Who's That Knocking At My Door?

Does culture govern identity?

Scorcese poses this question to the audience in Who's That Knocking At My Door.

In making this film, Scorcese was influenced heavily by his Italian-American heritage, his childhood in New York, and the broader cultural movements of the era, such as the White Ethnic Revival (Cavallero, page 48).

Growing up in a tight-knit ethnic community and a heavy Roman Catholic presence, Scorcese began to examine the effects they had on his identity. Knocking is allegedly the second film in a trilogy of films (ultimately ending with Mean Streets in 1973) that uses the protagonist, J.R. (Harvey Keitel) as Scorcese's alter ego (Casillo, page 132).

J.R.'s character can be described as la bella figura, a young man struggling with his identity, particularly in terms of masculinity. He seems to cling to adolescence, demonstrating his immaturity and misogynistic view of women. We also see the influence of Catholicism and it's overemphasis on suffering, which perhaps leads to J.R. exaggerating adolescent confusion for adult trauma. For example, in the scene in the church, the audience expect to see J.R.'s spiritual connection with his faith, however do to the incongruous rock and roll music, we instead detect an inconsitency with J.R.'s identity and the religion he clings to through his ethnic roots.

Equally disconcerting is the slow motion scene with J.R's rowdy and rambunctious crew, which culminates in one friend being dragged across the room with a gun in his face as the others, including J.R., scamper off. Scorcese's choice of music is particularly interesting here. Although the lively Cuban music contrasts heavily with the scene, I would argue that it adds significantly to the audience's understanding. The music is energetic, masculine, and entertaining, which describes the scene perfectly even though the actual song seems out of place. Since there is no dialogue, we rely on the music to help illustrate the mood of the party. The men are drinking, smoking, and everyone is laughing. 

Then, a gun is pulled out and waved around at the men who are still laughing and pointing back as though they too are holding guns. Suddenly, things get a little out of control. A man is yanked around aggressively with the gun in his face, and we start to worry that someone might get shot. Yet, Scorcese's Cuban music continues to play, helping the audience to recognize that everything is a game to these boys. None of the characters show any hint of responsibility or maturity; no one protests or tries to help. At this point, J.R. has completely succumbed to this cultural stereotype of trivialized violence, as he dashes out of the room with his group. This leads the audience to believe that culture does indeed govern identity. But if that is not enough, there is another aspect to consider.

Throughout the film, we notice closing doors, turning locks, and shutting windows. For example, Scorcese will show the windows being shut, then cut to J.R., then show the same windows shutting again. Another example is the Cuban music scene, as previously mentioned, where you see several different takes of J.R. leaving the room, shown one after the other. In my opinion, these deja-vu-like repetitions create a sense of alternate realities, as though things could have happened differently...but didn't. Scorcese's repetition of shots playing out the same way each time, perhaps suggest that we cannot escape fate; our fate is decided in our cultural identity, and our individuality is not strong enough to deviate from it.


References
Cavallero, Hollywood's Italian American Filmmakers
Casillo, Gangster Priest