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I have lived in Louisiana all my life and was
indoctrinated into Mardi Gras at a very young age. However, from what I have
heard (I was not able to be in New Orleans during Mardi Gras), there is a huge
difference between my experiences and what New Orleans offers – mainly in the
degree of what one can get away with, which is what I want to blog about.
In
social psychology, I have learned that when a person is in a group where all
are wearing masks (making it difficult to identify one single person), then
that person is more prone to behave in a way that he/she would never do under
normal circumstances. In Mardi Gras, this effect is very much in play with the
practice of masks and parades. Also, there is the fact that Mardi Gras takes
place right before the Catholic tradition of Lent (a very restrictive time), so
people are much more desperate to get in as much as possible before being made
to restrict themselves.
Do
not get me wrong, I enjoy Mardi Gras well enough. I enjoy the sights and the
spectacles, but I also think that there is a dark side to it that goes
unnoticed a lot of the time. I hear of people fighting for Mardi Gras beads
(and of people getting injured from these fights), which normally, people would
not really give a second glance (at least, I do not). I know that drunken
people do many crazy things with no thought to responsibility, which I know is
somewhat part of the fun.
This
somewhat darker side of Mardi Gras is present in many of Tim Burton’s films.
For example, in Edward Scissorhands,
one person is not enough to confront him, but, when it becomes a bunch of
housewives and their husbands, they create enough of a force to drive “the
monster” away (showing that one sole person does not have to have all of the
blame). In Beetlejuice, Betegeuse
uses carnival tactics in order to scare away the Deetses, and to “put on a show.”
I am not sure what Burton is trying to say in these scenes, but I have a
feeling that he is critical of how the normal person celebrates in the Carnival
atmosphere.
I also find it really interesting what people will do when their identity is disguised by a mask. It is interesting to see the change in people's personalities when they put on a mask or wear a costume. It is interesting that you brought up the concept of groups. I definitely think people are more prone to act in certain ways when other people are doing it, and if everyone is protected by a mask, there is really no predicting what people will do. This dark side of Mardi Gras that you brought up is precisely the reason I do not enjoy the season as a whole - people put on a mask and do things that they take no responsibility for (perhaps I'm just a Debbie Downer, but I find that quite annoying). I think you're on to something when you say that Burton is somewhat critiquing how people celebrate things like Carnival. The group chase scene in Edward Scissorhands and Betelgeuse's scare tactics are great examples, as well as the fact that many of his villains wear masks or costumes to disguise their identities in the same way that Carnival goers do.
ReplyDelete- Ashley Lay
This Mardi Gras was my first carnival experience ever and I have to say it was a very enjoyable one. I was definitely aware of some of the darker sides of carnival, but luckily for me, they have not directly influenced me. Now that I think about it, I celebrated Mardi Gras in uptown area where people were mask-less and relatively sober, and I got the impression that everyone was happy and very respectful to each other. Perhaps things would have been different if I went to crazier parts of town? I agree with you on the statement that people are more prone to doing things they normally wouldn’t do in a carnival situation, but I think that applies not only to the bad things, but also the good things. I’ve noticed that people are extra friendly and extra generous during Mardi Gras period, which made my experience so much better. I think we just have to stay away from trouble, stay sober enough to have control over ourselves, then our experience would be a great one.
ReplyDeleteJae Yun Choi