Seminar: Being John Malkovich

Through an examination of thematic, stylistic, and entirely novel cinematic approaches, we examine the unique spectator engagement and viewer relationship achieved in the ever-enduring Being John Malkovich.

Discover how director Spike Jonze uses our familiarity and relationship to John Malkovich as both actor and persona, to walk a tightrope of Charlie Kaufman’s real and surreal – enabling us to also traverse in and out of multiple fields of reality alongside our characters.

ABOUT INGRID STOBBE

Ingrid Stobbe is an Associate Professor of Digital Filmmaking at Lesley University's College of Art + Design and a Visual Media Artist whose work includes both narrative and experimental pieces. Ingrid's experimental films have been awarded, screened, and exhibited nationally and internationally. Currently she is in production on The Dog Star, an autobiographical examination of the effects of time and location on adult perceptions of self amidst invisible disability.

Co-authored with William Pace, her recent book The Filmmaker's Guide to Creatively Embracing Limitations featured among the Best of Literary Boston 2023 (Grubstreet). Her upcoming book, The Camera is You: Medium, Identity, and the Moving Image in Personal Filmmaking investigates the complex record of the moving image by examining historical and contemporary instances in which genres, persons, and systems were pushed forward while others were held back (Bloomsbury Publishing Inc., 2025). She is also an advisor to the board of Women in Film & Video New England and an editorial board member of the Journal of Film & Video. For more information, visit her website, here.