Goffman & Symbolic Interactionalism

Back stage:

informal actions appear. Performers can expect no audience from the front stage in the back

Sincere

: do they really mean what they say in the front stage?

Symbolic Interactionism (grand theory) :

Human beings act towards things on the basis of the meaning that the things have for them Meaning are acquired through social interaction . meaning are provisionally developed in social situations through a process of interpretation . meaning are bounds up in symbols.

Front stage:

functions in fixed and general ways to define the situation for those who observe the performance

Stigma:

gap between virtual and actual social identity aka what a person ought to be and what a person actually is

Mystification:

hiding various elements of what they did in order to appear better than they actually are

Outside:

not front or back, happens outside of performance

Dramaturgy-

related to symbolic interactionism : thinking of social life as being like a staged drama

Cynical:

the actors are putting on a front that isn't their real selves and they are aware of that but do it to conquer their objectives

Saving face:

the length an individual will go in the front stage to secure their position

Impression management:

the techniques actors use to maintain certain impressions in the face of problems they are likely to encounter and the methods they use to cope with these problems

Appearance:

the way the actor looks to the audience; social status appearance