Do you mask?
"Masks that sharply goes down into your skin can only confess.However, when we encounter the important moment, we should put down our persona and be person."
It was a last week on Friday night. I was walking on the street of Itaewoon, international district here in Seoul. While walking on the street, something caught my attention;
Masks.
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| Halloween masks on the street of Itaewoon, Seoul |
Just couple of days ago, I also read an article from the French newspaper; Le Figaro. It was about a spectator with the Islamic burka. The spectator was asked to be out of the theater during the Opera, since the French law stipulates that no one should cover their face in the public. (Click here to see more contents about the news article.)
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| Le Figaro: One spectator with her mask was asked to be out of the Opera Bastille. |
On the other hand, I see every day on the street in front of Ewha Womans Universitybunches of "cosmetic masks".
Or whatever, the masks can be something beautiful Italian Venice style what we see during the masquerade of The Phantom of Opera , hero's last resort in The Spiderman, or what you saw in the Ocean 11.
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The society is exhorting us to wear proper masks for the appropriate moments. People say that true heart and feeling should be respected, but now we are more accustomed to hide our selves.
The reason that the "Mona Lisa" by the "Leonardo da Vinci" is still loved by people is she shows inexplicable expression. The lyrics of the "Poker Face" by Lady Gaga depicts one mysterious girl's sexual aspect with the lyrics "Can't read my, he can't read my poker face." Those all explain the face or another mask of human being.
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| Mona Lisa, Leonardo da Vinci, Louvre Museum |
Recent days, as the season makes you fall in the feeling of "isolation" and "facing to your own selves" I am keep facing this question; Masks of human being. We act different to different people in different situation, should we accept this as a natural human being or is it another trick to hide the true sincere aspect of oneself?
This has been the consistent question of human history. Yukio Mishima, Japanese writer born in 1925, he found his identity as a gay in his early age. For the reason that he was born in the era that the homosexuality cannot be commonly accepted, he later finishes his life by taking a suicide. In his autobiographic novel, "Confessions of a Mask(1949)" he says,
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| Yukio Mishima(Japan), 1925-1970 |
"They could be their natural selves, whereas I was to play a part, a fact that would require considerable understanding and study. So it was not my maturity but my sense of uneasiness, my uncertainty that was forcing me to gain control over my consciousness. Because such consciousness was simply a steppingstone to aberration and my present thinking was nothing but uncertain and haphazard guesswork.”
Regarding Yukio's book, Mikyung Jeong, said that "There is nothing called true confession. No one can show their own true face. Rather a mask which deeply goes down into your skin, can confess."
Paul Tournier(1898-1986) is an innovator in the part of pastoral counseling, which emphasizes on the spiritual and psychological treatment of the doctor. In his book, "The meaning of the person" he acknowledges that "mask" itself is inevitable in every occasions. Especially, if the occasion has more meaning, people are more asked to their masks. It is like people who are angry during the wedding ceremony are criticized to people who are smiling. However Paul says that when the most pivotal moment comes, people should be themselves in front of the truth.
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| Paul Tournier: La Personne et La Personne |
As fall comes, I have more time to think about myself and masks that I have. I am also surprised by myself who become different with the people I am with and the environment that I am included in. In every situation, I think over and over again how the other 2nd and 3rd party would respond about it, in the view point of themselves which leads into the maze and unintentional happenings. I also hope that I can put down my mask when I face to my self in the true moment .
Put down your mask.
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| We put down our masks when we face to the true moment |
No matter what we do
No matter what we say
We're the song inside the tune
Full of beautiful mistakes
And everywhere we go
The sun will always shine
But tomorrow we might awake on the other side
'Cause we are beautiful no matter what they say
Yes, words won't bring us down, oh no
We are beautiful in every single way
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