The Problem of Home and Space in Steven Spielberg's Cinematic Language

Steven Spielberg’s cinematography represents an aesthetic pursuit rooted in one of the most fundamental human needs: the longing “to be at home” or to “feel at home.” His on-screen protagonists frequently lack a home—both physically and emotionally. For these characters, “home” may appear as a distant memory or an imagined, unreachable future. This article examines the ways in which the notion of “home” within the director’s body of work connects with personal trauma, collective memory, and socio-cultural identity. Through an analysis of selected films, the study reveals that Spielberg’s visual language offers an aesthetic articulation of the modern individual’s struggle to situate themselves within a stable sense of place. His characters’ states of homelessness emerge through experiences shaped by war, broken families, or technological dystopias, all of which generate psychological and emotional turmoil. Spielberg’s personal history—marked by displacement, the divorce of his parents, and the challenges associated with his Jewish identity—has deeply influenced the symbolic and metaphorical expressions of rootlessness in his cinematic vision. For Spielberg, “home” is not merely a physical setting, but rather a condition of being recognized, understood, and belonging. It is a spiritual construct built through affective ties, relationships, and memory. Ultimately, spatial representation in Spielberg’s films reflects more than artistic imagination; it serves as a poetic response to the existential questions of identity, trauma, and emotional restoration. This article offers a functional and symbolic exploration of space within the framework of Spielberg’s cinematic poetics.

Keywords: Steven Spielberg, spatial concept, home motif, belonging crisis, identity, alienation, homelessness,

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