As we all should know this week we’re talking about the
presentation of self. We dabbled into the topic through the two readings by
Goffman as well as Andy’s lecture. From what I gathered was that the presentation
of self involved various ways we portray ourselves depending on the type of social
interaction. I found that Goffman’s “The nature of Deference and Demeanor”
seemed to ramble on, which made it difficult to actually understand the point
to his theory. Correct me if I’m wrong but I believe that Deference relates to the unwritten laws within society which influences our behaviour towards superiors while Demeanor allows the
individual to present themselves in a way they want to be perceived.
What I found interesting was the idea of how the rules of society were created. The way in which the world’s population has somehow developed these procedures through observation and behaviours is mind boggling. Also, how these rules of conduct seem to just come to us naturally without needing to think about it, which in the end dictates how we want to present ourselves within society.
What I found interesting was the idea of how the rules of society were created. The way in which the world’s population has somehow developed these procedures through observation and behaviours is mind boggling. Also, how these rules of conduct seem to just come to us naturally without needing to think about it, which in the end dictates how we want to present ourselves within society.
Facework was also an aspect of Goffman’s theory that grabbed
my attention. Andy’s attempt at explaining “losing face” and “saving face” really
opened my eyes to how cautious we are about keeping our dignity intact when
interacting with other people. The first thing that came to mind when thinking of
facework is an example from one of the greatest movies of all time…MEAN GIRLS!
When Cady wants to join the Mathletes, her overly flamboyant friend Damian
attempts to save Cady’s face by blurting out “you can’t join Mathletes, that’s
social suicide!” I think it’s funny that not only do we feel the need to save
our own faces but the faces of our friends as well, in order for their embarrassing
moment not to reflect upon how we want to present ourselves. So in other words,
Goffman has kind of made me realise how conceited we can be sometimes!
Anyway, to wrap this up I thought I would leave you with an
insight into Gretchen Wieners’ code of conduct.
Mean Girls! Great example.
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