Download Modes of Passing - The Great Pretender: The Art of Passing

Modes of Passing
Lina Medaglia-Miller, Ph.D.
The Great Pretender: The Art of Passing
GSSC 1073
May 2010
There are many different ways
that living things pass as
other creatures and things
Anti-predator adaptations
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Antipredator adaptations are evolutionary
adaptations developed over time, which
assist prey organisms in their constant
struggle against their predators
Animals avoid detection as prey
They avoid being attacked by predators
They avoid capture by predators
Batesian mimicry
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Batesian mimicry is a form
of mimicry typified by a situation
where a harmless species has
evolved to imitate the warning
signals of a harmful species
directed at a common predator.
It is named after the English
naturalist Henry Walter Bates,
after his work in the rainforests
of Brazil.
Camouflage
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Camouflage is, perhaps, the most
common form of passing among all
antipredator adaptations.
A camouflaged
Orange Oak Leaf
butterfly
Many species, like the flounder, seen here,
can blend in
against
features in
their
environment,
to avoid
detection
Cephalopods
Particular cephalopods, such
as cuttlefish and octopus, can
actually change their texture
and appearance in order to be
virtually undetectable on any
environmental feature
The Possum, and other species, have even
mastered the art of ‘playing dead’ (apparent
death) in order to avoid predation
The undisputed master of
the art has lent his name
to this activity:
“playing possum”
Humans and Passing
Many humans try to pass, when they can.
There are a variety of ways in which
human beings have chosen to ‘pass’ as
other human beings or other types of
human beings.
Human modes of passing
FICTIONAL
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In
In
In
In
In
In
In
literature
mythology
fairy tales
religion
theatre
opera
movies
NON-FICTIONAL
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Racial passing
Gender Passing
Class Passing
Sexual orientation
passing
Disability passing
Everyday passing
Job passing
Criminal passing
Fiction
Literature
In The Odyssey, Athena disguises
Odysseus as an old, ragged beggar
so that he can return to Ithaca
to confront his wife Penelope’s
suitors– the disguise is so
effective that even his wife
does not recognize him
Mythology
The God Zeus poses
as a swan in order
to seduce Leda
Fairy Tales
The predator/wolf, in
‘Little Red Riding Hood,’
poses as LRRH’s
grandmother
Religion
The Bhagavata Purana describes
Vishnu's avatars as innumerable,
though there are ten incarnations
(Dasavatara, Sanskrit: ten avatars)
that are widely seen as his major
appearances.
Krishna and Rama are the two mostly
widely known and worshipped avatars
of Vishnu, with their stories told in the
two popular epics, the Mahabharata
and the Ramayana.
Matsya, fish avatar of Vishnu
Gender passing in the arts
A remarkably common
theme in theatre, opera
and movies is
‘gender passing’
(e.g. the following 3 slides)
Robin Williams as Mrs. Doubtfire
Theatre
William Shakespeare made
substantial use of cross-dressing
for female characters, who take
on masculine clothing to carry
out actions difficult for women.
In Shakespeare's play The
Merchant of Venice, Portia and
her maid dress as lawyers to
plead in court on the merchant's
behalf, and are quite successful
in their ruse.
Opera
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An entire cross-dressing genre of
operatic roles is called "pants
roles“ or "trouser roles.” These are
male roles performed by women,
typically mezzo-sopranos. Some
female opera singers specialize in
these roles.
A major artistic reason for "pants
roles" was that some storylines
required young boy characters,
but the actual performance
required an adult's vocal strength
and stage experience in addition
to a high, boyish voice. Women
were thus better suited to these
boy roles than actual boys.
Tess Altiveros as Cherubino
in "Marriage of Figaro."
Movies
Among the most common
of all comedic plots in
Hollywood is that of a
person pretending to be
of the opposite gender
(gender passing)
in order to get a job
or position.
Movies
“Class passing” is
also a common
theme in comedy.
In “Trading Places,”
on a bet, two
meddlesome
moguls switch the
circumstances of a
hustler and a Wall
Street trader. Each
victim must then pass,
temporarily.
Non-Fiction
Racial Passing
Writer John Howard Griffin
(Black Like Me) pretended
for six weeks to be an
African-American travelling
on Greyhound buses
(occasionally hitchhiking)
throughout the racially
segregated states of
Louisiana, Mississippi,
Alabama and Georgia
Gender Passing
Writer Norah Vincent
dressed as a man for
an entire year, in order
to understand better
the male experience
Class Passing
Writer Judith Rollins
pretended to be a domestic
in order to understand
the relationships between
the wealthy and their
domestic help
Sexual Orientation Passing
Latin music superstar Ricky Martin
is just one of many LGBTQ
entertainers who “came out”
after many years in show
business.
Due to rampant homophobia
in our society, many public
figures are advised to disguise
their sexual orientation for
fear of discrimination.
Disability Passing
Psychologist David Rosenhan
and eight other ‘pseudopatients’
infiltrated 12 American psychiatric
hospitals in order to prove that
standard psychiatric diagnostic
labels and patient diagnoses
were often mistaken, arbitrary, or
biased
Everyday Passing
Online passing: A Moroccan
man named Fouad Mourtada
was arrested for pretending,
on Facebook, to be the Moroccan
king’s younger brother, Prince
Moulay Rachid.
The specific charge was
“villainous practices.” Justice is
swift in Morocco. Mourtada was
convicted, and sentenced to three
years in prison and a $1,000 fine.
Job Passing
Ferdinand Waldo Demara
(the Great Impostor) masqueraded
as a civil engineer, a sheriff’s
deputy, an assistant prison warden,
a Doctor of Psychology, a
hospital orderly, a lawyer,
a child-care expert, a Benedictine
monk, an editor, a cancer
researcher, and a teacher.
Most famously, he was a Navy
Doctor who saved many lives.
Criminal Passing
Christophe Rocancourt is
an impostor and con artist
who scammed affluent
people by masquerading
as a French member of
the Rockefeller family
Without looking at the “Passers” page, test
yourself….
Can you think of other types of passing,
or of famous people who have passed
under the categories of passing we have
just covered?
I look forward to hearing your thoughts in
the next class.
Fin