Second blog of semester
Found this week tutorials very interesting with the first
data discussion presentation being completed and it looked at ‘ Performances’
and with reference to Goffmans reading.
The data discussion looked at performances in relation to
the reality television show ‘Toddlers and Tiaras’ and how they the show is primarily
based around mother who are living through there daughter and in a way
constructing there daughter to be what they want them to be or wish themselves
where and then conducting the daughters like puppets to perform in particular
ways. In extreme cases even giving there daughters ‘stage names’ so they know
when they have to act as them themselves and when they need to act, dance, and
smile and walk a certain way etc.
Goffman talked about face work and this is clearly
present in this realty show as both the mother and daughter and putting n an ‘act’
and performing not only for the camera and the judges, but for all the other participant
of the pageants and there family and friends. This is clearly present in the
segment we watched in class that contained a mother ‘Mellissa’ and her daughter
‘Carly’, whose stage name was ‘Darla’ and when the show was being filmed she
was going up to daughter instructing her how to act for camera and that if she
does not she will be punished and in this particular case will lose her iPod.
Carly is only 4 years old and her mother Mellissa feel they are the same person
as she is instructing her to ‘Perform’
I gathered the same as you from this weeks readings and tutorial. Goffman has a very unique way of analysing everything and everyone’s social interaction. I find that by looking at everything as a performance, it does function well however cynically. After studying Drama in High school for 4 years, i can see and understand where he is coming from. Especially when he starts to discuss and analyse how our performances change in correspondence to the social environment and interaction in which we are participating. This is a scary way of looking at ourselves, but is quite efficient and can honestly be seen easily.
ReplyDeleteThe toddlers and tiaras analysis that Goffman makes is both confronting and important. By suggesting that the parents of these toddlers pushed so hard on this interaction for such reasons as wanting themselves to shine through their children, Goffman has suggested (to me at least) some of the dangers and underlying meanings behind why these children are subjected to such a performance by their parents.
Where you mention stage names, i think is scary. Its a good point to bring up by Goffman, but the existence of such a thing is pretty scary in itself...
Anyways, i think i took the same out of this reading as you, so i guess that means were both right? I hope LOL