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