I figured with Halloween coming up soon, this would fit in well with what we are talking about. The whole idea of dressing up for a night and being able to be a character or someone else seems fun for most people. But, as you get older, you can see that society has made it into made it into much more than dressing up to get the best candy.When we were young, it was all about being your favorite movie character or "dream job" and going trick-or-treating until you physically couldn't walk any further for candy. Then it becomes more about who has the coolest/ most unique costume. But now, especially in college, is when Halloween becomes an event. We have socially constructed an entire world revolving around this "holiday." There are stores and websites dedicated to costumes, decorations, and anything horrific or gruesome you could imagine. There are not only Halloween parties, but we all have heard about the zombie pub crawl. This year they are going for a record for the largest pub crawl in the Guinness Book of World Records. This is what Halloween has become.
But this is not what is wrong with Halloween, this all creates the mysterious and unique atmosphere for this time of year. What I mean is the costume aspect of Halloween. You can decide to be anything in the world, absolutely anything and you can find a costume for it at the nearest party store. I think the biggest issue is women's costumes. They have the most variety because, well we're women and it has to be just perfect, but if it's say a doctor, it's usually less than what a doctor might wear. I think everyone knows what I mean when I'm talking about these costumes. Our bodies practice taking on an alter ego with the costume we put on. Most people, not just women, act as if Halloween is a night to be someone completely different than who you are without any consequences or judgements. Then when November 1st, or maybe the 2nd for some, comes around everything goes back to normal and no one thinks anything of it. This is my problem with Halloween. And I am all for costumes and having fun, but the costume shouldn't be hiding anything, it's just a costume and everyone still knows who is wearing it.
I agree and have myself fallen for the, for lack of a better word, slutty costume in the past. Funny now since I am Muslim and even cover my hair! I didn't grow up that way though. I remember going as a nurse once. My mom was a nurse. Guess what I wore? Just her top, which came down to my mid-thigh with high heels, nylons and her nursing hat. Sure. That's how nurses dress. By the way, this was in 1985! Things haven't changed that much. LOL.
ReplyDeleteI guess I am not sure of which cultural operations you see at work here, and what it is specifically about the holiday that you see it working. Is it Foucault's idea of the Docile body wearing costumes and certain types of costumes? Is it Bordo's idea of an 'other-oriented emotional economy' that makes people feel they should dress slutty.
ReplyDeleteI think Halloween is a good thing to discuss when it comes to the cultural apparatuses that we function within; however, I think it is really important to get so specific on this holiday, specifically because of its complexities in function and attraction.
One thing I notice every Halloween is that people can make almost anything- a lady bug, a cleaning lady, a fairy tale character- provocative. The holiday is the ultimate contradiction. It is so focused on consumerism with costumes that only cover half the body costing at least $40 at a specialty store, yet at the same time the wearer is expected to be original and often humorous. How any participant is supposed to achieve both these aspects is beyond me.
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