Dramaturgical Perspective

Dramaturgical Perspective

Dramaturgy is a sociological perspective applicable to the management of everyday life. Dramaturgy belongs to the category of sociological perspectives known as symbolic-interactionist which views social situations as encounters where actors manipulate such moments to convey their own desired impression to the audience (Brinkerhoff, Ortega, & Weitz, 2013). Dramaturgy is different from other sociological perspectives such as structural-functional perspective and conflict perspective, in the manner in which it approaches the human social behavior. According to Brinkerhoff, Ortega, & Weitz (2013), dramaturgy views social events and life as a drama where each person plays his/her desired role to achieve the desired outcome. Structural-functional perspective views human behavior as a complimentary to the overall co-existence of the community or society. However, the conflict perspective views the society from a bipolar perspective: rich-poor, peace-war, and life-death among other views and the factors that contribute to such conditions.

Recently, there was a fundraising event in the neighborhood. The purpose of the event was to enable Miss Mellisa Hagreaves, a 35-year-old cancer victim undergo treatment. Miss Hagreaves was the participants included local celebs, teachers, church leaders, schoolchildren, and local politicians among other people. According to the visitors’ book, a total of 56 people attended the fundraising.

The event basically began with a short prayer from a pastor from a local church. Then came a period where a few people made short speeches. Only Hahreaves’ parents, teachers and celebs (sportsmen and musicians), politicians and a few neighbors had a chance to address the gathering. Each of the speakers observed a serious impression management to reflect his/her social status. For instance, the pastor appeared calm and composed. The pastor’s impression was that God was in control of the situation. The parents, neighbors, and siblings to Miss Hagreaves appeared disturbed and thoughtful, but confident to show that they cared a lot about her ill situation. On the other hand, celebs smiled throughout the event; an indication that they were pleased to be with their fans. Schoolchildren were calm and compost; they quietly watched the proceedings. The teachers were relaxed and sat together with their colleague, Miss Hagreaves to show solidarity with her. At the same time, two of the local female celebs kept on turning her engagement ring, perhaps to convey a message to the participants that she was engaged to someone.

On arrival, politicians and celebs came in late despite that the event was schedule to start at 3:00 pm. The politicians and celebs waved to the gathering while smiling before occupying their seats. Apparently, the facial expressions were meant to enable them catch the attention of the crowd. This is because both politicians and celebs often prefer standing out in the crowd. As such, coming late was a deliberate move to achieve their desired goals. The appearance also revealed the notions that the participants wanted to convey to the gathering. For instance, one of the politicians wore a T-shirt with the label “God Bless My Country.” On the other hand, Miss Hagreaves wore a wristband labeled “I Trust in God.”

The setting was also Miss Hagreaves’ home. The tents had several photos of Miss Hagreaves with her family, her colleagues, her students in class, hiking with friends and other events. The goal of the pictures was to inform the gathering of the good person Miss Hagreaves was. The photos told of a story of a jovial, warm, social, and lovely teacher whose life was under the threat of dying from cancer. The apparent goal was to persuade those in attendants that the money was meant to for a good course.

The fundraising event had a deeper meaning other than the conventional fundraising. For instance, individuals demonstrated their gender, culture, gender stereotypes, social status, and value differences. For instance, female celebs were scantly dressed and were thin while male celebs had huge biceps.

In conclusion, the fundraising event was the best place to appreciate dramaturgy. Indeed, people are actors who seize any opportunity to achieve their desires through actions.

 

Reference

Brinkerhoff, D., Ortega, S., & Weitz, R. (2013). Essentials of sociology. S.l.: Wadsworth.

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