Chapter 6 starts off with one of its first concepts, dramaturgical perspective. This concept is about how all of our public behaviors are based on 6 elements of theatre: actor, audience, stage, script, performance and audience reaction. This is interesting, because it reminds me of how predetermined we let our lives be.
"People are always talking about freedom, freedom to live a certain way.
Of course, the more you live a certain way, the less it feels like freedom."
This section really made me think about this quote because although it is just an analogy, it seems to me that we do live our lives like actors on stage. This varies from culture to culture, but it is very prominent in ours. How important is it that we have to dress a certain way to a funeral? To work? etc. I mean, these are good things too, like dressing in black, nice clothes at a funeral shows respect for the deceased, and work clothes show professionalism. So most of our scripts and performances are not out of the blue, they make sense. But it also makes me think of how we act for other people, so other people are also acting for us. And I'm thinking that some people are so good at it, that how do we ever know if we are talking to them, or to their stage presence?
I guess it does not really matter. If I am talking to someone who is really funny or interesting or captivating, it is still a good conversation, whether they really are those things, or if they just want me to think they are.
This analogy made me think very liberally for a few minutes there, and I thought I'd write about that because it is interesting to think about. Anyone have anything to say about that?
2 comments:
I agree with what you are saying. I think one time or another we have all said "I always act like our self,... I am not fake", but after reading that section of the book I believe that we are all fake in one way or another. Your example of the way we dress to work made me think of my boyfriend. He just got a job with a marketing company that requires him to dress up on a daily basis. Before this job he was able to wear "street" clothes to work. Now that he is not able to do so, he always keeps jeans, shirt, and shoes in is car so he can change right after work. He has told me time after time that is's not that he don't mind dressing up, but its not who he is. He says that he feels like he is playing dress up. Which I thought was funny after reading this section because it is insinuating that we are all actors in one way or another.
I really like your post and fully agree. It seems funny that we put on an act for different people and different situations. Like the issue about wearing professional clothes at work; our bosses and clients must know that we don't dress like that all the time,so why do we feel the need to put up the front? Why does being professional or respectable require us to dress a certain way? I guess I've never understood that. I just read an article in the paper about how the suit and tie are going out of style in the work world. I think people are starting to realize that the acts we put on aren't necessary for us to be successful at our jobs. It will be interesting to see how this aspect of communication changes in the next few decades.
Post a Comment