An interesting topic and similar to a few of the key points from last weeks topic. Dramaturgy is all about how we all put on a mask in a public sphere. Goffman's idea of dramaturgy looks at our interactions with others as similar to that of an actor on a stage performing for their audience. I just love this visual representation because it is an easy one to picture and understand. When we watch a production or more commonly in our society today- Movies- we get absorbed into the story and begin to relate to the characters and reflect their emotions and needs, we do not see the actors for who they really are we only focus on the character they portrait. This is the essence behind dramaturgy, we put on a mask and perform so that the people we interact with -our audience- don't see 'backstage' at the real us.
I have two smaller examples of this 'mask' that come to mind.
The first is an observation by Comedian Carl Barron; We have all at one stage in our lives forgotten something and we turn around to get it, then decide not to and turn around again, we may then repeat this cycle multiple times, making a fool of ourselves and sort of just rotating around on the spot. When we do this in public, we tend to speak out loud that we have "forgotten something", then on changing our mind stating we "dont actually need it". There is no one nearby who has asked why we turned around and there may be no one nearby at all but we say it anyway to make ourselves look less stupid.
The second example comes from a book I have been reading about a slave/thief girl who inserts herself into the high society to plan a heist. At first she stresses believing they will see her for who she really is, but realises that they only see the fake persona (Lady Valette) who she is pretending to be and not the slave girl hiding underneath the make-up and dress.
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