My Independent Research Data

Whilst I'm here, I figured why not also post my Independent Research data, seeing as how one of the main aspects I will be analysing is dramaturgy and how front stage and back stage persona's differ. So here it is......

Please note that the first like 5 mins is just blank screen, I just don't know how to cut videos. 

Dramaturgy

This week’s topic was Dramaturgy and a lot to do with Goffman’s comparison of life as a drama. Goffman saw social life as almost like an act or a game. A domain where you play by the rules, like having a job or paying taxes. If you successfully perform these aspects of life, you metaphorically ‘move up a level’. With the idea of social life being like a drama, one of the things Goffman is implying is that in any kind of interaction you have, one of your main goals is always to make a good impression. What I found interesting is the etymology of the word person that Andy told us in the lecture. ‘Person’ comes from the word mask, which is indicative of the fact that we all have dramatist persona’s, that we act how we want people to see us and according to our roles, especially in a front stage setting.

The front stage/back stage concept is also one of the things that I found particularly interesting. The fact that most people can change their persona’s completely by just walking through a door (whether it be a physical or metaphorical door). The example Andy used in the lecture was where the waiter when speaking to the diners says things like “Would you like a glass of wine” or “I recommend the chef’s special, it is really good”. They will speak like this to the diners whether they like the people or not, because this is their front stage. However, if they do not like the people they are waiting on they are likely to walk into the kitchen and say something along the lines of “Table 3 are horrible people, I feel like spitting in their food”. They are comfortable to say this in their backstage arena because it helps them maintain face. 

Goffman, Erving. 1971. “Performances.” Pp. 28-82 in The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. Harmondsworth: Penguin.

I also made a comment this week. Here's the link: http://nikhailmaestassoc250.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/blog-2-soc-250.html?showComment=1346201605441#c2806005335953943827

ME, ME, ME- Presentation of Self

This week’s topic is all about the presentation of the self. In particular Erving Goffman’s Nature of Defence and Demeanour (1967). Basically, in both the reading and the lecture the self is described as something that is completely socially constructed and managed through social processes. Although the reading, I believe, explains a rather simple concept in unnecessary detail, what I found particularly interesting was the importance placed on maintaining or saving ‘face’, especially Goffman’s reference to one’s obligations, that in order to uphold their image, people have to sometimes do things they really do not want to do. What I find interesting is that more often than not, people will fulfil these obligations, not because they have to, but because they do not want to tarnish their image. For example, I myself have gone to a party I really don’t want to go to just to ensure everyone does not think I’m like an old Grandma

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Some of the stuff Andy mentioned in the lecture also struck me. I always knew that embarrassment was a horrible thing for almost everybody, but never realised that it is actually an aspect of oneself that sociologists actually pay attention to. When you think about being embarrassed more deeply and realise that it is a complete loss of dignity, it becomes more obvious that humiliation actually tarnishes the sacredness of the human self. The fact that we (well, me personally anyway) spend time thinking about avoiding those awkward moments in social situations indicates the importance of avoiding social shame in order to maintain our selfhood. This topic has sort of made me realise that every time I have worried about falling over and making a fool of myself, it is completely warranted, so thanks Goffman :)

Now in my attempt to make my blog look pretty, I give you a visual representation of someone losing face and being profusely laughed at. He fell…on slime…on a game show….on T.V. Please note, the one laughing is also my future husband. 

Goffman, Erving. 1967. “The Nature of Deference and Demeanor.” Pp. 47-96 in Interaction Ritual: Essays on Face-to-Face Behaviour. New York: Pantheon Books.

Blehhhhh! I don't know how to use this thing.....I'll work it out. Enjoy this gif representing my frustrations with this right now