The Rainy Side of Life - Essay Example

He is a man defined by the public. In a world where others assign your identity, the challenge is to define yourself ways that surpasses people's version of you, rise above their expectations. Can an individual discard the identity conferred by the public and replace it with his own, a new identity that reveals the real human being inside It is possible for a person to mark his own identity provided the circumstances and opportunities arise and the manner of reaching his goal is done right. This is the challenge facing Nicholas Cage's character David Spritz in the movie.

Spritz is a weather announcer for a Chicago TV channel. Outwardly successful with a large annual salary, his job requires no real skill other than reading off a teleprompter the information supplied by meteorologists and point at a blue screen. As he himself says, "I receive a large reward for pretty much zero effort and contribution." He acknowledges the fact that his job demands very little of him and is thus unfulfilling, yet he retains the guilt for the handsome salary he earns for doing almost nothing.

He can almost understand why he's attacked with restaurant food. He's quite adept with his job and is on the verge of taking a position on "Hello America" in New York a job that pays five times his present pay. Though he's on the cusp of a life changing event, inwardly however he feels his personal life coming apart at the seams. His father, Robert has a health issue to deal with. Robert is a Pulitzer prize winning writer and the only person Dave relates to but curiously feels intimidated about being the son of a high status celebrity.

Then there are David's own children who are themselves troubled souls. Whereas David doesn't expect them to understand his problems, he is very conscious of theirs and attempts to solve them, often appearing to be conscientious, to show that he cares, but in doing so exaggerates unnecessarily in situations that only require patient understanding. Dave's ex-wife is another family member he tries to reconcile with, but his wall of defensive anxieties is high and hard to break down. In his quest for self identity, David tries to assert himself as more than just an announcer of good or bad weather while trying to live up to expectations - some defined unclearly by himself, others by those around him.

His attempts to find a balance between his responsibilities to his father, children, ex-wife and his career cause him great concern. Other social pressures also exist. He realizes his public image is not the greatest. At one point he says, "Did anyone ever throw a pie at Thomas Jefferson Or Buzz Aldrin I doubt it. But this is like the ninth time I got," he pauses then says "Clowns get hit with pies." This insight about public perception of him weighs heavily on his mind. It's an image he'd rather lose and re-invent himself as someone accepted and adored by all.

This need to meet expectations of those around is part and parcel of everyday life, yet it is a necessary emotional process to assure people that they mean something to us and we to them. To belong to a larger group in society is a trait almost every human possesses in varying degrees and in David Spritz we see ourselves as many share his qualms and insecurities.Spritz feels too trapped with the negatives that his job entails