Brief History: Kabuki, which was a surprising and eccentric style of theater that started in the Edo period of Japan, was first initiated with performances by women actresses dressing as both men and woman. It started with one woman, Izumo no Okuni, who began theatrical dance performances in the streets Kyoto (which was the capital of Japan before rule moved to Edo, now known as Tokyo, during the Edo period). As her performance grew in popularity, the dance was brought all the way up to the imperial court, where it became a larger performance of women. This grew to be very popular, and even a way to understand pop culture, such as its display of the latest trends in fashion, but eventually the women's Kabuki was banned for being too erotic.
During the "golden age" of the Edo period, where many arts and entertainment thrived, a new type of Kabuki emerged where only men acted, playing the roles of both men and women with masks over their face. This became extremely popular, and today men still generally play all the roles in the Kabuki theater.
Summarized from Kabuki on Wikipedia
Analysis: I chose to do research on the Kabuki mask because this is an interesting story that not only ties to the Edo period in Japan, but also ties to modern culture in the U.S.. This art, which was created by women for entertainment, forced women out because they were too "erotic", while men could show off the same performance without judgement. Similar themes carry out in today's society. A very simple example that comes to mind is school dress codes. While this has been changing more recently, when I was in middle school, females were not allowed to show their shoulders. This meant having their entire shoulder covered by a sleeve, and no matter how the thick the tank top, it was not allowed. In contrast, the males at our school wore what we called "bro tanks", which showed the same amount of shoulder and more chest than the tank tops that the females were not allowed to wear. Even at this young an age, the perception of female bodies created inequality in the treatment of the two genders. While this is just a small example, this can be seen everywhere. In art, in entertainment, in politics, in workplaces. Society's perception of the female body and the role of the female with a sexualized stigmatization, rather than the woman's physical body or the woman herself, creates infinite inequalities and barriers that have no purpose beyond customs and a society where a woman's voice is less likely to be heard because, as can be seen in this example with the Kabuki, it is given fewer opportunities to be heard. Nevertheless, we live in a time where people are calling for change in this.
My choice to include an image of a Kabuki mask ties deeply to this idea, but also to the more obvious implications of a mask. A mask is meant to hide, to allow the individual to live under a new image, something that is particularly relevant in a society where you constantly preserve a particular image on the internet. And now it's not just on Facebook. It's on Facebook, on Instagram, on Twitter, on LinkedIn, on Snapchat. Even on Google (what do you find when you Google your name?). When you think of wearing a mask, you think that you can be more free, more creative, more wild, yet our mask on the internet correlates with a rapid decrease in mental health well-being and leads to constant issues. Nevertheless, masks can be useful in that sometimes it is valuable to temporarily hide yourself in order to learn and explore where you may be nervous to go otherwise.
When playing the role of Frank (in the film Frank), a troubled but passionate and talented musician who wears a mask that he never removes, actor Michael Fassbender pointed out "It was quite liberating to hide behind the mask; it encourages a level of mischievousness. I wish I could do everything in the head," (Michael Fassbender Fun Facts, Quotes, and Tweets). This displays both the beauty and the danger of hiding behind a mask-it creates new levels of experience, yet it may leave you wanting to hide behind it forever.
During the "golden age" of the Edo period, where many arts and entertainment thrived, a new type of Kabuki emerged where only men acted, playing the roles of both men and women with masks over their face. This became extremely popular, and today men still generally play all the roles in the Kabuki theater.
Summarized from Kabuki on Wikipedia
Analysis: I chose to do research on the Kabuki mask because this is an interesting story that not only ties to the Edo period in Japan, but also ties to modern culture in the U.S.. This art, which was created by women for entertainment, forced women out because they were too "erotic", while men could show off the same performance without judgement. Similar themes carry out in today's society. A very simple example that comes to mind is school dress codes. While this has been changing more recently, when I was in middle school, females were not allowed to show their shoulders. This meant having their entire shoulder covered by a sleeve, and no matter how the thick the tank top, it was not allowed. In contrast, the males at our school wore what we called "bro tanks", which showed the same amount of shoulder and more chest than the tank tops that the females were not allowed to wear. Even at this young an age, the perception of female bodies created inequality in the treatment of the two genders. While this is just a small example, this can be seen everywhere. In art, in entertainment, in politics, in workplaces. Society's perception of the female body and the role of the female with a sexualized stigmatization, rather than the woman's physical body or the woman herself, creates infinite inequalities and barriers that have no purpose beyond customs and a society where a woman's voice is less likely to be heard because, as can be seen in this example with the Kabuki, it is given fewer opportunities to be heard. Nevertheless, we live in a time where people are calling for change in this.
My choice to include an image of a Kabuki mask ties deeply to this idea, but also to the more obvious implications of a mask. A mask is meant to hide, to allow the individual to live under a new image, something that is particularly relevant in a society where you constantly preserve a particular image on the internet. And now it's not just on Facebook. It's on Facebook, on Instagram, on Twitter, on LinkedIn, on Snapchat. Even on Google (what do you find when you Google your name?). When you think of wearing a mask, you think that you can be more free, more creative, more wild, yet our mask on the internet correlates with a rapid decrease in mental health well-being and leads to constant issues. Nevertheless, masks can be useful in that sometimes it is valuable to temporarily hide yourself in order to learn and explore where you may be nervous to go otherwise.
When playing the role of Frank (in the film Frank), a troubled but passionate and talented musician who wears a mask that he never removes, actor Michael Fassbender pointed out "It was quite liberating to hide behind the mask; it encourages a level of mischievousness. I wish I could do everything in the head," (Michael Fassbender Fun Facts, Quotes, and Tweets). This displays both the beauty and the danger of hiding behind a mask-it creates new levels of experience, yet it may leave you wanting to hide behind it forever.
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