Where is your mask hidden?

"Breaking the mask" from the person's face - allegorically means to see its true essence. Remember, one folk wisdom says that it's better not to hurry up, but "to eat a pud of salt" in order to get to know a person closer. Another argues that only in extreme conditions, for example, conquering mountain peaks, you can recognize who he really is. There is another sobering way - this is a meeting with death. In this situation, the masks fly off as if by themselves, and yet not at all ... It turns out that everyday life "fuses" us with certain masked images that replace our true face, and we automatically act on their behalf, That we do not notice it. Therefore, you can live a long life, but you can not see the essence of people close to us, and not survive a deep meeting and with yourself - the mask will not allow ...

Totem

So, what caused our ancestor to take a piece of skin and pull it on his head, making holes for the eyes and mouth? The preserved echoes of ancient rituals explain this by the desire of man not just to be outwardly similar to the beast of interest, but also to psychologically coexist with him in habits, poses, and voice. A deep degree of resonance with the totem animal enabled, losing fear of him, gaining his energy, special natural qualities, understanding the logic of his behavior. But notice, with all this our ancestors did not go over to the animal mode of life - they remained human beings. In fact, a person, wearing the mask of his totem, tried to "speak" in his language, removing the psychological distance between himself and the beast. The mask itself was a symbolic designation for such a language.

Theater

In the future, the mask became an attribute of priestly rituals and theatrical art. But its role remained the same: it symbolized the language and the quality of the energy of the character, which was represented by the priest or actor. For example, if in the Italian theater of improvisations dell'arte on stage the actor put on himself the sharp-witted, cunning half-mask of Harlequin with devilish buffoon horns, then the audience realized that now a cascade of jokes will follow and the energy will flow into cheerfulness, lightness and mischief. If the black mask of the Doctor was worn, then everyone knew that the actor would show a caricature of scientists, who boasted of their education. White mask Piero with dark lips and a tear on his cheek personified human phlegmatic, passive and bleak in all matters of life, and the actor passed this very energy quality to the hall.

In modern theater, make-up, costume, special manner of plastic and voice in the complex also create a kind of mask that connects the actor with his character and helps him enter the previously unknown psychological space of the hero. But there is a nuance: if the actor is professional, the mask does not grow to it - he can control it and does not fall under her power.

PR

Now the stage reception of external and internal reincarnation is experiencing a new wave of popularity. It began to be widely used not only in cinematography, entertainment TV programs, but also in a wide variety of life scenes - from show business to politics.

There is even a business to create and sell a "socially designed image", and this brings a lot of money. After all, the easiest way is to start a self-promotional campaign with a proposal to the public of a vivid and memorable image.

So, the first task of a person wearing a mask is to attract attention.

The second is to consolidate the created image in the mass consciousness.

The third is to competently exploit the mask you like, getting dividends for it.

There is a request - there is an answer

Do you remember how Andrei Danilko's career began? He noticed the people's stereotypical image of an impudent, but very spiritual guide and tried it on himself as a mask. Verka Serdyuchka fell in love with the population, and the actor simply drowned in orders for it. At the same time, all other images created by him were not fixed. This mask gradually began to show its power, eclipsing its creator. Will an extremely talented actor be able to defend himself as a creative person and a person in the fight against his own creation? Time will tell.

Why does not every mask take root? The created image is not always internally organic to the author himself. It's like a suit from someone else's shoulder - of course you can put it on, but it crushes, so you just want to take it off as soon as possible. On the other hand, there is an audience in the room, which the language of this mask is understandable or not. There is a request - the mask lives, there is no request - disappears.

Another example of a bright shocking image is a mask of a slightly bitchy "blonde in chocolate" created by Ksenia Sobchak. It is clear that in private life this is an intelligent, educated and even wise woman, but for the "scene" she chose, this is the image of herself that is most adequate.

Another example of the life of the creation and exploitation of human masks: over the past few years you can observe how the image of the politician Vitali Klitschko is trying to outshine the obsolete image of the athlete Vitali Klitschko. And here it is not just a question of changing the type of activity - this person undergoes profound changes in the value system, he begins to learn not his usual language and change the general style of life. Is there a risk that his new mask might not catch on? Still what!

Look - I exist!

Now about the most important: in what case does a person need to present his mask to the world? First of all, when there is a desire to speak out, that is, to take out the volume of internal content outward, formulating it as a creative product. Such an act of self-expression is always an extremely important event for the person himself. It's like going out alone to the middle of the stage in front of the full auditorium and saying: "Look - I exist and I can be interesting to you!". Agree, this is an act. And then, when such inner readiness ripens, the question of creating a mask becomes urgent. It is this that makes it possible to form the necessary language and external sign image for each public creative individuality.

Standard image of a man in the street

And if a person does not have such a vivid need for self-expression? Is he able to live completely naked - without any masks? Far from it, for each of us the standard image of the common man in the street is stocked by society - and this is not good or bad. This is a collective mask that many of us wear, justifying creative passivity. But if we still come to the realization that life is given for the maximum fullness of self-realization, then each of us can have several creative directions of self-expression. Remember the folk wisdom: if a person is talented then, as a rule, it manifests itself in everything. Therefore, for people who show their genius to the world, the ability to retain and manage several of their masks is a natural necessity. In this case, the masks do not argue with each other, but obediently serve as psychological tools that allow one to adequately express himself in each chosen area.

The face behind the mask

Well, now we return to the original question: is it possible to discern the true face of a person in the case when he is covered by the created image? Yes, if we are able to see the real scope of such an image and try to look deeper into the psychological space of the author himself. The fact is that the action of the mask easily lends itself to various estimates - in fact, it is created for this. But to understand the true meaning of the actions of its creator is possible only through resonance, empathy. At the same time, assessments of the actions of a person do not matter much - they go to the background. The process of such comprehension bears in itself even an educational character. For example, for already two thousand years there have been attempts to come in contact with the psychological space of Jesus of Nazareth, bypassing his "mask" healer miracle-worker, the sacrifice, the saint and even the messiah. If this works, then the Path opens.

Summary. Creation of a conscious psychological image for positioning oneself in the social world speaks of inner adulthood, professionalism and creative charisma of a person. To this extent, you need to grow up, otherwise the chosen image will look ridiculous and frankly interfere. The vivid exploitation of the working mask makes it possible to discern the true meaning of the actions of the one who created it.