That's something we encounter when looking for familiarity, for guidance, for help or light. What I'm talking about is the impossibility of verisimilitude in the realm of recognition.

For instance: no matter what role the actor who played Napolean Dynamite steps into next he will still be Napolean Dynamite. I don't have the mental capacity to re-ambiguate that guy, not after that summer where everyone talked about tater tots incessantly. Myself included.

The problem that this poses is certainly burdensome for the actor. Unless, of course, you're Harrison Ford. In which case this is no burden at all but rather informs your decision as an actor. There's no need to develop the Character Indiana Jones, because we're already familiar with Han Solo. Wipe your hands of it. You're done.

The more serious problem relates to the viewer, the human. If you're alive and and attempting to experience things natively, this recognition is truly problematic. It means for us that we must renaturalize ourselves before we can truly experience something.