MASKING
4.7
Rituals, Rebellions, Revolutions
Carnivals may look like carefree celebrations, but their masks and performances can reveal deeper questions about power, identity, and social change.
Some thinkers, like Mikhail Bakhtin, see carnivals as moments of chaos that temporarily upend social norms and free people from rigid roles. Others, such as Max Gluckman, argue that they actually reinforce the status quo by offering a safe outlet for dissent. But a middle ground exists: carnivals can subtly shift cultural boundaries, using play and transgression to reshape how society understands itself.
George-Paul Meiu goes into detail in the video below.
Your Perspective
- Do you think carnivals can genuinely challenge power structures, or are they just a way for society to release tension without real change? Use examples to support your view.
- How do masks in carnival settings affect personal identity and self-expression? Can this temporary transformation have a lasting impact on how individuals see themselves or others?
- Have you participated in a carnival yourself? What was the experience like in terms of your own self-expression?
Author: George-Paul Meiu
References
Bakhtin, M. (1984). Rabelais and His World. Indiana University Press.
Cieslarová, O. V., Pehal, M., & Kern, W. (2023). “Beneath the Laarve: Masking during the Basel Carnival of Fasnacht (Faasnacht)”. Journal of Material Culture, 28(3), 451-478.
Gluckman, M. (1954). Rituals of Rebellion in South-East Africa. Manchester University Press.
San Diego Union-Tribune. (Originally Published: 2013, February 6. Updated: 2016, September 4). Brazil: What’s behind Carnival masks and disguises.
Stallybrass, P. & White, A. (1986). The Politics and Poetics of Transgression. Cornell University Press.
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