Abstract
Community theatre is a social development activity where amateur actors form a diverse group to create and act out stories that result from improvisations related to their personal difficulties and life experiences. Community theatre is a source of reflection, self-knowledge and self-development. But, in the conservative agricultural town in Argentina studied in this chapter, very few people dare to participate in community theatre. Most of the population feels “embarrassment” and “shame” when participating, given that the metropolitan habits of performing leisure activities outside home or work are not common practice. Nor is it common to manifest public protest or dissent. Those who do venture to take part in community theatre express that they have lost their sense of “shame”. A new subjectivity is developed by the individual who manages to “cleanse” his problems, to be the “owner” of his time and to attach less relevance to his social reputation. This chapter analyses the way in which community theatre participants can overcome shame. It describes the theoretical background stemming mostly from social anthropology, presents the context of the ethnographical case study and discusses community theatre as a way to transform shame. The principal conclusion is that collective “exposure” to “shame” is key to its elimination and its transformation into pride, and that shame should always be understood as a cultural construct. This chapter recommends group activities, such as community theatre, that can “protect” individuals from shame and contribute to self-transformation.
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Notes
- 1.
Words in quotations indicate native expressions of field informants and do not represent categories of the analyst.
- 2.
As part of my doctoral research work in social anthropology, I have conducted participant observation for four years within the group, in addition to formal interviews and registers of informal talks. Within the framework of my research, I participate directly in the group, having been invited to act, travel and participate in national events, negotiations with local public workers, public presentations and rehearsals. I have used fictitious names both for my informants and the town studied.
- 3.
A note regarding places: the town of La Laguna, with around 36,000 inhabitants, is the head of a county of the same name that consists of twelve other villages and a total population of 47,000. The county of La Laguna is located within the Argentine province of Buenos Aires, which, despite bearing the same name, should not be confused with the city of Buenos Aires, the nation’s autonomous capital, a populous urban metropolis. Unless otherwise specified, in this chapter “La Laguna” and “Buenos Aires” refer to the town studied and the national capital respectively.
- 4.
- 5.
The Spanish rendition of the English word “hippie”; here it is used for someone who is lazy, dirty and against the established moral order. The members of the Rail Crossers are often referred to as jipis, especially those who live in the town’s centre.
- 6.
Neither the coordinators nor the participants form a homogeneous group, but for reasons of length, I will not enter in detail about the effects of this community experience upon members according to their different trajectories and social statuses.
- 7.
The few men that either coordinate or participate in the theatre group are perceived by others and/or perceive themselves as “feminised”.
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Kunin, J. (2019). “The Group Is that Who Protects You in the Face of Shame”: Self-change and Community Theater Participation in an Argentine Agro-City. In: Mayer, CH., Vanderheiden, E. (eds) The Bright Side of Shame. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-13409-9_7
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