Thursday, September 20, 2012
Go To The Theatre, Smell Like A Man!
Butts In the Seats: So I ask, albeit with a little tongue in cheek, how have Caucasian male artists failed Caucasian male audiences and how can we get those men back?
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Thought a little different spin than this article, I was totally reminded of the 2011 Tony Award Show opening. In case you missed it. Check it out at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BHyfYiBt5o
I think that both of these bits hit the mark. Theatre has become very adept and voicing the unvoiced. Now perhaps a swing the other way my broaden its appeal. Perhaps shows like Magic/Bird, Book of Mormon and Spiderman will attract a more male audience. So far those shows seem to be doing just fine.
Really, I feel as though I have always known this about the kinds of audience that go to shows, but no one has ever focused on that fact or brought it up like this blog just did. I guess that is the point of blogging, to raise awareness to daily life happenings, but this article really caught me off guard.
It has been made into a feminine notion that women always want to see a show or a sappy movie etc… Even in that Old Spice commercial, when the main guy was holding the tickets he literally says, “An oyster with tickets to that thing you love”. In saying that, he is admitting that not only does he not care what it is, but also that he assumes that is the way to a woman’s heart. Honestly, it is okay for men to be interested in cultural happenings and to be wholeheartedly interested straight off the bat and not relieving the tension comically. I can’t understand why some guys feel that way; I can’t even understand why my brother used to feel that way. He would actively try to avoid performances and my mother would drag him out to see them. Now, he will never admit this, but he can be heard days later singing the songs from the musical he just saw.
Theater, as well as other forms of art, is there to stimulate the mind and escape the reality of life. When you mix societal expectations regarding gender, it complicates a very simple idea. Theater is entertainment that falls under a variety of genres, a variety of approaches, and it can be whatever you want it to be. The audience controls what they get out of it. I agree with Dale about how the shows are starting to change and become more appealing to guys, and the Tonys have mocked the problem, which might help a change. I hope everyone will go out of their way to see a show and appreciate it for what it is and to keep any other notions out of the matter completely.
I remember the watching the Tonys that Dale alluded to. I have a tradition of texting my High School director during the Tonys to cancel out feeling feminine for watching the Tonys in the first place. It reassuring I promise. Regardless - this article is very right... going to theatre isnt a thing guys just think about doing. When I first got to CMU i was still shocked when the actors wanted to go watch the class projects and shows just to see the acting. That was weird to me. BUT I agree with the face that maybe the shows Dale mentioned will bring a more masculine audience to the theatre... or appease the tension of going to the theatre for men. I dont know when in society it became like that - because in the older days I associated the theatre with the wealthy. An interesting article with valid points.
I never really thought about it before now, but I guess its true that theater has larger female attendance then male. However I don't think that the analogy is a good one. Deodorant gender biases had to do with the way that they were advertised, I don't often/ever see advertisements for shows that are targeted at a specific gender. The underlying culture is still there, and I have no idea what it is that causes it, but I do not think the solution is in advertising.
This article hits the nail on the head. It is a hard question to answer too. I looked to the comments in the article to see what people said and there was only one that said basically that you have to make theater seem like something that will make men sexy to women. Which I do actually think would be helpful. I also think it is a matter of up bringing. If your family valued arts and brought you to them then you are probably going to be more inclined to go to them later on. I think our generation is more okay with seeming less masculine, I do think they still want to seem appealing to women. But it is an ultimate quest to get diverse groups to the theater.
I think this article misses a key point in discussing the assumed reasons why white caucasian males might choose to go to the theatre and the symphony in the first place. If it has ever been for purely aesthetic reasons, I think it has always been just as much for social reasons. People have always gone to public art events as much to be seen as to see. In our culture, going to the theatre claims a lot of things about you (even if they aren't true): you have money, you have taste, education, culture. I know we would all like to think that everyone in our audience is there because they are riveted by our ideas, but it has to be acknowledged that at least some of them are there for much more practical reasons. I think maybe this article is proving a much more interesting point. It turns out it doesn't matter if you produce theatre that rich white guys are going to like, they'll still pay for it for reasons maybe we don't fully understand, or care about for that matter. If anything I find this idea liberating. Maybe now we can stop caring what rich white men want and get down to business.
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