NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote
Examine the theatrical imagery in the theories of Erving Goffman & George Herbert Mead "Man is not like other animals in the ways that are really significant: Animals have instincts, we have taxes. " (Erving Goffman) Erving Goffman (June 11, 1922 November 19, 1982), was a talented writer and a real master of sociology. He was the 73 president of American Sociological Association. The greatest contribution of E. Goffman to the worlds social theory is his investigations of symbolic interaction from dramaturgical perspectives point of view. It started with authors well-known book The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life and later Goffman developed its ideas throughout his life.
All books of Goffman show how theories of symbolic interaction can be used for analysis in our everyday life. Mostly author used ethnographical methods of investigation, exceptionally observation and participation or field-work. So, as it was marked before - the greatest contribution of Goffman to social theory is symbolic interaction formulation as dramaturgical perspective in his The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. Although critics very often characterized Goffman as a symbolic interactions, there were his efforts to correct all defects and flaws of symbolic interactions. By Goffman's idea a society isnt a homogeneous creature. In different settings we should act differently.
The context which we must judge isnt society at large. It is the specific context. E. Goffman offers the idea that peoples life is a theatre, but they also need a cloak room and a parking lot: beyond the face-to-face symbolic interaction lying a wider context.
Gathered information at the National Institute of Mental Health in Washington, D. C. , E. Goffman wrote a seminal text Asylums. There author describes "institutionalization" in the capacity of a response by patients to mortification processes of total institutions (for example prisons, concentration camps and mental hospitals) and to the bureaucratic structures. E. Goffman uses in his works principle of phenomenology for understanding how humans grasp, differ and understand all the interactions which they take part in and observe.
In E. Goffman understanding there is no real capital-T truth. There is infinity of peoples interpretations that are real for every separate individual. Macionis and Plummer (2002 p. 162) convinced that method of E. Goffman was observing life closely on those islands, he started to develop a framework for seeing social life as a kind of drama.
Just like people on a stage, people in everyday life could be seen as actors playing out roles and giving impressions to others that enabled the others to make sense of what is going on. Studying the theatrical imagery I would like to start with theories of E. Goffman and then turn to the Meads ideas on this problem. Investigating Goffman's theories I will focus on an analysis of his The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. There writer uses the theatre in a role of a metaphor for the reality of self and from this position Goffman explains the concepts of masks, stage management, roles and audience.
E. Goffman bases on idea of G. Herbert Mead about the self and interaction and recreates the ideas in theatres terms. This theory showed how E. Goffman looked at the Self.
Writer believed that it was something constructed by society, as did G. Mead and a number of international sociologists. Goffman was assured that the Self is like human mind - something reflected by what a person hears, sees, learns, understands and believes. When we look at the Self, it has to be an individual approach; people differ and their change of characters. Consequently E.
Goffman argues when looking at the Self we must look at its owner. Writer was sure that in spite of that fact that the Self is inside a humans body, the personality there inside is not the Self, it is the mind. So the Self becomes visible though interaction between the owner and the audience. E. Goffman was convinced that the establishing of the Self appears through performances. It means that it is the actor will to create him or herself for gaining a advantageous reaction of spectators.
E. Goffman dedicates different chapters of his The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life to different sides and aspects of a theatrical performance. Here are these concepts, which we will investigate further: - The basic performance (Ch. 1) - Impression management (Ch. 6) - The notion of teams (Ch. 2) - Regions and region behavior (Ch. 3) - Discrepant roles (Ch. 4) - Communication out of character (Ch. 5) E. Goffman in his researches uses 5 concepts explaining a social life in theatrical terms: 1) Performers and audience (concept in chapter on teams) - 2) stage (front and back regions - 3) performance - 4) self - 5) impression management. 1. Performance E.
Goffman assures that for the successful performance spectators must take very seriously what they see. The audience needs to believe that the actor actually has all the talents and skills which hi requires. By Goffman there are 2 types of performer. The first is the sincere performer- he believes in his own play and for him feelings and impression he gives are the reality. The second is the cynic performer. He knows what he is performing is only a play.
This is on what Goffman is concerned with. As a talented sociologist, writer argues that the cynic performer gains "unprofessional pleasures from masquerade, experiencing a kind of gleeful spiritual aggression from the fact that he can toy at will with something his audience must take seriously" p 29. E. Goffman gives us such example: the doctor gives to his patient a placebo while he knows that it will not hell the patient. But nevertheless he uses this medicine in anyway just because the patients reaction is more pleasurable in that way. P 29 E.
Goffman offered us the 2 types of performer the cynic and the sincere. In case of the cynic, E. Goffman says that the performer puts on a mask for the creating of a new character. Park says on this, that people are playing their roles mostly everywhere. These are the roles with help of which we can make friends with other people and know and investigate one another. "It is in these roles that we know ourselves" p 30 (Park, RE Race and culture Glencoe Illinois: the free press 1950 p 249) E.
Goffman also admits that the cynic may face with the problem of the cycle of disbelief to belief. As a result such actor could accept the roles which he has created and then it can become his Self. It is reflected in Goffman's example of the raw recruit. A young man follows the army's laws wanting to avoid a punishment but eventually follows the laws for the respect of his friends officers. This idea is reflected in such situations when the person takes a small position in a company just because that little by little he will gain the higher position by showing his loyalty. Such person will defer his real values until the suitable time for displaying them will not come.
And so the actor has to keep fragile balance between cynicism and sincerity. E. Goffman tags the performance as front. Author says that it is " the expressive equipment of a standard kind of intentionally or unwittingly employed by the individual during his performance" (Goffman E. 1959 p. 32) E. Goffman convinced that the performance does not begin until the performers are upon the stage and the play ends when the actors leave it.
Writer does accept that the performance continues into a different setting, in certain circumstances of cause. Examples for this statement are a funerals, carnivals and parades. (Goffman E. 1959 p. 33) E. Goffman allows this to happen because of his concept of impression management this are the attributes that a performer needs to show in order to successfully dramatize a character (Goffman E. 1959 p. 203) Impression Management E. Goffman can identify the potential destroyers of the performance within impression management. Goffman says that slip-ups and flaws can break a performance. They are called by him as unmeant gestures. (Goffman E. 1959 p. 203) By committing such gesture the performer can not only spoil and disgrace their play but those of further plays and leave the spectators with bad and wrong impression.
It also can occur in an area that E. Goffman calls Backstage. That is to say the private quarters of the performers. Perhaps it can be the bathroom or bedroom. It happens so that a member from other spectators will encroach into the backstage.
For example a postman who accidentally catches the glamorous housewife without her make up. E. Goffman calls such things inopportune intrusions. It also can lead to the weakening of the play. The Self that the she, the housewife, is trying to make: charming, glamorous and high maintenance now is destroyed by unmeant guest because he saw her without her everyday mask. E.
Goffman also highlights 'faux pas', where an actor intentionally contributes to the performance but has misread the audience. The result, often from a bad joke or little sarcasm's is a deadly silence or an insulted audience member. Here Goffman mentions the need for the actor to investigate their audience, to gain knowledge of what is appropriate for the next interaction, so that the audience respects the actor. E. Goffman suggests that creating a scene is another problem, the unintentional bursts witnessed by the spectators such as a pubic argument between actors can "destroy or seriously threaten the polite appearance of consensus" (Goffman E. 1959 p. 205). And as a result - bringing the backstage views to the front stage so that the spectators can become a witnesses of it.
This often takes place in court cases when the prosecution cross-examines prisoner at the bar. (Goffman E. 1959 p. 206) E. Goffman also defines dramaturgical loyalty this works on the idea of teams. Each team consists of the performer or a group of performers. They must accept one another's plays and not reveal secrets of their team. E. Goffman affirms that the importance of team relations is in stopping of revealing the true reality of the play. " Prevent the performers from becoming so sympathetically attached to the audience that the performers disclose to them the consequences for them" (Goffman E. 1959 p. 208) There is another way to guarantee the loyalty towards the play is to select the right audience.
E. Goffman gives such example: filling station managers whose shift models regularly change to deviate from attachment to customers. (Goffman E. 1959 p. 209) There is another attribute for impression management. E. Goffman calls it Dramaturgical Discipline.
This is where the performer, though showing great emotional involvement in his play have to remember not to lose control and not to be overcame by his emotions. (Goffman E. 1959 p. 210) Very emotional performer may make mistakes because of that and not correct them. E. Goffman describes an actor who can successfully hold his discipline as having self control. "A performer, who is disciplined, dramaturgically speaking, is someone who remembers his part and does not commit unmeant gestures or faux pas in performing it. " (Goffman E. 1959 p. 210) Dramaturgical wariness and discretion is the preparation and thought that goes in the play. The prevision to determine the best cause of action to help the play. "Preparation in advance for likely contingencies and exploiting the opportunities that remain" (Goffman E. 1959 p. 212) Lets regard such example - knowing the beginning and end of a play. The actors can relax and weaken their guard after a play because the spectators are no longer inside.
Example of E. Goffman of this is in surgery. The surgeons can always make the illusion of trust in front of the patient knowing when he is under narcosis they wont be apprehended of any discrepancies in the play. (Goffman E. 1959 p. 213) Another aspect of wariness and discretion is to control which spectators sees the play. It is useful to selecting the spectators who complement the play.
Then this special audience will give special attention to a favorable actor. "The circumspect performer will also attempt to select the kind of audience that will give minimal trouble" (Goffman E. 1959 p. 213) E. Goffman offers to control teams and audiences sizes. Rather easier to persuade a small audience because in this case there are less spectators to appeal to. But in some cases a play needs a large team, for example like a football team needs exactly 11 persons to play. E. Goffman also offers that circumspection needs controls to be enforced on each side of the play.
The plays size, length, and the setting. It is because there are loads of ways by which secrets can be disclosed, such as information. Any circumspect performer must to consider how much information the spectators already have. "The interviewee is likely to feel, and with some justice, that his every action will be taken as highly symbolical" (Goffman E. 1959 p. 219) All this doesnt mean that a play can never lead relaxed. The mask can be removed, but a mask still remains on its place and continues the effect even if the circumspection is weaker. So a successful play has to reflect the attributes of loyalty, discipline and circumspection. Impression management is mainly there to safety of a play and its actors.
Teams The concept of teams is a group of performers who work very close to each other to reflect the interests of one another and extend each other's performance. "In short, team to refer to any set of individuals who co-operate in staging a single routine. " (Goffman E. 1959 p. 85) E. Goffman defines a good team as a team that has an understanding with each other and knows what is proper and when. An ignorant member of the team can cause obstacles for others members of the team, therefore it is required very careful and attentive selection of the members. Members of the team have to stop other members becoming self absorbed, (when they believe only in their own play) Members of the team should understand that they must take on every role even if it is not very interesting or complementary to them...
Free research essays on topics related to: symbolic interaction, social theory, social life, everyday life, impression management
Research essay sample on Symbolic Interaction Impression Management
