Performance & Entertainers’ Identity A unique characteristic of the way that Singapore YouTube entertainers, hereafter YouTubers or entertainers, produce their comedy-skits is the lack of character identification. For example, Sylvia, a main cast and co-founder of Night Owl Cinematics, often appears in the skits as Sylvia but performs a persona that is not akin to her personality in real life. In other instances, the skits forgo character identification completely and rely on context clues, such as clothing and the actor’s body language, to communicate the character’s identity to its viewers. Personas are often referred to as “ah girl”, “eh”, or “boss!” in place of an actual name to bring character to their identity. Although the anonymity
…show more content…
He further states that the backstage is a space associated with less formal and more relaxed performances, whereas the front stage is a space associated with the act of giving a performance (Goffman 69). For these entertainers, their portrayal of characters and personas in the skits is recognized as frontstaging, while their candid and sincere disposition in the outro is seen as backstaging. The collapse of both types of performance onto one dimension in the video, facilitated by the outro, confronts the audiences with the entertainers’ real identities and provides the means by which the actors can set themselves apart from the characters they played (Marwick & boyd 122). In order to establish authenticity, an identity needs to be grounded in something that can be its point of reference (Baym 107), however, the characters these entertainers portray lack this sort of anchorage, in embodiment and in terms of name, as they are often anonymous and fleeting. On the other hand, the entertainers’ identities are carefully associated with their physical presence in the outros. Juxtaposed against the personas that the YouTubers assume, which are volatile and exist in constant multiplicity (Baym 106), the repeated performance of self-identity by the entertainers establishes the divide between fiction and reality (Papacharissi 1993) to dispel anxiety over the authenticity of the performers’
He further states that the backstage is a space associated with less formal and more relaxed performances, whereas the front stage is a space associated with the act of giving a performance (Goffman 69). For these entertainers, their portrayal of characters and personas in the skits is recognized as frontstaging, while their candid and sincere disposition in the outro is seen as backstaging. The collapse of both types of performance onto one dimension in the video, facilitated by the outro, confronts the audiences with the entertainers’ real identities and provides the means by which the actors can set themselves apart from the characters they played (Marwick & boyd 122). In order to establish authenticity, an identity needs to be grounded in something that can be its point of reference (Baym 107), however, the characters these entertainers portray lack this sort of anchorage, in embodiment and in terms of name, as they are often anonymous and fleeting. On the other hand, the entertainers’ identities are carefully associated with their physical presence in the outros. Juxtaposed against the personas that the YouTubers assume, which are volatile and exist in constant multiplicity (Baym 106), the repeated performance of self-identity by the entertainers establishes the divide between fiction and reality (Papacharissi 1993) to dispel anxiety over the authenticity of the performers’