Anonymity and pretending to be another individual are appealing because they allow individuals to express themselves freely without the fear of being judged. In the Talhotblond, anonymity allows Mary Shieler to express herself freely without being judged. It allows her to say things that a married woman of her age would not have been expected to say. Anonymity allows both Mary Shieler and Thomas Montgomery to send sexual and romantic messages to each other without the fear of being judged. The two of them behave like teenagers since they both pretend to be 18-year-olds (Schroeder). Without anonymity, the two of them would have found it difficult to engage in the kind of sexual discussions they had online. At the same time, pretending to be another person also makes it easy for people to chase certain fantasies that they may not have had the courage to chase if they revealed their real selves. Thomas Montgomery pretends to be an 18-year-old Tommy who is a marine (Schroeder). Pretending to be Tommy allows the 47-year-old man to chase fantasies that would have been beyond his reach if he had presented his true identity. For example, it would have been difficult for him to flirt and even fall in love with an 18-year-old girl. Similarly, Mary Shieler had to pretend to be an 18-year-old girl to enable her to enjoy some sexual fantasies online. She was more likely to seduce a handsome adolescent marine sniper as a beautiful adolescent girl than as a 45-year-old housewife (Schroeder). Therefore, pretending to be a different person allowed both Mary Shieler and Montgomery to realize fantasies that would have been beyond their reach due to their ages and physical appearances.
Similarly, in The Imposter, anonymity enables Bourdin to have a life that he would not have had if he did not pretend to be a missing child. Bourdin wants to be accepted by others. The best way to earn this kind of acceptance is by impersonating a missing child. Pretending to be Nicholas Barclay enables Bourdin to turn his fantasies about going to America and being accepted by an American family a reality (Layton).
Anonymity, obsession, and compulsion are all interconnected. Anonymity facilitates obsession, and obsession leads to compulsion. In the Talhotblond, anonymity made both Mary Shieler and Montgomery be obsessed with their fake identities. Montgomery was obsessed with being an adolescent marine sniper who had a right to fall in love with a beautiful adolescent girl (Schroeder). Therefore, anonymity facilitated Montgomery’s obsession with ‘Jessi’ and ‘Tommy’. On the other hand, anonymity increased Mary’s obsession with being ‘Jessi’. This kind of obsession led to compulsion. It compelled Montgomery to kill Brian Barret to eliminate competition for ‘Jessi’. Additionally, being obsessed with Tommy’s identity compelled Montgomery to kill Brian as a true marine. On the other hand, Mary’s obsession made her stalk her daughter, take her compromising pictures and share them online (Schroeder). Similarly, in The Imposter, Barclay family’s obsession with their lost son and not knowing what happened to him compels them to accept an imposter. They want to know more about their newly-found son and answer the many questions they have. This compels them to ignore obvious signs that Bourdin is not their missing son (Layton).
In conclusion, anonymity allows individuals to try things they would not have tried if they had revealed their true identities. Pretending to be someone else enables people to chase certain fantasies that would not have been possible if they revealed their true identities. Lastly, anonymity, compulsion, and obsession are inter-related because they facilitate each other. Being obsessed with something often compels an individual to do something else to satisfy their obsession.
Works Cited
Layton, Bart. ‘The Imposter.’ Crime Documentary.com, uploaded by Crime Documentary.com, 23 January 2012, http://watchdocumentaries.com/the-imposter/
Schroeder, Barbara. ‘Talhotblond.’ Crime Documentary.com, uploaded by Crime Documentary.com, 2009, http://crimedocumentary.com/talhotblond-2009/
