Persona – Yes, You Have One
“I think that, a) you have an act, and that, b) not having an act is your act.” – Linda Powell (Singles)
I had a couple of interesting conversations this week. Yes, I know, I always have interesting conversations. This is because I talk to interesting people. Both of these conversations were about Oliver Anthony and persona. They each took a slightly different direction because of the different people involved, but my opinion was the same in both.
In one conversation, the person thought that Oliver was possibly a government plant and in the other, that he was just the most normal of people.
First, if there’s any kind of DOJ or DOD plan here, I don’t think he’s involved. Let me just say that first. I wouldn’t be surprised at anything our government did, but I don’t think he’s secretly a CIA agent or anything, so let’s move on from this one.
Is he the most normal of people? Maybe. I don’t know him, so I can’t say. I do know, as Bill Maher said to Lars Ulrich recently on Club Random, that everyone has a persona. It might be completely based in who you are, but it’s a calculated and carefully crafted version of you. There are many types of personas, but this is the one that applies to most of us. Let me breakdown a few types of personas before I return back to this one.
The Fake – I hate to put anyone in this category, but this is a situation, where at least in music, the label creates an image and sound for you. It could be Milli Vanilli, maybe Ashlee Simpson, early Johnny Cougar, etc. It doesn’t mean these people aren’t talented, just that what you’re seeing is manufactured.
The Parody – Think David Bowie as Ziggy Stardust or Bono as The Fly.
The Exaggerator - Fred Durst and Marilyn Manson come to mind. I don’t think what you see with them is fake, but they focus on one part of themselves to expand upon. I’ve met Fred, he’s a super nice guy, but he plays the asshole well. Marilyn Manson loves to stay at home and cook and watch movies, he’s not out every night at a séance, but he plays at being a Satanic priest quite well. I’m sure Fred can be an asshole and I don’t think Marilyn is at church every Sunday morning, but you see what they want you to see. As they’ve gotten older, you see more of the real them, but it’s taken time and still well-crafted.
The Authentic – This is your earnest, down-to-earth person. It’s probably you reading this. But you’re not authentic, no one is.
You might be thinking, “not me, I’m just me, I don’t have a persona.”
Yeah, yeah you do.
Why do you style your hair like you do? Why do you dress the way you do? Why do you drive what you drive? Why do you choose what you choose to say and what pictures you post on social media?
It’s because you want to see yourself, and you want others to see you, a certain way. Those things all say something about you and you want to communicate that to others. Maybe you’re Steve in Singles and I’m Linda, telling you that you trying to present that you don’t have a persona is your persona.
What drew me to punk was the freedom to be who I was as an individual, and I still believe in that spirit, but we all know that within that community there are certain cultural norms. Things that are accepted and not accepted. Someone might feel rebellious because they’re a “punk” and they don’t fit into the wider society, but they will fit into all the cultural norms of punk without thinking about it. It’s like I say about all the people with a “RESIST” bumper sticker – it makes them feel like they’re rebelling but when you’re on the side of the majority, who are you really resisting? You’re not a rebel by saying something to the crowd that you know they will cheer you for. You’re playing at being a rebel.
In my day to day life, I’m as close to authentic as anyone. What you see is what you get. I won’t post a picture to my private Facebook page of me in my underwear when I wake up or something, but it’s a pretty good representation of my life as a whole. I work, I make music, I spend time with my family, it’s pretty boring. In my music career, it’s a little bit more carefully curated. I pick the clothes I’m going to wear before I even get the camera out. I shoot a bunch of shots and then I carefully decide which ones to post. It’s just part of the game. Some people get to look behind the curtain and see who the wizard really is, but I prefer that not everybody be able to do that. It’s part marketing and part protecting my vulnerabilities. If you attack a part of my persona that was crafted for public consumption, you’re not really attacking me, you’re attacking Mountain Climer or dbcooper or that asshole from Four Lane Road Media, not Jeremy.
I think this is what Oliver Anthony is doing. He sometimes comes off as a rube, but he’s making some shrewd business decisions that I highly respect. He might not have expected things to happen like they did, or get that big, but he made a video and uploaded it to the internet – he was looking to bring attention to his music (as we all are). This idea that he was never looking for this is meant to play down his ambition. And, maybe, it’s a way for him to try and keep a hold on this thing and not let it consume him – I take no issue with that. No one is perfect, I admit that I’m nitpicking him, but it’s food for thought.
So, the next time you think you’re super authentic, go ahead and post that picture of you with that stupid look on your face, because, you know, you’re “keepin’ it real”.
Or don’t. I wouldn’t.