There are many different kind of masks. The masks of the past served a purpose. They were made to transform or transport a person or people into a different realm. Usually, used in ceremonies, masks were there for the leaders of the peoples to use to have the people believe certain things in which the ruler wanted them to believe. Deities and Gods masks could be used to control the power of the people. Meaning if the ruler wanted them to believe a certain thing, then they could use the mask or the power within the mask to control what the God 'had to say' about different events or circumstances. Additionally, in the past, masks were used to cover up ones identity. For example, in the courts of the past French Kings, masks were worn so that secret affairs could be conducted, not to mention this made murder far easier.
In our society today, except for Halloween, I don't believe that actual masks are worn in day to day life. Having said that, I feel that more masks are worn today than at any other time. People in our world today constantly strive to keep an 'invisible' mask on. A 'poker face' is considered status quo and god forbid anyone show any emotion at all. This the type of mask that I am referring to. I feel that it is absolutely bad form to show any type of emotion in society today. But why is that? I don't like it! When I am happy I want people to know. If I am sad, why do I have to cover it up and pretend that I am okay? If I am angry at someone, why do I have to suppress the way I feel? I don't want to wear today's mask......
Tracy,
ReplyDeleteYou are so right about how the masks in the past actually served for a purpose as for today its all about wanting to be someone your not just to look "okay" to others.
It is sort of strange the way we have grown up to learn how to wear this "poker face" so we act acceptably in public. On that note, perhaps it is not too far off from what masks in the past were used for. Sure, they conveyed the faces of the gods in ceremony, but the person wearing them used it for the purpose of uniting and in a way, controlling, the population, whether it be to pray for rain for a good agricultural season or to commemorate a death and creation deity to ensure that the population stayed healthy and productive as a whole. Instead of one person wearing the mask now, we are all asked to wear the masks for the purpose of uniformity. I don't believe this is right, but perhaps it is needed in a little way to keep our society under control because we are all so different and react so differently to situations- we are all a wild card.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. People wear masks today to cover up their personalities and perhaps their true character. Instead of wearing a mask on their face, they somehow can mask their words, making people believe something that is not true or real. This makes it extremely difficult to identify good from bad just by an appearance.
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