--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When it comes to identity, that was an…" description: "\"When it comes to identity, that was an issue that plagued me for a lot of my life. It's something that I wanted to tap into. Film can really take you t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88c/cherien-dabis-28887_cinema_when-it-comes-to-identity-that-was-an-is_442885.jpg" --- # When it comes to identity, that was an issue that plagued… ![“When it comes to identity, that was an issue that plagued me for a lot of my life. It's something that I wanted to tap into. Film can really take you to other places, and sometimes that's necessary to understand your own identity or someone else's identity or just the issue of identity, in…” quote by Cherien Dabis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88c/cherien-dabis-28887_cinema_when-it-comes-to-identity-that-was-an-is_442885.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88c/cherien-dabis-28887_cinema_when-it-comes-to-identity-that-was-an-is_442885.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88c/cherien-dabis-28887_cinema_when-it-comes-to-identity-that-was-an-is_442885.jpg) > “When it comes to identity, that was an issue that plagued me for a lot of my life. It's something that I wanted to tap into. Film can really take you to other places, and sometimes that's necessary to understand your own identity or someone else's identity or just the issue of identity, in general. It takes you. It's borderless. It's boundless. It's universal.” [Cherien Dabis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherien-dabis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker explains that film offers a boundless, universal medium for exploring and understanding personal and others' identities. **In simple terms:** Film helps explore identity. Key Takeaway Use storytelling to examine who you are. Themes identity art self‑discovery Mood introspective inspired Type reflective motivational When to use this quote - personal reflection - creative projects - education - therapy Key Concepts narrative empathy cultural expression Questions to Reflect On - What aspects of your identity could be explored through film? - How does storytelling change perception of self? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cinema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cinema/) [Comes Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comes-identity-2104551/) [Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Identity Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity-identity-467933/) [Identity Just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity-just-1001326/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Sometimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sometimes/) [Understand Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understand-identity-782694/) ## Related quotes > [The fullness of life comes from an identity built on giving and on joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-fullness-of-life-comes-from-an-identity-built-on-giving-and-on-joy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“When it comes to identity we are all constructs. Who we think we are is the result of our upbringing, memories, skill set, knowledge,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-amerland/when-it-comes-to-identity-we-are-all-constructs-who-we-think-we-are/) [David Amerland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-amerland/) > [You can be debased without relinquishing your identity, just as you can relinquish your identity without being debased.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-fisher/you-can-be-debased-without-relinquishing-your-identity-just-as-you/) [Mark Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-fisher/) > [“You will not find your identity in what you have, but in who has you. You will not find your identity in what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lomas/you-will-not-find-your-identity-in-what-you-have-but-in-who-has-you/) [David Lomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lomas/) > [“Progressive identity politics ignores basic human realities. If you live authentically as yourself there will be repercussions. Not everyone will like you. Some people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milo-yiannopoulos/progressive-identity-politics-ignores-basic-human-realities-if-you/) [Milo Yiannopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milo-yiannopoulos/) > [I definitely, when I was younger, struggled a little to understand my identity and who I wanted to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chloe-kim/i-definitely-when-i-was-younger-struggled-a-little-to-understand-my/) [Chloe Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chloe-kim/) > [One of the central motivations for holiness in the New Testament is to be who you are, to understand your identity and your union…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-deyoung/one-of-the-central-motivations-for-holiness-in-the-new-testament-is/) [Kevin DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-deyoung/) > [LIFE is like an Exam that we have to Pass... It's a Multiple Choice to realize that we always have Options. A True or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pacifiersucker/life-is-like-an-exam-that-we-have-to-pass-it-s-a-multiple-choice-to/) [Pacifiersucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pacifiersucker/) > [It took me many years to understand that my identity is more Israeli than Jewish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mili-avital/it-took-me-many-years-to-understand-that-my-identity-is-more-israeli/) [Mili Avital](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mili-avital/) > [I figured out that it was important for me to have my identity, just live independently and like being myself, musically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rostam-batmanglij/i-figured-out-that-it-was-important-for-me-to-have-my-identity-just/) [Rostam Batmanglij](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rostam-batmanglij/) > [I feel like there are a lot of people who don't have their own identity. They just want to go with what they think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/snow-tha-product/i-feel-like-there-are-a-lot-of-people-who-don-t-have-their-own/) [Snow Tha Product](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/snow-tha-product/) > [“Identity was just a box people liked to put themselves in, a mast to tether to in a storm, a security blanket.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-donofrio/identity-was-just-a-box-people-liked-to-put-themselves-in-a-mast-to/) [Leonardo Donofrio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-donofrio/) > [Without work, so much of one's identity just evaporates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-ferris/without-work-so-much-of-one-s-identity-just-evaporates/) [Joshua Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-ferris/) > [“When people have awful ideas about your identity, that's just the way it will stay no matter what you do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/when-people-have-awful-ideas-about-your-identity-that-s-just-the-way/) [Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) > [Mother' is not an identity one can just try on for size.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/mother-is-not-an-identity-one-can-just-try-on-for-size/) [Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/) ## More by Cherien Dabis > [Some of my favorite all-time movies - Wong Kar-wai is just amazing. In the Mood for Love is probably my favorite film ever. Those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherien-dabis/some-of-my-favorite-all-time-movies-wong-kar-wai-is-just-amazing-in/) [Cherien Dabis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherien-dabis/) > [I think that you have to have a really specific type of personality to be able to both direct and act, because it requires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherien-dabis/i-think-that-you-have-to-have-a-really-specific-type-of-personality/) [Cherien Dabis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherien-dabis/) > [I definitely did not play myself. As the writer of the script, I have traits of all the characters. I can relate to all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherien-dabis/i-definitely-did-not-play-myself-as-the-writer-of-the-script-i-have/) [Cherien Dabis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherien-dabis/) > [I knew that I wanted to live in a city, but had never really been to New York. But I was begging my parents…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherien-dabis/i-knew-that-i-wanted-to-live-in-a-city-but-had-never-really-been-to/) [Cherien Dabis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherien-dabis/) > [From as early as I can remember, I wanted to have something to do with the acting business. I was a TV junkie as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherien-dabis/from-as-early-as-i-can-remember-i-wanted-to-have-something-to-do-with/) [Cherien Dabis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherien-dabis/) > [It's why I fell in love with movies. You can sit in a movie theater and be transported to a place that you never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherien-dabis/it-s-why-i-fell-in-love-with-movies-you-can-sit-in-a-movie-theater/) [Cherien Dabis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherien-dabis/) > [When you step in to act, you just zoom way in on the longest possible lens and you're just totally in the point of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherien-dabis/when-you-step-in-to-act-you-just-zoom-way-in-on-the-longest-possible/) [Cherien Dabis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherien-dabis/) > [I watch everything from independent art-house cinema to foreign film. I don't watch as many Hollywood blockbusters but once in a while, I'm curious.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherien-dabis/i-watch-everything-from-independent-art-house-cinema-to-foreign-film/) [Cherien Dabis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherien-dabis/) > [I discovered myself in the back-and-forth and in the hyphenated Arab-American way, and one of the things that I discovered was that I really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherien-dabis/i-discovered-myself-in-the-back-and-forth-and-in-the-hyphenated-arab/) [Cherien Dabis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherien-dabis/) > [When there's an actor involved, the actor's talking to the director or the director's talking to the actor. But when there are not those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherien-dabis/when-there-s-an-actor-involved-the-actor-s-talking-to-the-director-or/) [Cherien Dabis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherien-dabis/) > [Jordan is many different things and there's many different parts of it. We don't ever really get to see a modern Arab city, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherien-dabis/jordan-is-many-different-things-and-there-s-many-different-parts-of/) [Cherien Dabis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherien-dabis/) > [Keep doing what you're doing no matter what anyone says. Defy your own doubt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherien-dabis/keep-doing-what-you-re-doing-no-matter-what-anyone-says-defy-your-own/) [Cherien Dabis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherien-dabis/) > [I was really inspired by my own experience, and specifically my own identity crisis but larger than that, I also wanted to explore the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherien-dabis/i-was-really-inspired-by-my-own-experience-and-specifically-my-own/) [Cherien Dabis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherien-dabis/) > [On the American side, some of the movies that I watched when I was a kid, like E.T. or The Wizard of Oz, those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherien-dabis/on-the-american-side-some-of-the-movies-that-i-watched-when-i-was-a/) [Cherien Dabis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherien-dabis/) > [I grew up watching a lot of Egyptian movies. My parents had this huge VHS collection of every Egyptian movie you can possibly imagine,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherien-dabis/i-grew-up-watching-a-lot-of-egyptian-movies-my-parents-had-this-huge/) [Cherien Dabis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherien-dabis/) [Explore all 19 Cherien Dabis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherien-dabis/) ## More Cinema quotes > [I made, like, five movies while I was in college. I think they just weren't memorable movies. I've taken breaks as the years have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodie-foster/i-made-like-five-movies-while-i-was-in-college-i-think-they-just/) [Jodie Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodie-foster/) > [You have to have a great director to make a great movie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thelma-schoonmaker/you-have-to-have-a-great-director-to-make-a-great-movie/) [Thelma Schoonmaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thelma-schoonmaker/) > [I'm trying to write a film with my friend. I'd love to get the thrill of speaking actors making my work even funnier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-howard/i-m-trying-to-write-a-film-with-my-friend-i-d-love-to-get-the-thrill/) [Russell Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-howard/) > [I wasn't attracted to American cinema, but I fell in love with Los Angeles the minute I arrived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-varda/i-wasn-t-attracted-to-american-cinema-but-i-fell-in-love-with-los/) [Agnes Varda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-varda/) > [There was a time in the 1980s when I worked in 22 films a year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radha-ravi/there-was-a-time-in-the-1980s-when-i-worked-in-22-films-a-year/) [Radha Ravi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/radha-ravi/) > [To an ever greater extent out experience is governed by pictures, pictures in newspapers and magazines, on television and in the cinema. Next to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-crimp/to-an-ever-greater-extent-out-experience-is-governed-by-pictures/) [Douglas Crimp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-crimp/) > [In the future, I would like to do more films with contemporary themes. Perhaps comedy, which is something I have done in theater but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-evans/in-the-future-i-would-like-to-do-more-films-with-contemporary-themes/) [Luke Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-evans/) > [I am tired of our characters being so incomplete. When do we ever save the day in a film? When does a Latino actor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esai-morales/i-am-tired-of-our-characters-being-so-incomplete-when-do-we-ever-save/) [Esai Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esai-morales/) > [I love film people and actors and I am in the right world because I am one of those people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ewan-mcgregor/i-love-film-people-and-actors-and-i-am-in-the-right-world-because-i/) [Ewan McGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ewan-mcgregor/) > [Personally, I prefer contemporary films, but the market calls for more period choices, especially since China opened up a cinema market in Hong Kong.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donnie-yen/personally-i-prefer-contemporary-films-but-the-market-calls-for-more/) [Donnie Yen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donnie-yen/) > [I'd love to work in the States; I'd love to work anywhere where you get a good script and a good part to play.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-carmichael/i-d-love-to-work-in-the-states-i-d-love-to-work-anywhere-where-you/) [Laura Carmichael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-carmichael/) > [I even see the cinema itself as a woman, with its alternation of light and darkness, of appearing and disappearing images](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/i-even-see-the-cinema-itself-as-a-woman-with-its-alternation-of-light/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > ['Rear Window' isn't really a horror film, but it is a psychological drama, which I love. It is very tense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-silvers/rear-window-isn-t-really-a-horror-film-but-it-is-a-psychological/) [Diana Silvers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-silvers/) > [What a thrill. You know you've entered new territory when you realise that your outfit cost more than your film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-yu/what-a-thrill-you-know-you-ve-entered-new-territory-when-you-realise/) [Jessica Yu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-yu/) > [I am not interested in churning out a certain number of films every year. For me, it's about the quality of work. I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepika-padukone/i-am-not-interested-in-churning-out-a-certain-number-of-films-every/) [Deepika Padukone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepika-padukone/) [Browse all 23,940 Cinema quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cinema/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When it comes to identity, that was an issue that plagued me for a lot of my life. It's something that I wanted to tap into. Film can really take you to other places, and sometimes that's necessary to understand your own identity or someone else's identity or just the issue of identity, in general. It takes you. It's borderless. It's boundless. 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