For example, during the showing of the body at a funeral home, usually the social setting and all participants, including both the bereaved team and the establishment's team, will be arranged so as to express their feelings for the deceased and their ties to him; he will be the center of the show and the dramatically dominant participant in it. However, since the bereaved are inexperienced and grief-laden, and since the star of the show must stay in character as someone who is in a deep sleep, the undertaker himself will direct the show, although he may all the while be self-effacing in the presence of the corpse or be in another room of the etsablishment getting ready for another showing.
There is admittedly something odd, I think, about treating a solemn event like a funeral as a performance. But this oddness might be revealing, so to speak, even though it might also be taken as disrespectful. So the question is: in this case, which is it? Is Goffman's treatment of this and other social occasions revealing, or disrespectful?
As a suggestion, consider reflecting on some important and solemn occasion in which you have participated, and applying Goffman's performance metaphor to it. Does that detract from the solemnity of the occasion?
"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players" - One of Shakespeare's most well known quotes echoes Goffman's ideas. Clearly, Goffman was not the first to think like this, using a performance to describe actual life. When I first read this part of the text, I was not completely offended, and the more I think about it, it is an interesting way to approach grief. People deal with grief in different ways, and this passage takes some of the pain and sorrow out of grief. (To be continued!)
ReplyDeleteAlthough Goffman's assertion that a funeral is a sort of performance may be more than a bit disturbing, it is not without truth. The funeral itself is a ceremony meant to memorialize the deceased. In that affect, it is indeed a performance, showing off the achievements, actions, character, beliefs, and opinions of the dead as a last extension of their front.
ReplyDeleteThat said, brushing off something as important as a funeral to be a show seems a tad cynical. No one would accuse the mourning family and friends of the deceased to be putting on artificial fronts. In fact, a funeral may be one of the few possible moments in which people drop their front(s) and display their real selves.
.... (my continued comment) on a personal note, I went to a very sad funeral the week before coming here (for a 20y/o who died of meningitis). It was my first and I was fretting about what to wear: what would be appropriate. There are certain expectations that a person must live up to when attending a funeral - dressing appropriately, extending sympathies - and as much as that is forced (as in not part of daily life), it isn't really an act, its just the social norm; what is expected of you...
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ReplyDeleteI have no problem with the example. Say we attend a funeral and instead of the deceased playing the lead role, another person does. Does this not defeat the purpose of the funeral? Though Goffman uses theatrical terms to describe the event, the event is the same nonetheless. The only thing he does is put into easily understood perspective how we act, and with great accuracy, at viewings.
ReplyDeleteGoffman's analogy is also undeniably true. The fact is that in most social activities, especially a funeral, we are all actors, we all follow the script, and there is really no alternative unless we decide to edit the scene to our liking (and perhaps to the shock of all those in attendance). It is a perfect example in that it would have had relevance centuries ago, is relevant now, and will always be relevant. Though the deceased is involved I feel as if the truth, at least in this case, cannot be disrespectful. We dress in dark colors, walk with an air of solemnity, and often cry. If we do not, then we are considered to have something wrong with us which is most likely the case.
And don’t we all want to be the star of a show? I know that when I die, I sure as heck don’t want to be an understudy and Goffman without a doubt understands that.
Erving Goffman addresses funerals as a performance. Immediately after reading this metaphor I saw the connection and took it as a revealing insight. I did not find it offensive because to me a funeral is a celebration of a person’s life. If you look at a funeral as a performance it is the same as looking at it as a celebration. It is a show of how that person lived their life and what they are being remembered for. The deceased is the star and after living their life they deserve to be. There is a grieving audience and a preacher, a choir, and a funeral director who all work as a team to pull the performance together. I asked myself whether or not it was disrespectful to look at such a solemn occasion as a performance and in the end I think it’s a form of respect. I’ve been to over 14 funerals and each time I go I attend in the proper state of mind, which in a way could be my individual performance, but it’s also a sign of respect to the deceased. I think back to my friend’s funeral. He was 25 years old. His funeral was full of tears, yet at the same time he was remembered for the person he was. His friends recalled stories, sang songs, and showed a slide show presentation of his life. These actions directly confirmed Goffmans metaphor. He was the silent star of the funeral. Though there are probably more comfortable examples that could have been used this one is very appropriate because it helped me to comprehend what Goffman was saying. At the moment of the funeral it is surreal – it is a performance because in that moment it does not seem real; however it is. It is deceased final moment and it is the biggest performance of their life.
ReplyDeleteHmm…this post sounds familiar. Oh, wait, I wrote it myself. Proper blogging format here would be to post your own response to the question on this blog, and if you'd like, put in a link to my initial post. Posting your response to the weekly question in the comments section kind of short-circuits the distinction I draw in the syllabus between responses and comments -- best to keep those distinct.
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