Nobody Knows My Name: More Notes of a Native Son

Baldwin interviews Ingmar Bergman in Stockholm. Baldwin has a high opinion of Bergman’s work, calling him “one of the very few genuine artists now working in films” (164). Bergman’s films were not as successful as his peers’ while he was alive, but he brought fame to Swedish film.

Baldwin carefully details his encounters with Bergman, including the filmmaker’s care for Baldwin, who was sick at the time of their interview. However, Baldwin distrusts Bergman and his artist’s sensibility. He writes about Bergman’s films and the recurring themes that appear in them, such as the inevitability of death or the price of art. Regarding Stockholm, Bergman insists that the city is a village, and he regrets the Americanization of his home. Baldwin reflects on what “Americanization” means, especially to those outside of the United States. He determines that “Americanization” refers to the way change uproots tradition and history.

Baldwin is struck by how Bergman reminds him of Black Protestants from home. On his taxi ride after the interview, he conceives of a movie that explores his own past in the way Bergman tackles his in film. Baldwin realizes that the only way he will be able to write through his bitterness would be to make the subject of his work himself.