costume and identities
Jun. 18th, 2006 03:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
beccaelizabethMy sociology textbook continues to be more interesting than my video collection.
This continues to surprise. School homework was never more interesting.
I was on the wrong courses, obviously.
I'm reading the 'culture and identity' chapter, which is fascinating and will require reading a couple more times to digest.
There's a part about postmodern theories of identity, which emphasise the capacity for choice and change. We can put our identity together like patchwork, bits and pieces from all over.
But the more postmodern the theory, the less it acknowledges constraints.
While an individual can choose to aspire to a particular identity, they cannot immediately choose to *be* it. The example given is that a janitor cannot become the inspector general of the BBC simply by choosing to change identity.
I think to be more precise, while a janitor can choose to believe he is such a person, and act like such a person, the social consequences will be rather negative. Their new identity will be rejected by the people who would find it relevant to them, the employees of that in charge dude. They might in fact get locked up for trying, as lying is considered of the bad.
I connected this in my brain with some of the negative perceptions of fans. Specifically, fans wearing costume uniforms. A fan can choose to dress up as a Jedi, write their religion down as Jedi, identify as a Jedi. But they cannot, simply by choosing***, *be* a member of a warrior elite with magical powers. I don't think many fans seriously aspire to that. If they did, they would have to do training of various sorts to try and get the skills. But to many minds, these are skills that go with the identity. To claim you are a Jedi is to claim you have the skills, and that isn't true, therefore fans get stared at funny. But I think to many people claiming the identity, what they are more interested in is the message, the symbol, the values that go with the identity 'Jedi'. We may not kick arse in a fight, but we do believe in seeking peace while being able to defend ourselves.
Same with other uniforms, or other species for that matter. It is 'obviously' not true that the person in the klingon costume is in fact a klingon. It is frequently not true that they could fight like a klingon. But that is not, generally, what a fan intends to communicate or identify with when they dress as a klingon.
With Stargate fandom it is even more clear. I don't wear army surplus stuff to claim I'm a highly trained military dude with rank and responsibilities and all that. I wear it because the people on TV wear it and have adventures. Part of the story, not the military. But most random people looking at it would get the usual main message (military, skills/rank/job etc) and not the meant by me message. Or, since I don't wear any particular rank insignia, they would get the other common meaning, that I shop out the cheap second hand stores. Either way, going to be a clash about the meanings.
Put another way, it seems plausible some of the negative stereotyping that goes with images of fans in costume is connected to the perception that they are delusional (believing they have the skills or status or rank) or lying (telling they have the skills or status or rank). But those things are not core to a fans concept of what that costume means. The values, messages, meanings, are what they're wearing.
Also, to wear the uniform is not necessarily to claim all those things, often it is more to express admiration of them.
I still need to poke this idea. And it isn't very scientific yet, for I am Making Stuff Up. Hopefully plausible stuff, but I haven't asked yet. Just based it on fuzzy observation. Which is annoying when others do it, so if I were doing this properly next would be the asking people stage.
Maybe in the holidays. I have 3000 words left to write for this term, and the course as a whole, and I do not think this fits in any of them.
*** Not that identity is just about choosing. It is about acting in a manner consistent with. That whole gender as performance bit.
So people going and getting drunk in Jedi robes would not generally be considered to be performing 'Jedi'.
... performing Jedi would probably do like hypnotism and mind reading acts...
;-)
This continues to surprise. School homework was never more interesting.
I was on the wrong courses, obviously.
I'm reading the 'culture and identity' chapter, which is fascinating and will require reading a couple more times to digest.
There's a part about postmodern theories of identity, which emphasise the capacity for choice and change. We can put our identity together like patchwork, bits and pieces from all over.
But the more postmodern the theory, the less it acknowledges constraints.
While an individual can choose to aspire to a particular identity, they cannot immediately choose to *be* it. The example given is that a janitor cannot become the inspector general of the BBC simply by choosing to change identity.
I think to be more precise, while a janitor can choose to believe he is such a person, and act like such a person, the social consequences will be rather negative. Their new identity will be rejected by the people who would find it relevant to them, the employees of that in charge dude. They might in fact get locked up for trying, as lying is considered of the bad.
I connected this in my brain with some of the negative perceptions of fans. Specifically, fans wearing costume uniforms. A fan can choose to dress up as a Jedi, write their religion down as Jedi, identify as a Jedi. But they cannot, simply by choosing***, *be* a member of a warrior elite with magical powers. I don't think many fans seriously aspire to that. If they did, they would have to do training of various sorts to try and get the skills. But to many minds, these are skills that go with the identity. To claim you are a Jedi is to claim you have the skills, and that isn't true, therefore fans get stared at funny. But I think to many people claiming the identity, what they are more interested in is the message, the symbol, the values that go with the identity 'Jedi'. We may not kick arse in a fight, but we do believe in seeking peace while being able to defend ourselves.
Same with other uniforms, or other species for that matter. It is 'obviously' not true that the person in the klingon costume is in fact a klingon. It is frequently not true that they could fight like a klingon. But that is not, generally, what a fan intends to communicate or identify with when they dress as a klingon.
With Stargate fandom it is even more clear. I don't wear army surplus stuff to claim I'm a highly trained military dude with rank and responsibilities and all that. I wear it because the people on TV wear it and have adventures. Part of the story, not the military. But most random people looking at it would get the usual main message (military, skills/rank/job etc) and not the meant by me message. Or, since I don't wear any particular rank insignia, they would get the other common meaning, that I shop out the cheap second hand stores. Either way, going to be a clash about the meanings.
Put another way, it seems plausible some of the negative stereotyping that goes with images of fans in costume is connected to the perception that they are delusional (believing they have the skills or status or rank) or lying (telling they have the skills or status or rank). But those things are not core to a fans concept of what that costume means. The values, messages, meanings, are what they're wearing.
Also, to wear the uniform is not necessarily to claim all those things, often it is more to express admiration of them.
I still need to poke this idea. And it isn't very scientific yet, for I am Making Stuff Up. Hopefully plausible stuff, but I haven't asked yet. Just based it on fuzzy observation. Which is annoying when others do it, so if I were doing this properly next would be the asking people stage.
Maybe in the holidays. I have 3000 words left to write for this term, and the course as a whole, and I do not think this fits in any of them.
*** Not that identity is just about choosing. It is about acting in a manner consistent with. That whole gender as performance bit.
So people going and getting drunk in Jedi robes would not generally be considered to be performing 'Jedi'.
... performing Jedi would probably do like hypnotism and mind reading acts...
;-)
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no subject
Date: 2006-06-18 04:01 pm (UTC)Re jedi, if someone has the skills, I'm not sure they'd... make it publically known. more of.. keeping it quiet.
no subject
Date: 2006-06-18 04:28 pm (UTC)what one chooses to be is going to be complicated by the reactions of others.
Jedi - I have vague recollection of assorted people claiming the skills. Though not usually with the 'jedi' label.
people at conventions so far only show some of the weapons stuff.
one guy did the Jedi telekinesis on a cigarette once, but he claims it was just luck and shaking a lot...
no subject
Date: 2006-06-18 04:59 pm (UTC)Re "claims it was just luck and shaking a lot" - just what I said ;) A real jedi will never admit it in today's world ;)