Alias (Part Two)

Besides the awesome spy action of heroine secret CIA double agent Sydney Bristow, you can't talk about her without talking about her wardrobe changes. It's a huge part of the show - heck, it's why it's called Alias, for goodness sake. Sydney Bristow can assume any identity she needs to accomplish her mission, and she doesn't only pull it off...she pulls it off well. The irony, though, is that even though she can be anyone she wants to get whatever she wants, all she truly wants is to keep the world safe for the people she loves and just be herself.

Now, this may all sound cheesy or cliche or common, but I think it completely resonates with us because we all want we Sydney Bristow wants - to protect the people we love and to just be ourselves. Unfortunately, in this hostile world we feel like we have to assume different aliases to keep the world safe. We automatically put on different acts depending on where we are and who we're with. And we often convince ourselves it's supposed to be for the sake of saving the world, for protecting everyone else. We act the way we feel like we're supposed to act when we're with someone so that the other person doesn't have to be buried in our burdens or stand in the midst of conflict or tension.

But when you think about it - isn't it really to protect ourselves?

When we meet someone new we think we have to put on our chipper, energetic, social identity because we don't want them to to think we're actually bored or tired or depressed. When we meet with our professors we sometimes pretend that we actually care about the work to hide the fact that we don't. When we hang out with some friends we put on our silly, joking, or sometimes really quiet identity because that's the identity we assumed when we first met them, and since we've been like that for so long, to be anything other than that would put us in a vulnerable spot.

The list could go on, and the list could definitely be more specific. But essentially, we do it all to protect ourselves. But from what?

A) Rejection.
B) Change.
C) The difficulty of change.
D) All of the above.

Pretty much one of those choices, right?
And why do we cling to our fear of these things?

A) It gives us a sense of control.
B) It feels easier.
C) A & B

Pretty much one of those choices, right?
But the thing is, it gets tiring putting up act after act. And it gets frustrating, too. Why?

A) You want to put the blame on everyone else but essentially you can't because you're the one who put yourself in that place to begin with.
B) You want everyone else to be vulnerable with you first.
C) You think it'll be a huge burden if you shared who you really were.
D) All of the above & more.

Pretty much one of those choices, right?
You want people to see, hear, and feel your questions, your burdens, your conflicts, your wounds, your pain, your thoughts, your feelings, etc...but you don't at the exact same time.

It's a vicious cycle that you want to break but more often than not convince yourself that you're doing it for the sake of those you love and then end up doing absolutely nothing about it. We wait for our circumstances to change. We hold out for a new environment. We hope that it'll all fix itself on its own. Tomorrow's a new day, you think to yourself. Just hold your breath a little longer and you'll get a chance to start over. And so, you wait.

Maybe that's the core of what makes Alias enthralling to watch, even when the plot gets a little ridiculously implausible and you get tired of the predictable dead people not really being dead (because do they ever in action shows or films? really?). It's entertaining to see what and how things unfold when someone just like you faces and deals with the conflicts you basically fight every single day. And you can't wait to see another episode because you hope that that'll be the day it'll all be over and Sydney Bristow can just be Sydney Bristow and not worry about saving the world or protecting the people she loves. You hope that if Sydney Bristow can do it after all she's gone through - you'll be able to do it too.

Stay tuned. There's a third part to this coming.