On wearing masks...

 

Since antiquity, masks have been used. They can be used for protection, disguise, ceremonial use, ornamentation, in religious situations, on stage, for Halloween, as art objects, not to mention that many super villains and super heroes rely on them. But what about us everyday ordinary people, do we use them as well?

Let me ask you this; have you ever been in a situation where you felt one way, but your facial expression showed something else?

"Really Joey, I do love you, but only as a friend," she says and although Joey's heart is crushed he puts on a happy face and answers: "Ok, I understand, let's be friends then."

"You understand Henry, don't you, I mean, sure you've been here longer than Steve, but the company needs a fresh new face," says the manager. "Oh, absolutely, I understand, all in the best interest of the company," Henry answers and with the greatest of effort manages to smile through his feelings of disappointment.

Most of us learn as we grow up that we are nor supposed to "wear our hearts on our sleeves", that we need to "put on a happy face"; we learn to wear our "social" masks. "Ok, so it hurt a lot when x dropped an xyz on your foot, just suck it up, be a man" or "don't be such a cry baby, just get on with it". Is it possible that many of us are encouraged( depending on culture) from very early in our lives to disguise our true feelings, to hide behind a "mask"?

One of my most painful memories as a young person was when someone I liked asked me(I couldn't believe my luck!) to meet up and see a movie together. It was in the middle of winter, 15 below zero, and a very long walk to the movie theatre. I rugged up, put on heavy boots, gloves, the lot. Braved the snowstorm alone, heart pounding and hope flying high. I stood outside that movie theatre for over two hours, in a blizzard, each minute passing chilling my young heart.

After three hours my beloved showed up...on the arm of another. "What made you think I would ever go out with you, you fool?" the words shattered my heart, my hope, my self esteem. I donned a mask of disdain and determination to hide me brittle feelings, then started the long walk home............

If we are encouraged to wear masks to hide our true feelings, what may be some advantages of doing so?

Stoicism? Being the strong, silent type? Less vulnerability? Privacy of emotions?

Protection by anonymity? If we juggle many different masks, then how do we recognise our authentic self?

Jason in Friday the 13th, Michael Meyers in Halloween, "Leather Face" in Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Zodiac killer(serial killer), and most of the killers in the Slasher Horror Movie genre all wear masks; when they take off their masks, what do they see? Does the mask eventually become their true face and what used to be their true face, a mask?

In "Bruiser", a movie by George A Romero, the mask becomes Henry's(the main character) true face in the end.

If we hide our emotions behind a mask of stoicism, how long can we do so without some kind of emotional repercussion?

Just for fun, go and stand in front of a mirror and really look at your face.....What do you see?

Does your facial expression represent a true reflection of your emotions? If not, then find one that does. How does that feel? If you are feeling really happy, make a miserable face. How does that feel?

Although science tells us that it takes more muscles to frown than smile, if a person walks around smiling constantly, eventually most people will question the sincerity behind that smile. Is it not peculiar how we question the sincerity of constant smiling but not frowning?

If there are "fake" smiles, are there "fake" frowns?

There are probably times when wearing a "mask" can help us cope with a difficult situation, it may buy us some time to be able to process what we are feeling. As long as we don't confuse the mask we are wearing with who we are.

 

“No man, for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true.” (Nathaniel Hawthorne)

"We all have a social mask, right? We put it on, we go out, put our best foot forward, our best image. But behind that social mask is a personal truth, what we really, really believe about who we are and what we`re capable of." 
(Amy Hall)

 

This stone mask from the pre-ceramic Neolithic period dates to 7000 BC and is probably the oldest mask in the world.

(from Wikipedia)

The original Emoticon?