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Six Degrees Of Separation

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Six Degrees Of Separation
Identification of One’s Self

In the opening lines of Fred Schepisi’s 1993 film, “Six Degrees of Separation”, Ouisa Kittredge states, “I read somewhere that everybody on this planet is separated by only six other people. Six degrees of separation.” This refers to the theory that each person is separated from another person by no more than six people. This theory will turn out to play a major role in the plot of the film. The entertaining and flashy movie was filled with “chaos and control”, which is respectively referred to Wassily Kandinsky’s paintings, “Black Lines” and “Several Circles”. The chaos begins with Ouisa and Flan Kittredge, two New York City socialites, who live in a lavish Fifth Avenue apartment, welcome a young African American man named Paul, who claims to be Sidney Poitier’s son, into their apartment. Little do the Kittredges know, Paul will eventually contribute to the theory that everyone is separated by only six other people. New, unusual experiences can instantly change one’s self and in return, prompt the person of re-evaluating their life and their identity that separated them from all other’s. When the ambiance-filled movie begins, the audience instantly sees the production design that gave the film a sophisticated look. The Kittredges are soaked up in their social life and do not realize that their life that many dream of could change in an instant. The couple is getting ready to have a business dinner with Geoffrey Miller, a South African client. Their life begins to change when an injured, desperate visitor shows up at their door. The uninvited guest is Paul, who claims he is friends with the Kittredges’ children, who attend Ivy League schools. The Kittredges are unaware of the material that Paul has studied in the past months, for instance: how to pronounce “a bottle of beer”, as well as an in depth summary of “The Catcher in the Rye”. The potential he has to make them question their identities, as well as his, comes as

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