The Politics Of Masking The mask carrier

The Politics Of Masking

“The mask carrier is said to assume power, the aim of a Mask is to channel, elicit, or transmit power. . . ” - Tonkin, 1979

Empowerment?

Are these Masked Men Powerful? Assertive? Controlling?

“I don’t know. You just put it on…It’s like it brings your innermost desires to life…” – Stanley Ipkiss The Mask, 1994

Mask Law is passed in 1845…to forbid protesters from hiding their identities.

240. 35 LOITERING A person is guilty of loitering when he: [. . . ] 4. Being masked or in any manner disguised by unusual or unnatural attire or facial alteration, loiters, remains or congregates in a public place with other persons so masked or disguised or knowingly permits or aids persons so masked or disguised to congregate in a public place…[. . . ] —New York Penal Code, Offenses Against Public Order

“While the Klan have used their masks to commit murder and other atrocities with “Of they now also claim heard of their impunity, few people who have they needthe Mask Law, many believe that itfrom popularto masks to protect themselves was passed prevent the Klan from marching in New York reprisal as a despised, weak group. ” wearing their hoods. ” —Bogad, 2003 (Based on CNN. com article, 1999)

“protesters and performers in New York are often ringed by walls of police…and otherwise restricted in their access to audiences…the use of colorful masks and puppets is a tactic to overcome these restrictions…” —Bogad, 2003

“O Prophet! Tell thy wives and daughters, and the believing women, that they should cast their outer garments over their persons (when abroad): that is most convenient, that they should be known (as such) and not molested. And Allah is Oft. Forgiving, Most Merciful” - Qur’an 33: 59

Suppression?

Are these Veiled Women Weak? Passive? Oppressed?

“Perhaps for the majority of the newly veiled women, Islam becomes a counter-culture to both the immoral, decadent, destructive West…To wear the veil can thus be a statement of commitment to a different kind of society” - Rozario, 2006

You Decide…

Images: http: //www. fbi. gov/wanted/unkn/chicagobank 1. jpg - robber and robber 2 http: //delivery. gettyimages. com/xc/71154810. jpg? v=1&c=CFW&k=2&d=750 D 1 C 2 B 84 DB 20 E 525699 FF 0 B 0 C 39 D 1 C – Theif http: //www 1. istockphoto. com/file_thumbview_approve/1708766/2/istockphoto_1708766_l one_ranger. jpg - Cowboy http: //www. crmvet. org/crmpics/staug 5 a. jpg - KKK 2 http: //www. homevideos. com/freezeframes/Mask 21. jpg - The Mask 1, The mask 2, The Mask 3 http: //scoop. diamondgalleries. com/news_images/5328_13982_1. jpg - The Mask 4(actual mask) http: //www. ferris. edu/jimcrow/question/kkk. jpg - KKK http: //gfx. download-by. net/screen/167056 -bikini-screen-saver. jpg - bikini 2 http: //www. 911 buycostume. com/Pages/mask-darkside/Batman%20 Mask%202. jpg – Batman http: //www. boxoffice. com/jpg/apr 02/spider-man 2. jpg - Spiderman http: //battlestarfanclub. com/battlestar/dave/dgcapam. jpg - Captain America http: //guide. supereva. com/wrestling/myimg/165930_1. jpg - Rey Mysterio http: //www. photofile. com/Photos_Of_The_Day/06_06_22/HC 19506. jpg - rey 3 http: //www. starstore. com/acatalog/darth-vader-sideshow-e. jpg - Darth Vader http: //212. 67. 202. 147/~ivnet 05/IMG/jpg/marcos 46. jpg - Subcommandante Marcos Bogad, L. M. “Facial Insufficiency: Political Street Performance in New York City and the Selective Enforcement of the 1845 Mask Law. ” TDR: The Drama Review. Vol. 47, no. 4. (November 2003) pp. 75 -84. Online. World Wide Web. 4 November, 2006 - Protester

http: //www. persecution. org/suffering/newssummimg/1964 islam-veil. jpg - Veil http: //www. iit. edu/~khanath/ebay/sakina/stock/burqa/afghani/afblack 1. jpg - Burqa http: //www. blacktable. com/images/0409 pics/charticle/burqa. jpg - Burqa 2 http: //www. thealarmclock. com/mt/archives/bikini%20 girl. png – Bikini Woman http: //creative. gettyimages. com/source/classes/Frame. Set. aspx? &UQR=ukvjar&pk =4&source=front&lightbox. View=1&txt. Search=veil&sel. Image. Type=7&chk. Licensed =on&chk. Royalty. Free=on&chk. NLM=on – Veil 2 http: //creative. gettyimages. com/source/classes/Frame. Set. aspx? &UQR=ukvjar&pk =4&source=front&lightbox. View=1&txt. Search=veil&sel. Image. Type=7&chk. Licensed =on&chk. Royalty. Free=on&chk. NLM=on – Veil 3 http: //creative. gettyimages. com/source/classes/Frame. Set. aspx? &UQR=ukvjar&pk =4&source=front&lightbox. View=1&txt. Search=veil&sel. Image. Type=7&chk. Licensed =on&chk. Royalty. Free=on&chk. NLM=on – Veil 4 http: //upload. wikimedia. org/wikipedia/en/1/1 c/Frances. Perkins. After. Roosevelts. Deat h. gif. jpg - Veil 5 http: //www. stuffmagazine. com/includes/popup. aspx? img. Loc=/girls/pam_anderson/ pam_anderson_l 3. jpg - Pamela Anderson http: //www. stuffmagazine. com/girls/brooke_burke_v/brooke_burke_V_l 6. jpg Brooke Burke http: //www. stuffmagazine. com/girls/destinys_child_l 11. jpg Destiny’s Child (Kelly) http: //images. usatoday. com/news/_photos/2003/06/06 -veil-inside. jpg - Veil 6 http: //www. afghan-web. com/shop/nproducts/images/burqa. jpg - Burqa 3 http: //www. radioradicale. it/images/news/burqa. jpg - Burqas http: //www. enhg. org/ENHG%20 Newsletters/2005/01 January/05 Burqa%202. jpg – Veil 7

Texts: “Court rules KKK must unmask to rally in New York”. CNN. com. 22 October, 1999. http: //www. cnn. com/US/9910/22/klan. 03/. Online. 8 November, 2006. “USC-MSA Compendium of Muslim Texts”. University of Southern California. http: //www. usc. edu/dept/MSA/quran/033. qmt. html. Online. 4 November, 2006. “Memorable Quotes from The Mask (1994)”. IMDB. com. http: //www. imdb. com/title/tt 0110475/quotes. Online. 8 November, 2006 Bogad, L. M. “Facial Insufficiency: Political Street Performance in New York City and the Selective Enforcement of the 1845 Mask Law. ” TDR: The Drama Review. Vol. 47, no. 4. (November 2003) pp. 75 -84. Online. World Wide Web. 4 November, 2006. Rozario, Santi. “The New Burqa in Bangladesh: Empowerment or Violation of Women’s Rights? ” Women’s Studies International Forum. . Vol. 29, no. 4. (Jul-Aug 2006) pp. 368380. Online. World Wide Web. 3 November, 2006. Tonkin, E. “Masks and Power” Man (N. S). . Vol. 14. (Jul-Aug 2006) pp. 237 -248. Online. World Wide Web. 4 November, 2006. Young, Robert J. C. (2003). Postcolonialism: A very Short Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press.

Music: Incubus. “Megalomaniac. ” A Crow Left of the Murder… Epic, 2005. Eve. “Who’s That Girl. ” Scorpion. Interscope, 2001. R. E. M. “Losing my Religion. ” Out of Time. Warner Bros. , 1991. Audioslave. “I am The Highway. ” Audioslave. Sony Music, 2002.

Composed by Bryan Ploen - University of Toronto at Mississauga