Goffman has a view that we are all actors and that we have an onstage and backstage behaviour and uses the term 'performance' to describe the way we act and interact with other people in certain settings. He believes that we put on a front (our onstage behaviour) and that we act a certain way when we go to work, meet new people etc but we act different when around our friends or family.
Said fronts are broken down into groups - setting, appearance and manner. We can apparently be analysed further by observing our settings (surroundings, style and class), our appearance (age, gender and clothing) and the way in which we react to things.
Fronts are created by stereotypes which were created by society. We feel the need to act a certain way in situations and around certain people to fit in and adhere to the stereotype that society created for us.
This is applicable to the psych scene and the people that I have photographed because they act in a stereotypical way of the genre. People that frequent this scene are different to others, for instance, a punk or metal gig would generally have a pit, whilst at psych gigs, there are not.
As seen in a previous post, (http://clairewalmsley-negotiatedmajorproject.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/festival-portraits.html) a subject can be seen giving the peace sign, which was originally used to represent the letter V for victory during the war but it became more synonymous with peace and counter culture groups such as hippies. As psychedelia originated in the 60s around the time when the gesture was used frequently, it seems apparent that it has passed down to people who associate themselves with 60s music, fashion and culture later down the line.
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