“Catch Me If You Can” A story about pseudonyms and movement

A story of pseudonyms and migration

The motif of ``pseudonyms and migration'' continues in J.D. Salinger's novel ``The Catcher in the Rye, '' which has been called a 20th century version of ``The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn .'' The main character, Holden Caulfield, is expelled from the prep school he attends at the beginning of the story. With nowhere to go, 17-year-old Holden has no choice but to wander the streets of New York. He gets beaten up while trying to buy a prostitute at a hotel, orders alcohol at a bar, and visits his former English teacher. Just keep moving without stopping. The essence of Holden is its fast-paced movement and unstoppable movement.

Holden also calls himself Rudolf Schmidt. The person he uses a fake name for is his classmate's mother, and in the story there is no particular reason to hide his real name. Still, when Holden is asked his name, he comes up with a fake name. This is because if he tells his real name, society and himself will be immediately connected, and he must use every means possible to avoid contact with society.

"Catch Me If You Can" TM & (C) 2002 DREAMWORKS LLC ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.(C) 2012 DW Studios LLC All Rights Reserved.

In addition, the author, Salinger himself, seems to have been a man who loved using pseudonyms, and his biography states, ``According to Time magazine, a woman he wanted to be his girlfriend told him that he was a member of the Montreal Canadiens.'' "He is said to have said that he was the goalie for a professional ice hockey team" (Kenneth Slawenski, ``The Truth About Salinger's 91 Years of Life'', published by Shobunsha). It's a rather childish move to deceive a woman, and I also like the fact that it doesn't seem to be very effective. This childish lie is also very similar to Abagnale.

In this way, ``Catch Me If You Can'' is based on the format of ``stories of pseudonyms and displacement'' that have long been depicted in American literature, and brilliantly depicts the fluctuations in the ego of a boy who is not yet connected to society. did. I don't know to what extent Spielberg was aware of this tradition of American literature, but the reason that the loneliness felt by the protagonist Abagnale is universal is that he has a deep spiritual connection with American literary characters such as Huck and Holden. This is probably because

Text: Satoshi Ito

Writes mainly on foreign literary criticism and film criticism. Cakes and Real Sound are currently publishing movie reviews. Author of ``Learn the techniques of living from masterpieces'' (Softbank Shinsho).

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"Catch Me If You Can"

Blu-ray: 1,886 yen + tax / DVD: 1,429 yen + tax

Publisher: NBCUniversal Entertainment

TM & (C) 2002 DREAMWORKS LLC ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.(C) 2012 DW Studios LLC All Rights Reserved.

* Information as of July 2019.