personality
Wouldn’t it be great if we could just do the thing we’re great at, snarl at everyone, and we’d be loved?
(leonard “bones” mccoy, from star trek, known for his cantankerousness.)
But that isn’t the case. Maybe it was in some point in time, when we had some omnipotent company to give us our images, when we had that company to package us and present us to the world in the most successful manner? Man! Wouldn’t that be good.
But wait. What happens if we’re presented in the wrong light? What happens if, in return for not having to create our own personalities, we don’t like the ones we’re given? What then?
Do we suck it up, knowing that this omniscient corporation is giving us money and time to do devote ourselves to our art, and so we have to deal with the give part of the give-and-take? Or do we break from them, look for our own money and space and time to do things, all while exhausting the extra effort to actively promote ourselves? Not just our trade or our craft, but who we are, as people. Who we exist as, in terms of the spotlight, in terms of our adventures, in terms of our relations with other people, in terms of the product we create?
I suppose really, it’s up to the person in question, and the kind of resources and power they have. in many cases, i’m willing to bet that people have to take this personalities, simply because they don’t have the money they need otherwise! those who are lucky enough to have the time, money and energy to promote not jut their music, but themselves (amanda palmer comes to mind)?
at risk of sounding like a dumb moron, i don’t know the answers to the questions. i’d like to say that people, given the ability and money to jumpstart themselves musically, would promote their music, their lives, their souls. But i’m not really sure. I’m a lazy person. i’d love to be packaged while I just write my ass off. but who knows? maybe if i don’t like that person I’m told people see me as, I’d change.
Oh, I love identity theory!
ps: the fact that i got to use mccoy as my example here really made my day.
Ten6Media said,
March 30, 2010 at 1:29 pm
I think you ask some relevant, though philosophical, questions. I also love the theory behind identity and communication, and I think the fundamental questions you have approached here are applicable to everyone – if we let others Brand us, do we simply accept that Brand and remain authentic to ourselves, or change our image to be more in line with what others approve of?
The best marketing and PR people are the ones who package or brand a person exactly as they really are, and then convince the world that person is desirable. That level of authenticity really shines through and people relate to it more easily, shirking the commonplace contrived personas we so commonly see.
Good luck to you!
JB